Materiality has increasingly become a major part of brand storytelling and identity positioning via storefronts through the use of color, finishes, and textures. Because curated facades provide a memorable first impression for customers and help define company culture for employees, custom design has long been involved in creating these narratives.

Creating a bespoke surface for a brand is all about dialing in the color and texture to match or complement the brand’s color scheme and other site materials. For both Starbucks and Adidas, we developed custom finishes in minimalist, industrial tones that allow their iconic logos to pop. We added physical texture to bring variation to the surfaces, visible at a distance but remaining subtle.

When working with storefronts, we typically recommend a durable plate panel system. Wet Seal plate panels are ideal for storefronts because they pair well with glazing systems where panels and windows interface. These images show Wet Seal plate panels used in wall and fascia cladding for West Elm and a pool restaurant at the Hard Rock. Both materials are emissions free and have a Class A Fire Rating.

An industry standard, Rivetless plate panels are typically large format and heavy gauge. We love them for storefronts because they resist deflection and can be engineered to the most extreme wind load environments. We form ours from solid core aluminum and pair it with an AAMA 2605 rated finish that will resist UV degradation, chemical exposure, fading, and chalking, ideal for these exterior applications at Long Beach Exchange.