Waves of Innovation: Nixon’s Baselworld Exhibition Space
Objective: Transform Nixon’s exhibition space to showcase next-gen surf watches & trial a disruptive retail concept.
Renowned for their roots in surf culture, Nixon designs timepieces that go beyond traditional watchmaking, catering to thrill-seekers and the youth lifestyle market. With a focus on both style and functionality, Nixon is a true disruptor, offering watches that resonate with surfers and adrenaline junkies alike. For their biggest watch exhibition space to date at Baselworld, we worked with them to showcase their latest generation of waterproof digital watches, and debut (and test) a new cutting-edge retail concept.
Inspired by the horizon’s seamless blend of water and sky, our ‘Horizon Line’ concept design is anchored by a striking half-height blue wall, creating a sense of oceanic expanse. This fluid architectural feature wraps around their watch exhibition space, providing a fresh, open environment that mirrors the boundless view surfers experience in the water. Central to the design is Nixon’s innovative ‘watch wave’ display - a dynamic, RFID-reactive merchandising system that pulses with digital content. This, now award-winning, watch wave brings the ocean indoors, engaging visitors with interactive visuals that move in sync with the displayed watches, making them feel as if they're immersed in the tidal surf.
In breaking away from traditional glass cabinets, Nixon’s Baselworld exhibition space design allowed visitors to directly interact with the products, try them on, and test them in a contemporary, lifestyle-focused setting. This approach emphasised Nixon’s unique position as a challenger in the watch industry and helped them secure lucrative retail partnerships with specialist surf shops, multi-brand watch retailers, and youth-oriented lifestyle stores like Citadium.
“Together, we built something truly special for Nixon that will strengthen and reinforce what the brand is all about.”
Director, Nixon
Talk to us about exhibition space design
If you are looking for a leading design agency in London to lead your next brand activations design project, let’s talk. You can also check out other retail marketing activation designs on our work page, or take a look at our Wonder blog for all the latest consumer insights and creative innovations.
Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on LinkedIn today.
