How lighting design shaped brand identity, customer experience, and visual impact in Co-op’s new grab-and-go retail concept

Co-op recently announced the Co-op On-the-Go stores. The innovative micro store format is compact, agile, and designed for high-footfall locations - a bold step forward in retail innovation and customer experience.

This project started with what looked like a straightforward brief: develop a lighting concept for a new store formal: Co-op grab-and-go. But very quickly, it became clear this wasn’t going to be a typical retail lighting job. And I was so ready for this one as I could tell this will be a job full of collaboration, teamwork, great ideas and so much for me to learn!

It wasn’t just about illumination, or even efficiency. It was about using light as a design language, something that could carry brand identity, shape atmosphere and define how people perceive the space before they even step inside. Almost, making them want to come in!

From the beginning, the ambition was bigger than the technical brief. Co-op wanted a new kind of retail experience that could sit in the fast-moving world of grab-and-go food, across the wider UK high street. But it still needed to feel unmistakably Co-op. That’s where lighting became central to everything.

Lighting as the First Expression of Brand

What stood out early on was how heavily the project relied on lighting to communicate brand identity. There wasn’t a huge reliance on signage or graphic branding in the way you might expect from a typical retail rollout. Instead, the brief leaned into atmosphere of how the space feels, how it pulls people in and how it behaves visually in a busy urban environment. Lighting had to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Real-Time Iteration and Design Dialogue

During the presentation itself, the process became highly iterative. As feedback came in, adjustments were made in real time. Not just to lighting, but to how lighting interacted with evolving material choices. It created a live design loop where decisions weren’t static; they were being tested and refined in the moment. That experience changed how I thought about the role of visualisation. It wasn’t just a way to present an idea. It was a tool for shaping it collaboratively.

Lighting, in that context, became a negotiation between brand intention, spatial design and client expectation which was constantly being refined as the conversation developed.

Beyond Function: Lighting as Brand Atmosphere

Although sustainability and energy efficiency were naturally part of the broader technical framework, particularly through modern LED solutions, they weren’t the central narrative of the project. The real focus was brand atmosphere. Lighting became the primary vehicle for expressing Co-op’s identity in a new retail category. It had to feel fast but not rushed, modern but not cold and distinctive without relying on overt branding.

In that sense, lighting became the emotional layer of the store. It shaped how the brand felt at a glance, how it behaved in space and how it differentiated itself in a highly competitive retail environment.

A Turning Point in My Own Experience

On a personal level, this project was also a significant step forward in how I approached both design and communication.

It wasn’t just about building accurate models or producing polished visuals. It was about understanding how lighting decisions influence brand perception, and how those decisions are interpreted by clients in real time. It was also one of the first times I was actively involved in presenting work, responding to direct feedback and adapting designs collaboratively while the conversation was still happening.

That experience reinforced something I’ve carried forward since lighting design is as much about dialogue as it is about specification.

Final Reflection

Looking back, what stands out most isn’t a single technical achievement or visual output, but it’s how central lighting became to the entire concept. It wasn’t a supporting element. It was the foundation for how the space was understood, experienced and evolved. And in a project where speed, clarity and brand identity were all critical, lighting became the most direct way to bring those ideas together into something tangible.