How might we properly introduce H-E-B® to a new community?
Wimberley Market
Historic. Eclectic. Artistic.
Program Management + Brand Strategy + Design & Direction + Team Leadership
Wimberley, Texas, is a picturesque artisan village in Central Texas. It is known for its counter-culture community. Plus, it has a rich pioneer history and a very recent reputation as an off-the-beaten-path destination for affluent northerners.
Frame the Scope
Objective > “Give ’em a funky little store.”
Outcome > A branded in-store customer experience customized just for Wimberley, Texas.
My Roles:
Programming & Project Leader
Brand Strategist & Lead Designer
Install & Vendor Coordinator
Understand the Needs
Since H-E-B® is committed to the communities it serves, winning over the local critics was an essential design task.
Discovery Process:
Community culture audit
Business Stakeholder interviews
Resident Interviews
Competitive landscape analysis
Need Themes :
Preserve the community culture
Raise customer awareness
Change hearts and minds
Notable Insights > Vocal residents expressed great concern that a large retail box store would damage the town’s curated village feel.
The site was another concern for residents. For generations, the small community of 3,500 had one public school. Although the city had closed the original school and built a new one, the community hoped to preserve the Bowen Intermediate School building and its history.
Reframe the problem
How might we build an H-E-B® that honors the history, culture, and uniqueness of Wimberley, Texas?
Craft the right experience
I led the effort to deliver an experience representing H-E-B’s values while celebrating Wimberley’s deep heritage, diverse community, and creative culture. We did not give a generic box store. We made it their store, in every sense.
The result
The community response was incredible and emotional. We won over our most prominent critics. And soon after opening, H-E-B® stores in surrounding communities reported a reduction in their customer traffic as people in towns as far as 50 miles away adopted the Wimberley store as their preferred H-E-B®. It was one of my proudest professional moments.
> The school doors became department IDs
> The school gym floor became the store headwall
> The school stage trusses became wall finishes
> The school bleachers became aisle markers
> The school jungle gym became a seating area
> The gym’s center court became an outdoor game table.
> The checkstand lights by Wimberley Glass.
> A permanent exhibit showcasing the art of Wimberley’s children.
Beyond the project scope
On May 23, 2015, just before the grand opening, a 500-year flood ravaged the Texas Hill Country. A wall of water 30-foot-high inundated parts of Wimberley. In the aftermath, hundreds of homes were destroyed, and thousands of endangered Cypress trees lining the banks of the Blanco River were uprooted. To honor the devastating loss and the resilience Wimberley is known for, I designed a usable fixture and commissioned a local artist to carve it out of a salvaged cypress tree that was uprooted during the storm.
