This case study showcases a conceptual design project where Mancini integrated a Generative AI workflow into the design process. Using computational tools like Adobe Photoshop’s Generative Fill and MidJourney, the team accelerated iterations, improved collaboration with the client, and streamlined the transition from concept to technical design—delivering a distinctive, brand-aligned architectural experience.
Lilly Pulitzer, a luxury clothing brand, has been rebranding to attract a younger clientele while continuing to serve their existing customer base. In an effort to reinvent the Lilly Pulitzer experience, Mancini was hired to design a new interior store concept that aligned with the Lilly Pulitzer brand while enhancing and reimaging it to attract a new generation of women. To achieve this, the design team developed a Generative AI workflow to help present different design concepts, deliver a final interior theme, and transition the project to technical drawings.
To land on a final concept, the design team first pitched several themes: Fashion Artisan, Residential, Resort, and Vias. Generative AI played a key role in creating experience boards for each concept, by visualizing each theme’s architectural narrative and organizing their spatial experiences into five key moments: Arresting Moment, Engaging Moment, Product Discovery, Runway Moment, and the Decompress Moment. The below tours present a cohesive and unique aesthetic for each concept, helping Lilly Pulitzer distinguish between concepts and choose their preferred one.
After presenting each theme to Lilly Pulitzer, their team decided to move forward with the Resort concept. Mancini’s task was to then merge the resort concept with the Lilly Pulitzer identity to exist in a retail setting. This required post-production refinement to align the AI-generated material with Lilly Pulitzer’s aesthetic. By applying a “Lilly Pulitzer filter” in post-production, their team could properly visualize how their brand could exist as a luxurious resort experience.
Generative AI was used to create base images of specific retail scenes, which were then refined in Adobe Photoshop to add the Lilly Pulitzer effect. This allowed Mancini to showcase a luxurious Lilly Pulitzer resort store, including dressing rooms, checkout stations, installations, and product displays. The Lilly Pulitzer filter helped their team better connect with the proposal, sparking discussions on what they did and did not like. These conversations guided Mancini in developing a set of architectural assets to be taken to a technical level in the design of a retail store location.
Once the resort concept was finalized, Mancini translated it into a physical layout, integrating functional retail needs with the experiential design components they had developed. At this stage, Mancini had a clear understanding of which resort assets the Lilly Pulitzer team wanted to incorporate into their physical store designs. Mancini’s job was to then take these assets and apply them to a North Carolina store that Lilly Pulitzer was developing.
Tailoring the design package to the site’s unique spatial constraints, Mancini preserved the unified brand experience and resort concept in a physical layout by strategically placing all the successful resort elements in a cohesive design. At this point, Generative AI was no longer used, and the design team began drafting technical drawings and 3D modeling spaces to produce architectural renderings based on all previous design sessions. Through this process, Mancini successfully translated the resort qualities and assets favored by the Lilly Pulitzer team into a new interior store layout. Ultimately, this process allowed Mancini to iterate quickly and hone in on a design early, allowing the design team to cater to the client more efficiently and more effectively.
