For over a decade the high street has been significantly impacted by a shift in consumer habits. Places that once used to be bustling with trade, are now desolate areas filled with boarded-up storefronts and closing-down sales. This project aims to develop a place branding strategy for UK high streets, with implementation of experiential design, to improve the consumer’s experience of high streets, and therefore increase footfall. The project will explore the wants, needs and expectations of high street consumers, as well as using expert opinions to gain insight into what needs to happen to improve high streets from a practical point of view. To support the findings will be an extensive literature review, which focuses on theory and the effectiveness of place branding and experiential design, plus the relationship between the two. A community-centric approach instead of meeting economic demands could pose as a more sustainable long-term solution rather than a quick fix that is not maintained.
