Look Book 1

1. I’m very proud of our involvement in the projects in this book. It
makes the sleepless nights, ‘lively debates’ amongst the team
and hours invested feel very rewarding.
We are an inquisitive bunch of people that thrive on working
closely with our clients and collaborators. Always challenging
what’s gone before and how we apply what we learn to
constantly improve what we do and how we do it.
Investing in technology and innovation in demanding markets is a
challenge we revel in. We love to design, make and deliver great
solutions, keeping things as simple and cost effective as possible,
without compromise to form or function.
From the ground up, we are inquisitive, we research and we learn.
Sometimes we get a bit geeky, but throughout all the projects on
the following pages, that geekiness has added value.
Designing and manufacturing things in a cost effective manner is
a challenge, one that we relish. We keep coming back for more,
always striving to improve. I can’t wait to see another book full.
Foreword
Nick Wraith, Founder

2. “We make beautifully engineered
products designed to get results”
Nick Wraith, Managing Director
A UK based manufacturer since 1990, Unibox has a
wealth of experience working in partnership with both
design agencies and end-clients on projects across
multiple sectors including; retail, exhibition & event,
hospitality, leisure and commercial interiors.
Our collaborative approach and expertise in design
ensures we deliver intelligent solutions that preserve
the original design intention, injecting care, attention,
and ingenuity into everything we create.
A refreshing approach to
manufacturing
RIVER ISLAND
BULLRING

3. KPMG Sheppard Robson
Our reputation and experience in designing and
manufacturing lightboxes presented Unibox with the
opportunity to work with Sheppard Robson Architects
on the illuminated interior graphics for the new hub
for KPMG in Leeds.

4. The design team behind the new building were keen
to infuse the interior with references to Leeds’ heritage
and infamous architecture. Specifically in the atrium,
the heart of the asymmetric building.
Illuminated imagery of historical buildings of Leeds
were proposed for the elevator shaft wall running
across all 4 floors.

5. The imagery was generated via laser cutting a dot
matrix pattern from the aluminium sheet. When viewed
as a whole panel the photographic images came alive.
This graphic effect was achieved by seamlessly
recessing lightboxes into the elevator walls,
behind which were 4000K lighting modules
placed behind a polycarbonate diffuser to cast a
homogenous glow from within the architecture.
This was then faced with a final layer of
perforated bronze anodised aluminium panel.

6. Unibox produces the most technologically
advanced LED lightboxes on the market.
With virtually no size limitations, we have a wide
range of lightboxes enabling our customers to
create engaging, impactful retail LED lightbox
displays, that help to drive footfall, generate sales
and enhance brand awareness.
River Island Lightboxes
RIVER ISLAND
GATESHEAD

7. RIVER ISLAND
GATESHEAD

8. Large format lightboxes were used to scale up photographic
campaigns which were printed onto fabric specially designed
for back illuminated applications.
The fabric is fixed via a silicone edge that is sewn in to the
periphery of the fabric, making it easy to change graphics by
in-house teams each season.
RIVER ISLAND, BULLRING
BIRMINGHAM

9. Unibox has an in-house LED manufacturing
facility, which means we can create all of our light
modules to custom specifications enabling us
to ensure quality and the ability to make non-
uniform shapes for irregular spaces.
RIVER ISLAND, TRAFFORD CENTRE
MANCHESTER

10. KURT GEIGER
LAKESIDE, THURROCK
Kurt Geiger sent Unibox a brief for a custom fixture
aptly named the “forest” concept, which was a based
on cantilevered uniformly lit display platforms anchored
to a central chrome floor to ceiling pole.
The design team had mocked up visuals of the
structure and needed to find a manufacturer that had
the knowledge and expertise to achieve the desired
lighting effect together with the manufacturing
capability to create a custom design within a very tight
deadline.
Kurt Geiger Shelving

11. “Unibox are a fantastic company to work
with. The lead time between concept and
completion was less than 6 weeks! Their
technical and design development capabilities
are invaluable, enabling them to translate
basic design briefs in to something truly great.
A lovely team with whom I hope to continue a
successful collaboration”
Store Design Manager – Kurt Geiger

12. Our ongoing relationship with Tom Dixon is
true testament to our successful collaborative
approach to designing products and systems for
retail.
Unibox played a significant part in providing
fixtures for the Portobello Dock Tom Dixon
flagship store, including a freestanding, double-
sided lightbox with cleverly concealed magnetic
brackets to seamlessly combine illuminated
surface with reconfigurable shelving without the
visual noise of brackets or fixings.
Magnetik Lightbox
Tom Dixon
TOM DIXON FLAGSHIP STORE
PORTOBELLO, LONDON

13. The steel shelves were made unique with branding
CNC laser cut into the corner and coated in
a bespoke matte black finish to match the
surrounding interior finishes.
“The flexibility and versatility of Unibox’s bespoke systems
has allowed us to tailor our retail displays to accommodate
new stock, in our heritage surroundings. The company’s
open attitude towards collaboration, and commitment to
incorporating innovative engineering and lighting in their
systems, encourages us to continue working with them whether
in Milan, New York or at our London base.”
Tom Dixon
TOM DIXON FLAGSHIP STORE
PORTOBELLO, LONDON

14. Working in collaboration with leading retail design
agency Dalziel & Pow, the Unibox team were invited to
develop a bespoke lighting feature for the new flagship
store in Gran Via, Madrid.
Primark Dalziel & Pow
PRIMARK, GRAN VIA STORE
MADRID

15. PRIMARK, GRAN VIA STORE
MADRID
From concept to installation, Unibox was able to
ensure maximum quality and attention to detail by
using unique in-house capabilities to design and
engineer custom aluminium extrusion structures and
bespoke LED light engines.

16. SUPERDRY, ARNDALE CENTRE
MANCHESTER
SuperDry’s growth on the British high street continues as we partner up
for their new ‘Store of the Future’ concept in the Manchester Arndale.
Renowned for their contemporary retail design, SuperDry looked to take
advantage of our expertise in LED lighting & graphic displays to enhance
the store, using lightboxes to highlight each of the several standalone
displays in store.
SuperDry Lightboxes

17. Consulting on the effect illumination would have in store was
key, and with SuperDry’s traditional aesthetic incorporating low-
level lighting, specifying the correct LED Lighting setup was
paramount to a successful environment.
SUPERDRY
VIENNA
SUPERDRY, WESTFILD WHITE CITY
LONDON

18. SUPERDRY, KRANZLER
BERLIN

19. Pillars throughout the Arndale Centre store were
clad with Ledge 46 lightboxes to maximise vertical
surfaces with effective messaging. The 46mm
deep lightbox wraps around corners to challenge
perspectives and provides an opportunity to use vivid
graphics to break up the product display.
Combined with the latest fabric print technology,
utilising ultra violet treatments for fluorescent-
style text and vivid graphics, the lightboxes created
beacons along the customer journey.
SUPERDRY, ARNDALE CENTRE
MANCHESTER

20. River Island required a new shelving solution,
that allowed shop staff to re-merchandise
product displays quickly and easily in line with
changing promotions and seasonality.
The current problem with existing illuminated
shelving was that VM staff were damaging
the cable connections when changing shelf
positions.
So Unibox set about developing a cable-free
illuminated shelving system.
River Island Shelving
RIVER ISLAND
GATESHEAD

21. The core technology inside the
Kontakt system remains the same,
but how it looks is down to you.

22. RIVER ISLAND, TRAFFORD CENTRE
MANCHESTER
RIVER ISLAND, BULLRING
BIRMINGHAM

23. The Kontakt shelving system has a
chamelion-like adaptability & has
been rolled out in River Isalnd stores
in both timber and metal versions
designed to compliment each zone.
A mid-floor, free-standing version was also engineered using
the same principles as with the wall mounted style, ensuring
VM staff have complete flexibility with store layout, whilst
retaining the fuss-free properties inherent with Kontakt.

24. Arcadia approached Unibox to design and manufacture adjustable
illuminated shelving for their new store concept.
The Topshop in-house design team were already aware of our award-
winning Kontakt system, designed to reduce the hassle of re-merchandising
due to the cable-free core technology.
Arcadia Topshop Shelving
TOPSHOP, MERRY HILL
DUDLEY

25. Prototypes were made and tested in the
Unibox factory in Manchester.
The shelves were finished in a matte white
powder coat, offset by a chrome plated
luminaire.
PROTOTYPE
The Topshop team met with Unibox to run through the
design intent. The brief was to design and engineer cable-
free shelves that could be reconfigured swiftly and easily
and that were clean, minimal and in the form of a folded
metal sheet.
CONCEPT IMAGE
A single luminaire projects diffused light at a 45º
angle, ensuring products are evenly and softly lit.

26. The Kontakt system was designed to enable VM staff to
change the height position of individual shelves without
the need to disconnect the electrical connection each
time.
Double track uprights were used to ensure that shelves
could sit adjacently with minimal gap in between.
TOPSHOP, MERRY HILL
DUDLEY

27. Unibox worked in collaboration with new brand
Pantheon Interiors to launch a range of occassional
tables consisting of the 25|25 aluminium system in
highly decorative finishes, paired with a variety of
table top surfaces including veneered stone, cork and
solid surface.
Unibox designed nine structures that are inherently
made up of a kit of parts due to the nature of the
system, thus creating luxury flat-pack furniture that
can be cost-effectively distributed worldwide.
Unibox
x
Pantheon Interiors

30. The Mondrian Hotel at Sea Containers is a
destination, landmark hotel designed by Design
Research Studio under the creative direction
of renowned British designer Tom Dixon. Given
the heritage of the site, the design team heavily
referenced the shipping industry.
As part of the project, Unibox were commissioned to
produce bespoke metal and glass vitrines to display
vintage shipping artefacts including rare and precious
large scale model replicas of shipping vessels.
Mondrian Hotel DRS
MONDRIAN HOTEL LOBBY SPACE
LONDON

31. A lobby space was designed around the hull of a ship
which echoed the hotel’s heritage.

32. The hotel’s luxury spa is located in the basement of
the building, away from daylight. The designers asked
Unibox to create a soft wall washing lighting effect
to enhance the three dimensional wall in the spa’s
reception giving it a relaxed atmosphere.
MONDRIAN HOTEL SPA
LONDON

33. Tom Dixon approached Unibox to design a modular
display system for it’s expanding network of showrooms
across the world. The system was to house and support
a wide range of products including furniture, lighting &
accessories. Designed as a flat-pack kit, the fixtures were
easily distributed across several locations worldwide.
Showroom Fixture
Tom Dixon
TOM DIXON SHOWROOM
NEW YORK

34. TOM DIXON SHOWROOM
NEW YORK
Historically, Tom Dixon products were displayed as multiples in
vignettes. However, with the collection growing rapidly and the
increasing demand for shop in shops, the display method needed
to adapt so that product could be shown as singular objects or
smaller quantities to fit more SKUs into a given footprint.
The modular ‘Sol’ system, inspired by Sol Lewitt, was employed
to create a three dimensional catalogue, giving customers an
overview of the product range but also setting the future aesthetic
for consistent shop in shop display.

35. “Working with Unibox to create the bespoke LED feature was easy.
They understood the design intention and created a cost-effective
solution. Both the design team and the client are very happy with the
end result and I would highly recommend Unibox for a fast, attentive
and friendly service”.
Glyka, Architect & Interior Designer, Holland Harvey Architects
GAIL’S BAKERY, CLAPHAM OLD TOWN
LONDON
Gail’s bakery strive to make each bakery in the
chain unique.
Unibox were approached by Holland Harvey
Architects who specified Neonist in the Clapham
branch scheme to create a robust, neon-like
installation. The design team required illuminated
lettering, cool white in colour temperature to
offset the warm natural backdrop, which was
individually fixed via hidden components – a
seamless intervention.
Holland Harvey
Gail’s Bakery

36. Active In Style is a predominantly e-commerce business, sourcing and selling
new and modern active wear for women.
With the recent boom in the health and fitness industry, which has
subsequently influenced a ripple effect in activewear in the retail sector,
Active In Style were looking to open a flagship store in London to maximise
their physical presence.
Active In Style

37. A lightbox was placed at the rear
of the store for a dual purpose,
to draw customers through
the space and to display the
footwear collection.
The Ledge 65 Magnetik lightbox
is an easy, cost-effective graphic
and merchandise display tool
that is quick to refresh with
new graphics and easy to re-
configure the magnetic shelves
and hooks.
ACTIVE IN STYLE, KINGS RD
LONDON

38. Custom perimeter units designed
to fit into recessed alcoves in the
surrounding walls were made using
the 25|25 modular system for a
sleek, modern and monochromatic
look and feel.
The perimeter units were not only for
in store, but also for pop up events
so the 25|25 retail display system
offered our client a lightweight,
flat-pack kit of parts that could be
easily dismantled and re-assembled
using only one allen key.
A bespoke leather strap feature
was developed to suspend a
timber rail to add elegance and
finish the look.

39. Retail Design Agency, Start Judge Gill,
were tasked with developing a new “Self
Service Account Opening” for a UK-based
high street bank. After creating visual
concepts, SJG approached Unibox for
assistance in turning their concepts into a
reality.
Because of our extensive experience in
retail display, and in house capabilities with
LED technology, we were able to quickly
produce a solution that was installed into
tha Canary Wharf HQ for review.
Start Judge Gill
High street bank

40. The design incorporated
halo lighting surrounding
each panel so that when
in situ, account holders
were drawn to utilise the
self-service kiosks.
For this, Unibox was
able to create custom
luminaires mounted to
the reverse of the panel
which was fixed 50mm
from the wall, creating a
shadow gap.
The luminaires
themselves were fitted
with a blue lea filter,
which was chosen from
an extensive range of
blue hues, to ensure the
blue tone was on brand.
The concept incorporated multiple
bespoke solutions, notably a new
product, known as ‘Kontour’, which is
made up of CNC laser cut lettering
built into a panel with integrated
illumination.
For this project, the devil was in
the detail. Our CNC laser bed can
programmed to cut extremely intricate
shapes which in turn means every
curvature and tight corner in virtually
any font can be realised.
Once the letters were cut from a veneered oak panel, the
individual pieces cut from within each letter were saved so
that when the sign was eventually assembled, the wood
grain remained consistent. A second set of slightly smaller
letters were cut from a sheet of opal acrylic to form the
illuminated part of the sign.
All the cut-out elements were then bonded on to a light
panel which was positioned behind the panel so that only
the opal acrylic lettering appeared to be illuminated.

41. Design studio Spencer Fenton curated a
photography exhibition in collaboration with
Verities magazine focussing on the evolving
trajectory of personal satisfaction in an
increasingly connected and globalised world.
The design duo were keen to use back
illuminated graphics to enhance the vibrancy of
the photography within the exhibtion space.
Spencer Fenton

43. Design Research Studio were appointed by Peyton and Byrne to design the
interior for the RA restaurant, which included a contemporary cubic glass
structure to display an extraordinary collection of sculptures from the RA’s
permanent collection but also to become a room divider to help zone the
restaurant footprint.
Royal Academy DRS

44. Unibox has a vast kit of parts to create modular
displays and structures. A slimline aluminium profile
system specifically designed to hold glass panels to
create custom sized showcases and vitrines was put
forward for the Royal Academy brief.
A matt black finish was applied to the metalwork
frame the objet d’art exhibited within the curated
display.
The glass boxes were reinforced with timber inserts
and secured together via hidden fixings to create a
structurally safe but monumental angular art piece.
ROYAL ACADEMY
LONDON

45. The Alkemistry offers a curated collection of modern luxury jewellery and
was embarking on a pop-up retail display within Selfridges Department Store
and so approached Unibox to create individual glass cube showcases with
integrated lighting.
The Alkemistry, Selfridges

46. Getting the lighting right is key in jewellery
display, which is why we have developed
our own PCB, populated with our ‘Twin
Peak’ LEDs (using LEDs in alternating
cool and warm colour temperatures) to
highlight and accentuate the warmth of the
golds and the cooler tones in the silver and
sparkling gems.
The metal work underwent an electroplating process to
transform the aluminium chassis into a soft brushed brass
cube fit to showcase the precious, luxury merchandise.
All the supporting mechanisms and fixings also received
the same plating treatment to ensure all the details worked
together, including the luminaire, which by design is
discreetly positioned in the top of the frame.

47. Unibox is part of the United Aluminium group.
Lumenal, a sister company which specialises
in advanced LED technology, is on hand to
offer ingenious solutions in how to seamlessly
integrate light with particular attention paid
to elements such as heat dissipation, flux
binning, colour temperature and much more are
thoroughly explored to deliver a solution that
stays true to the desired effect and required
performance.
The panels required for the Carlton House
project were designed to be de-mountable and
so the project benefitted greatly from Lumenal’s
vast experience, who refined the design so
that it was manufactured in a way that could
be easily installed and maintained, without
affecting the quality or light output.
Unibox were approached to manufacture
illuminated wayfinding designed to be embedded
into the fabric of a Venetian Gothic Grade 2
listed building. Integrated LED panels were the
obvious choice to create an eye-catching evenly lit
illuminated panel.
Illuminated Signage
Carlton House

48. We invest in our people.
We have both technical and creative experts to bridge the gap
between concept and manufacture.
An award-winning business located in Manchester
and London, we specialise in engineering aluminium
modular systems and are experts in integrated LED
technology. Combining exceptional design experience,
pioneering machinery, in-house lighting capabilities,
and advanced manufacturing skills, we bridge the gap
between production and creativity.
Straightforward and principled, we are able to provide
our clients with reliable advice thanks to almost three
decades of experience, a strong sense of who we
are, and a clear vision of where we want to go. We
strive to push the boundaries of what’s possible, while
remaining honest and upfront at all times meaning we
never over-promise and under-deliver.
About Us

50. Get in touch
0161 655 2121
info@unibox.co.uk
www.unibox.co.uk
Manchester
Greenside Way, Middleton, Manchester M24 1SW
London
Finsbury Business Centre, 40 Bowling Green Lane,
Clerkenwell, London EC1R 0NE