At Blake Jarrett, we live and breathe retail design. We understand the importance of the consumer journey, and meticulously design every last detail to deliver the best experience possible, no matter what the environment. We’ve been busy working on one of the US Lotteries first to market flagship retail store for Washington State Lottery. The flagship store, The Department of Imagination, is located in Spokane, Washington.

It was a great honour to have the opportunity to take this retail store design from concept through to completion. Working on a team of experts across the industry, the Blake Jarrett team designed, engineered and manufactured the “Department of Imagination”, showcasing a new and innovative, best-in-class approach to lottery retail design. The intention of the space was to allow consumers a spot to learn about the lottery, play and redeem winning tickets in a fun dynamic environment.

The Blake Jarrett team was commissioned by Washington’s Lottery, through Wunderman Thompson, to design and outfit the new “Dept of Imagination” retail store. Impressed by Blake Jarrett’s previous work in the lottery industry, Washington’s Lottery was eager to collaborate with a trusted partner to help shape the strategy behind this innovative space.

The Washington’s Lottery Department of Imagination features digital, interactive and graphic menu boards throughout the store. The high visibility of these key features continues to draw in consumers both reoccurring and new.

In conjunction with Washington’s Lottery, IGT, Wunderman Thompson, NCI, Optika Display, and Carmanah, the Blake Jarrett team led the new store build project from its conceptual design phase through to store completion, loaning our industrial/retail design and manufacturing expertise to the development of a new innovative lottery space.

Inspired by the notion that the Department of Imagination store needed to become a destination as opposed to a ‘quick stop’ for the lottery consumer, the Blake Jarrett team worked with the other project partners to develop a cohesive strategy for the build that made the best sense for the brand and that would create an environment with staying power.

**Imagination Tables equipped with COVID-19 acrylic shields & hand sanitizer station for consumer safety considerations. Interactive touch screen for consumers to enjoy an in-store lottery experience.**

The store design captures interactive-touch screen technologies, a ‘Winners Lounge’ and a beautifully crafted display case which has the capacity to display the Lottery’s full selection of full-size tickets, as well as a Featured tickets area. This immersive space allows the current lottery consumers to come to enjoy the lottery that they love, but also rediscover it in a new way.

The Service Area (above) integrates the illuminated scratch ticket display case, lottery branding and fully dynamic menu board system. Meticulous detail was considered to accommodate all of the POS, peripherals, accessibility requirements and ticket… — The Service Area (above) integrates the illuminated scratch ticket display case, lottery branding and fully dynamic menu board system. Meticulous detail was considered to accommodate all of the POS, peripherals, accessibility requirements and ticket inventory considerations.

Since the store opened during the pandemic, the Blake Jarrett team designed a sophisticated, custom COVID-19 safety solutions kit. This included high-quality branded acrylic shields for all counters and imagination tables, hand sanitizer stations, and safety wayfinding graphics to ensure proper social distancing. Prioritizing consumer well-being, the team focused on creating a safe and comfortable environment as an integral part of the overall experience.

To date, the store has exceeded expectations, achieving up to 3.6 times the projected weekly sales—despite the retail challenges posed by the pandemic.

Returning customers and new visitors alike have expressed their curiosity and excitement about the store’s fresh design and overall aesthetic. Their engagement with both the lottery offerings and the innovative space has played a key role in the store’s incredible success.

At Blake Jarrett, we’re thrilled to see what the first year holds for this unique retail space. We’re truly grateful to have been part of this amazing journey and look forward to our next collaboration with Washington’s Lottery!

The Best Lottery Retail Store Design – Washington's Lottery Department of Imagination