PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — April 7, 2022—Award-winning architecture, design, and strategy firm NELSON Worldwide has merged operations with Daroff Design Inc + DDI Architects, PC (DDI), an award-winning, internationally recognized interior design and architecture firm headquartered in Center City, Philadelphia. With almost 50 years of history as a certified Woman Business Enterprise (WBE), DDI joins the NELSON team with shared values. The firms come together to solidify their commitment to creative design solutions that thoughtfully respond to client objectives and transform the human experience. 

“We are extremely excited that Karen Daroff and her team will be joining NELSON,” notes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at NELSON Worldwide, John “Ozzie” Nelson Jr. “Since launching Daroff Design almost five decades ago, she has led the firm to national and international prominence and has received many accolades along the way. I am looking forward to her having the opportunity to continue her legacy alongside our team.” 

NELSON has been one of the industry’s most aggressive integrators in the AEC industry. It has previously acquired well-known Philadelphia-based companies such as H2L2, Space Design, Cope Linder, and Brinjac Engineering and is continuing to scale. As part of a long-term strategic growth plan for NELSON, the merger will combine the firm’s strengths to address its clients’ challenges with ingenuity to provide unexpected design solutions and unparalleled client service. DDI’s creative team, grounded in innovative thinking, combined with NELSON’s industry knowledge and geographic reach, will allow the firm to expand and strengthen its ability to deliver exciting and emotionally connected experiences within the built environment. 

Founded in Philadelphia in 1977, NELSON offers a breadth of services that transform and touch all dimensions of the human experience, including architecture, interior design, graphic design, and brand strategy. The firm creates and delivers brand experiences, compelling environments, and smart solutions across the spaces we interact with daily—where we work, shop, dine, stay, serve, live, play, and thrive. DDI joins NELSON with an expansive project portfolio across the workplace, hospitality, multi-family, and public sector. The firm specializes in facility programming, master planning, and the design of innovative, efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable spaces. Some of DDI’s most notable clients include Comcast, NBC Universal, The Durst Organization, Vanguard, Disney, JetBlue, Loews Hotels, St. Regis, Ritz Carlton, PIDC, Sheetz, MGM Resorts, Parx Casino, and Harrah’s, among many others.

“I am excited and proud to have our DDI team join forces with NELSON, a company I’ve long admired. NELSON and DDI share many of the same values and are aligned both in spirit and our strong commitment to hands-on client service and design excellence,” comments Karen Daroff, IIDA, President + Design Principal at DDI. “When approaching this merger, it was important to identify a company with a large and dynamic national presence to better serve our clients. I am also personally thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with team members nationally and service our clients with a national footprint.

This is an amazing opportunity to integrate our teams, bring together our shared visions and to have a strengthened presence in our merged Philadelphia Headquarters.”

NELSON will welcome 25 employees from the DDI team alongside Karen Daroff. She will provide hands-on leadership for NELSON’s hospitality practice and become a senior leader within the firm’s Philadelphia interior design team. Both firms are committed to managing a seamless transition for employees and clients. 

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About NELSON Worldwide

NELSON Worldwide is an award-winning firm, transforming all dimensions of the human experience through architecture, interior design, graphic design, and brand strategy services. With more than 800 teammates spread across 20 offices, the firm’s collective network provides strategic and creative solutions that positively impact where people work, serve, play, and thrive. The team combines industry knowledge, service expertise, and geographic reach to deliver projects across the country and around the world. Client partnerships across the NELSON network include: Hilton, Macy’s, Comcast, Simon Property Group, Prologis, Yum! Brands, Boston Consulting Group, T-Mobile, Emory Healthcare, SAP Fieldglass, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Kroger, Hyatt, Bayer, Target, and many more. 

Visit www.nelsonworldwide.com to learn more.

About Daroff Design Inc. 

Daroff Design Inc + DDI Architects, PC (DDI), is an award-winning, internationally recognized interior design and architecture firm. The team specializes in the facility programming, master planning, and design of innovative, efficient, cost effective, and environmentally sustainable facilities for their workplace, hospitality, multi-family, and public sector clients. Working in diverse design vocabularies, their creative team, licensed to practice throughout the US, is widely recognized for their integrated design process and for creating emotionally connected experiences.

Now celebrating nearly 50 years in business as a certified Woman Business Enterprise (WBE), DDI provides its clients with a wealth of creative, and technically skilled design and project management services. They have been consistently recognized as a leading, innovative design firm both by the US and world design press, including regular inclusion in Interior Design’s Top Hospitality Giants and Contract Magazine’s Top Workplace Design Firms.

This new Chicago-based office embodies company culture and creates an engaging space for employees.

Both employers and employees alike crave workplaces that embody company culture and tell a compelling story of the brand they work for. So, when it came to relocate its longtime office in Chicago, the American Library Association (ALA) tapped design firm NELSON Worldwide to deliver a new space that would excite and motivate staff while leaving a lasting impression on members and visitors. Read more here.

NELSON Worldwide’s Tom Horwitz tells HOTELS Magazine how Tempo by Hilton guest rooms take the complexity out of travel. Read more here.

Barbara Riekse of NELSON Worldwide shares how companies can make the workplace a sought-after destination that employees are excited to return to. Read more here.

NELSON Worldwide announces the addition of Vicki Eickelberger as Northeast Regional Leader. Based in the firm’s New York office, Eickelberger brings over 23 years of leadership, brand, and storytelling expertise, offering a new approach to experiential design, culture, and the power of physical space as an engagement tool to further activate NELSON Worldwide’s boundary-pushing designs for clients.

Corix chose a 22,000 square foot space on the 36th floor in a downtown Chicago high rise as its new headquarters and brought on NELSON Worldwide to complete the build-out. The company wanted the  space to be designed for easy engagement and collaboration among its staff. Read more here.

A lot has changed in retail since the 2017 EuroShop Fair. Bringing the biggest trends in retail to one global platform, we were excited to head back to Dusseldorf this year, eager to see something new alongside 94,000+ retail professionals from 57 nations across the globe.

Showcasing innovations in food service to store design, we left EuroShop 2020 with new ideas and insights on the trends that will continue to transform the retail industry. Curious to see what topics were top of mind? Keep scrolling for 5 key takeaways from this year’s event.

[1] A New Consistency

Today, it is important for brands to create experiences that are both bold and memorable. Brand channels no longer have to look and act the same for every group, and the idea has shifted to developing environments that resonate with local consumers or niche groups. At this year’s fair, we tuned into an insightful session titled “Creativity Is the New Consistency” that explored what brands need to do to cater to this shift in economy where change is the norm and experiences come first.

[2] Digital Transformation

The growth of e-commerce and the offering of data, insights, and analytics is taking retail to an entirely new level. Retailers are investing in phygital, e-commerce, and mobile application solutions to leverage technology that drives internal optimization and creates a more vibrant customer journey.

At the 2020 show, digital price displays and stock robots were popular products, underlining how retailers all over the world are focused on efficiency. Being able to show customers real-time price updates and quick stock information not only helps customers but employees.

[3] Bold Experiences + Versatility

According to Michael Gerling, Chairman of the EuroShop Advisory Board, “The success of e-commerce is a real encouragement for retailers: they have understood they have to give their shoppers good reasons beyond the ranges to enter their stores. This competition has taken retail to the next quality level. Investment is being made in shop fitting to create customer journeys.”

By designing with experience in mind, retailers can fulfill consumers’ desires, whether that be offering a moment of discovery, the opportunity to personalize, or maybe just a moment to relax.

[4] Conscious Consuming

As society becomes more aware of carbon footprints, consumers everywhere are taking into consideration the impact of the products, services, and brands they decide to interact with. As seen at this year’s fair, retailers have recognized this movement by moving toward more sustainable practices – whether that includes utilizing sustainable design materials or investing in strategies to reduce waste. Alex Athanassoulas, CEO of STIRIXIX Group questioned this new trend while identifying rules retailers will need to follow to adapt to a more sustainable operation and gain consumer trust.

[5] Elevated Service

Alongside a strategically designed space, providing elevated service starts with empowering in-store associates with the tools needed to enhance the customer journey. For example, at Johnnie Walker’s Madrid flagship, service is king. Not only was the store interactive featuring personalization and digital moment, but employees who are trained on the brand’s product, offer insights and knowledge of what to buy and how to use it. When a store becomes a place where people can learn, the experience suddenly becomes more elevated, trustworthy, and meaningful.

Balmiki Bhattacharya has joined NELSON Worldwide as an industrial practice leader. Based in Seattle, Bhattacharya will integrate design programs to maximize operations and investments while also helping create a strategic, sustainable plan for the firm’s future. Read more here.

“From curbside pickup to dressing rooms, every customer interaction needs to be purposeful and personal.”

In a recent article with Chain Store Age Magazine, teammate Meredith Seeds discusses how the future of physical retail is intrinsically tied to how well retail brands can lead and follow their customers. Read the full article here.