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How do you design a retail space that doesn’t sell products, but connections? For Iliad, we transformed the most recognizable element of its world—the SIM card—into a three-dimensional, luminous, and replicable architectural structure: a small landmark designed to be featured in over 200 Italian shopping centers.
A retail business without boxes, shelves, or products to take home raises an interesting question: How do you make something intangible visible?
In the case of Iliad, the product is a service. It’s a connection, an offer, an experience that takes place through a screen, a Simbox, and the support of the staff at the Pop Corner. The design of the new Pop Corners therefore stems from the need to give the brand a physical presence and make it immediately recognizable in high-traffic areas, where there is little time to get noticed and visual stimuli are abundant.
The starting point was one of the smallest and most iconic objects in the world of telecommunications: the SIM card. Its rectangular shape, with soft corners and a distinctive cut, is enlarged, expanded into three dimensions, and transformed into an architectural structure that people can walk through.
What normally fits inside a smartphone thus becomes large enough to accommodate SIM boxes, information screens, service stations, and a dedicated space for customer service. In short, a SIM you can live in.
The new design consists of a continuous white frame that rises from the platform, extends across the ceiling, and returns to the floor, forming an open enclosure. The dark interior creates depth and contrast, while the red Iliad logo, repeated on the various sides, ensures brand recognition from every approach.
The Pop Corner does not have a main façade. It is designed to be experienced from all angles, because foot traffic inside a shopping center is never one-directional. Each side serves simultaneously as an entrance, an information area, and an urban landmark. The rounded corners guide the eye and reduce the feeling of bulk, allowing the structure to fit seamlessly into open spaces, intersections of walkways, and passageways.
A line of light follows the inner perimeter of the frame and continues along the platform. The light emphasizes the shape, visually separates the corner from the existing floor, and creates a sort of boundary without the need for walls. The space is clearly defined, yet remains accessible and open: you can enter from multiple sides, observe the workstations in action, and immediately spot the staff.
At the center are the Simboxes, the most recognizable elements of the Iliad in-store experience. The design doesn’t try to hide them but instead makes them the focal point of the project. The contrast between the white of the stations, the red of the operational tools, and the dark background makes them easy to understand, while their layout allows customers to use them independently without interfering with those seeking assistance.
The vertical screens built into the sides transform the structure into an updatable communication tool. The Pop Corner can showcase mobile, fiber, and business service offers without altering its physical structure. Next to the Simboxes, small cylindrical tables hold informational materials and display the iliadbox, finally giving the world of home internet a tangible presence as well.
The first Pop Corner was unveiled on June 16, 2025, at the CityLife Shopping District in Milan. The project involves the redesign of more than 200 Italian retail spaces and brings together mobile plans, fiber service, business solutions, self-service activation, and in-person assistance under a single format.
The true complexity of the project, however, lies beneath the simplicity of its form. The Pop Corner was designed as a prefabricated and replicable system capable of adapting to the varying conditions found in shopping centers: available dimensions, pedestrian flow patterns, utility locations, flooring materials, and operational requirements.
The structure consists of components that are manufactured and assembled prior to installation, thereby reducing on-site labor, making it easier to control timelines and costs, and ensuring consistent quality across the various openings. It is not a single object designed for a single location, but rather a true family of configurations united by the same formal language.
The modular design allows for variations in the orientation of the workstations, the position of the screens, and the opening of the sides, without compromising the overall recognizability of the structure. The SIM remains clearly legible, the logo retains its visibility, and the lighting system continues to define the entire perimeter.
The Pop Corner thus functions on two levels. From a distance, it serves as a landmark: a bright white shape that stands out in the often-fragmented landscape of the shopping center. Up close, it becomes a service space where technology and human presence coexist.
The project does not showcase a product, but rather brings a promise to life: the ability to understand an offer, activate it independently, or receive support without stepping into a traditional store. The architecture becomes an interface, the lighting defines the space, and the design conveys the brand’s identity even before the customer reaches the screen.
Because sometimes, to make a connection tangible, you first have to create a space around it.
iliad – Official Press Release
MediaKey – “iliad Redefines the Shopping Center Experience”
Youmark – “Iliad Revamps the Look of Its Retail Spaces, Drawing Inspiration from the SIM Card”
TechPrincess – “iliad’s Pop Corners are redesigning the brand’s retail spaces”
