Known for more than a century as San Francisco's premier chocolate / confection purveyors, the story of Dominic Ghirardelli's talent for making his signature 18th century confections became a fascinating project. EffectDesign brought together a team of former Disney Imagineering concept designers to develop design for a 'manufactory tour' - where visitors would experience the real process of chocolate making. Our visions became reality as plans and sketch elevations depicted a fully transformed building in the heart of San Francisco's landmark Ghirardelli Square.

Our team's idea of "environmental storytelling" appealed to the Ghirardelli Company's marketing group as a way to describe the intricate hand-made process behind their product in a dynamic way. Through live interaction with chocolate makers and their specialized machines visitors see, hear and smell everything Ghirardelli. Historical images and audio enhance the tour as visitors go back in time to days when one of San Francisco's original entrepreneurs began