window design

Beautiful shop. i love the smooth concrete floor and how it made to meat the wall seamlessly.

The use of a tension wire being used as a rail, which at first glace it looks as if the clothes are suspended in mid air.

in store display

Visual display creation.

Visual display creation: Balance 
This relates to positioning of items with reference to the amount of space between them and optical weight of the objects location.
Correct balance is achieved when the presentation shears equal optical weight.
There are two main compositions. informal balance and formal balance

Informal balance: relies on the visual merchandiser using various objects but still creating an even distribution of the optical weight.

Formal balance: is easier to create because the same objects are used to create a mirror image.

Informal balance

Formal balance

Visual display creation: Dominance
The use of one single item lager then the others or accented by light so that is stands out from every thing else in the display.


Visual display creation: Proportion 
 The relative sizes of items or products in comparison to the space around them.

Visual display creation: Shape and patterns
The shape of the display dictated some what by the area in which the display is to be placed

Single unit: a single prop or mannequin form dressed
Pyramid: where props and products are placed to create a pyramid.
Step: gradual increase of product height with or with out the support of props.
Fan: objects are arranged so that they are radiating out from a center point.
Line: making of points along or to form a straight or curved mark
Grid: square of cube approach with various design appreciates to height.

Window Design. Tiffany & Co

Phantom of the opera window scheme.

Christmas in New York 2004. Bloomingdale's Phantom of the opera window scheme.

In store merchandising

This section of was may seam boring consisting of only two colours, but it is a simple way to crate a strong statement  with in your store.

Interior graphics and signage.

Interior graphics and signage can be used to show a brand or specific products, 
identify classifications of product within your store, and, depending on the size of your store, offer direction to various departments. As well as educate customers by announcing a sale, promotion or discount. 
If you are selling a brand-recognized product like Lenox china or Calvin Klein watches, it may be beneficial to highlight that product with a small strategically placed sign of their logo near the product. 

Repeated or related photos can be used throughout the store to reinforce a scheme  or an overall look.  They can set the scene for a special event, or season such as back to School, summer or Christmas.

Remember that the merchandise is the main focal point and that signage is meant to enhance your presentation.

window

River Island eye catching window display.

Visual Display Creation: Cross-Mix Merchandising

Cross-Mix Merchandising is displaying a variety of seemingly unrelated products together to create a comprehensive visual story. This type of merchandising communicates breadth of product and educates your customer about merchandise they may be unaware that you carry.

Cross-Mixing Merchandise within a Window can increase the visibility of your store image and promote the look of a certain lifestyle for customers to buy into. It illustrates the variety of selection or breadth of product you carry.

To cross-mix you can use larger items within your product lines as props for smaller items. Pottery Barn has created vignettes that cross merchandise items like adirondack chairs, lanterns, outdoor dinnerware and throws. They carry the theme into the store by creating smaller versions of the vignette throughout various departments of their store. Williams Sonoma created a window display including a large graphic of cherries in bushels behind a selection of product including a Cuisinart, ceramic pie plate, measuring spoons, pastry board and checkered towels. Their theme "pie making" was stenciled on the window. Tiffany created a cross-mix window representing a "fantasy" lifestyle. A small picnic table, chairs and mosquito net served as prop back-drops for a selection of high-end dinnerware, crystal, candle holders, pitchers and serving pieces. A wide-brimmed sun hat was draped over a chair on gravel flooring and a floral arrangement completed the picture.

Cross-mix merchandising within your store's Interior can increase UPTs (units per transaction). It makes the customer visualize how they would use an impulse item after the sale is made and helps to confirm the decision to purchase an item. This can be done by highlighting an impulse product with demand items. Some retailers create entire anchor areas within their stores by cross merchandising product by a particular theme. For instance, they might display all of the product they carry for the bathroom in one area including soaps, scents, bath towels, soap racks and toothbrushes and all of the product they carry for the home office in another.
The Nature Company recently offered a Shark theme display within their store that included stuffed, inflatable and animated floating sharks, video tapes, books and even novelty items, including floating Shark tooth key chains, shark lights and tee shirts.

This is the theme wall for BHS with Mixed Merchandising products form the bedding section, bathroom and lighting,

Tips for Cross-mix merchandising:

• Retailers today often sell merchandise by portraying a dream lifestyle for the customers to buy and take home. Sell your products by selling dreams.
• Remember to keep your cross-mixed visual merchandising displays clean and to the point. The average customer views a focal display of merchandise for about one second.
• Be sure to place displays featuring cross-mixed products in high traffic areas and as focal points within a department. Don't be afraid to use both demand and impulse items in your display. 

Visual Display Creation: Merchandising Similar Product Together.

Merchandising similar product together can create a dramatic impact, while quickly educating a customer to the depth of product you carry within a given category. This type of merchandising presents a visually clean image and makes the best use of the customers' time in your store by making it easy to identify where the product is located.

Displaying similar products together in a window is called creating an impact window. This type of presentation is dramatic and creates an awareness of the variety of a particular selection inside the store.
For example:

• If you carry an extensive line of mugs, you could create a dramatic presentation by simply stacking your product in the window. 
• A store like Williams Sonoma might construct a display incorporating every variety of flavored vinegar they carry. 

Placing similar products together inside the store is called creating a shop interior anchor area or niche. This is sometimes called creating a store within a store. These areas are the basic building blocks of your store and this type of interior organization is most commonly used by retailers. When you create an anchor area, merchandise is usually placed together with similar product, brand, color or texture. For instance, all of your lamps will be in one section, perhaps organized by brand, while all of your stationery will be in another. This product grouping works especially well for demand items. It allows your customers to quickly find what they are looking for and to see the breadth of product you offer within any given category. You may want to create a focal point which incorporates cross-mix merchandising within each area.

in store mercandising

See it, like it, buy it.

The key principle is to generate sales through visual displays with product adjacencies instore. merchandising products next to mannequins, wall graphics and displays.

The products on mannequin clusters should be placed on the fixtures next to them.

If you have wall graphics, placing the products on the wall next to them on on the  walk way fixture in clear vuie of the graphic.

Placing a fixture beside a bedroom home display with the products on. is a good way to inspire the customer.

See it, like it, buy it.

The item on the large graphic can be found on the mannequin in the image below .
reinforcing the window.
The items then can be found on the fixture beside the mannequin display. encouraging  customers to buy.

In Store Merchandising

Suggestions for positioning mannequins.

• Make the mannequins look interesting. They should “mimic” the people in the street. Try to give the mannequins “feeling” as if they where in a tableau.

• Think of the total environment of the window and display. The mannequins should blend in with the environment that you have created. 

• Mannequins have their physical good sides, angles or positions that they are best viewed from. Consider the most attractive view of the mannequin.

• Mix your mannequins such as a pair of male and female mannequins in the ladies area or a family of mannequins (mother, father and children) in the children’s area. This is eye catching and has an element of surprise to the shop.

• Treat each department differently, (sports wear/sports goods women's wear, children's, men's wear) when creating displays spechily with the mannequins, if you are using them to lead in to each department

• Rotate your mannequin groups regularly. and re-position them. If they stay in the palace customers start to look at them as store fixtures and they stop doing their job. try to this every 1 to 2 months.

• Avoid mixing window mannequins and shop floor mannequins, as floor mannequins tend to look more tired dur to the amount of contact they have with the public

Mannequin displays

The placement of mannequins, weather in a window display or within the store,
Some of the factors that will effect the planning of the display

Season: spring, summer, autumn, winter, Christmas.
Lifestyle: is it for sporting goods holiday merchandise.
Customer demographics: age group, income level job type
Most important- the merchandise its self
Theme of the presentation
Area: Is it to be a floor display or a window display?
Lighting 
Props
Merchandise to be displayed.

Each department should be treated separately when creating a display.
Rotating different posed mannequins around will keep the displays looking fresh.

Mannequin dressing

Steaming and ironing.
All items should be ironed or steamed all wrinkles removed and pleats pressed, when items are used on display.

Layering:
Layering is known as a silent salesman, showing the customer a complete ensemble or wardrobe that works together.
Example:
a t-shirt under a jacket. To give it the extra touch, neck wear, jewelry or other accessories may be added.

Bottom of clothing 
Some items will naturally tapper at the ends, however typically the clothing will simply hang if not attended to in another way. more so if your using a tailor form - a dress makers dummy.
One approach is to gather the bottom with a belt, scarf or tie.
Another is to fold like pleats and pinned together

window design

sight lines and focal points.

Sight lines are located at the natural point that your eyes are drown to as you navigate the shop.

so the majority are at the ends of walk ways or positioned to catch your eye as you walk around the store.
these sight lines should apply both as you are entering the store and leaving. therefore keeping customers.  interested throughout their shopping experience.

At the end of these sight lines are focal points which should be used to the entice the customer around the store.
Focal points should show the most enticing products with a strong visual interest. Or offers to attract customers. This may mean you might have to adjust your merchandise lay out.

Visual display focal points are often commonly viewed in the round and not necessarily  just from the front. So balance in these areas is required from all angles

Lighting should never be forgotten, remember that where the light is focused, the eye will typically be drawn to.

Sight lines and focal points.

Sight lines and focal points.

focal points/hot spots.

Sight lines.

Laying out the sales floor

A key to laying out a sales floor is the positioning of products. Visual merchandisers will often divide up the sales floor in to four areas which can be defined by colours: Platinum, Gold, silver and Bronze.  Some retailers may instead numbers.

Platinum: Is the first area of the store, right in front of the entrance.
Low priced, sale, promotional items or high fashion items are best placed here. This is because this area will always  attract more customers and more sales

Bronze: this is the area at the back of the store and will draw fewer customers due to the distance from the main doors. Therefore it is the best place for a stable or a desirable product or brand, there for to encourage  customer flow through the store.

store layout.

In order to begin making changes to the product placement in your store you need to map out an overall plan. To do this, you first need to recognize the current traffic flow of your store and develop a plan to direct traffic flow so that customers will shop your entire store and with their attention focused where you would like it to be. By strategically placing demand/destination products and impulse items throughout the interior of your store, you can balance the traffic flow throughout your store and increase your overall sales by making the best use of every square foot. Start by taking the pulse of your merchandise selection from the front to the rear of your store and follow these tips for redirecting customer traffic to maximize your sales:

Marks And Spencers window scheme

Colour:

Coordinating colour effectively should be considered thoroughly. To many colours can look ghastly as well as to much pattern and can destroy a well planed display as well as losing the focal point.

The most commonly used schemes are based on six variations: Complementary, split Complementary, double Complementary, triadic, analogous, monochromatic.

Complementary: two colours which  are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel.
Split Complementary: use of three colours, one main colour and two appearing either side of it on the wheel ( yellow, orange and green)
Double Complementary: four colours. Two main plus their complementary colours.
Triadic:  Three colours that are equally spaced around the colour wheel.
Analogous: Two or more colours that are next to each other.
Monochromatic: black and white

Colours are also associated with human characteristics and emotions.

Red: Passion, love, anger
Orange: Knowledge, warmth, energy, force
Yellow: Caution, cowardice, treachery, madness
Green: Wealth, outdoors, luck. Nature, envy
Blue: Fidelity, sobriety, fear
Violet: Royalty, depression
Brown: Maturity, humanity
White: Purity, truth
Black: Death, depression, sorrow