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INSIGHTS: A DISCUSSION ABOUT “PUBLIC SPACE” DESIGN
Gaddis Architect specializes in all phases of commercial and commercial retail design, design management and construction. If maximizing the success of your business by optimizing the performance of your store, or commercial space design is a goal, then attending the following “Insights” could provide some very real benefits. Many common, and some not so common, design challenges are analyzed. Solutions aimed at increasing retail traffic, creating visual presence in various environments, and expressing not only a particular shopping experience but also the business’s brand, are presented. We think that all design is, on some level at least, retail design. Please scroll on, start a dialogue, contact us anytime.
Store Design: a small product display idea
This photo was taken in Brazil, which is all I know, except that we appear to be looking at the interior of a local museum or some type of tourist information center. Current function aside, the space has a lot to say about an effective way of directing the viewers focus onto perimeter wall displays. In this case we are, of course, looking at all manner of memorabilia displayed in either wall mounted showcases or on the actual walls above. The presentation works because the viewer is first lead into the space by the interesting complex and uniform pattern on the floor which, because of the geometry, displays a slightly directional quality. Then the floor boundary is reinforced by the perimeter border and a visual halt is created by the contrasting blank wall between the floor and the wall mounted cabinets, until the viewer find him/herself peering directly at the wall displays. It is not difficult to see that these could as easily be small product displays. This suggests a great store design for making a visual impact with jewelry or other small merchandise. I worked on a project where the trick was used in a news stand environment to display magazines. Also, installing strip lights under the wall cabinets can emphasize the perimeter and add drama and a great night time presentation.
Storefront Design: setting up a shopping experience
It is such fun to watch excellence in action, no matter where it happens to be found. Even better if it happens to show up in ones particular area of interest. By changing it often, Dash’s treats this storefront design like a blog, allowing it to attract the interest of locals as well as visitors. I walk out of my way just to see what is up. I will be shopping there, thanks to the window, the next time a need a gift for the men in my family. So what makes it work?
To start with, the natural architecture, already oozing with quaint, is given a decidedly turn of the century Austrian flair by dint of the permanently placed gargoyles and wreathe on the transom shelf. Add the multi panned window arrangement and the place might be right out of a BBC movie set; all the better to conjure visions of high quality haberdashery. Add the attention grabbing black and white planter below the window, which by the way is able to counter the reflections on the glass, and then finish the presentation off with super organized visual merchandising, including the message decals, end view of the suits, and pointed ties all lined up in neat little rows like a line of soldiers on parade. The place not only delivers a really strong retail message, it sets up a shopping experience.
Increase Sales with Lighting
Hide the source; light the displays. All Rights Reserved © Gaddis Architect, 2014
I am posting this diagram as a way of continuing the previous discussion on retail lighting. Many retailers don’t consider the possibility of internally illuminated store millwork and fixtures, thinking only in terms of cost and perhaps confused about how and where, in their store, its application might yield the most benefit. Realistically, it is a topic requiring careful analysis and is best taken up with a professional. That said, consciously including some basic store fixture lighting configurations in a store owners pool of ideas can eventually lead to improvements that will increase sales. The diagrams here show four common methods of illuminating merchandise with a hidden light source. Both inexpensive fluorescent strip light fixtures, or recently more often used LED light fixtures are typical for these applications.
- Cove lighting hidden in a pocket along the ceiling or top of a store fixture creates a bright perimeter in any application.
- Repeating it again at the top of an individual fixture emphasizes the front of the displays.
- Adding back lighting to a shelf provides additional reflected light from the top and behind, putting the merchandise in the brightest possible spot.
- Top light from the shelf above also works in a similar way.
- And finally, back lighting behind a diffuse panel illuminates the entire interior and emphasized the profile of any merchandise placed on the shelves in front.