VISUAL “CLIFF NOTES”: Is Any Visual Project Ever Complete?

Any real VM worth their weight knows that you are never finished and your passion always surpasses your project.

Have you ever looked back at your portfolio and thought to yourself; I would do this differently? This longing to improve lives at the core of the VM. It’s something that can help you improve from one project to the next but it can also be the anchor holding you down from moving forward.

Here are 5 easy steps in knowing when enough is enough in any visual program so you can finally know when to stop.

1. Does it focus on or contain the following key items: product, placement, and props. A mannequin in a dark space with a simple pin-spot light holds the same visual weight as a cluster of forms within a forest of trees and floor of leaves. Light and placement on the single mannequin adds to strength/interest of the visuals and story.

2. Does it hold the attention span of the customer causing them to stop/pause and take in the visual moment? Based on my experience with windows this should 12-15 seconds and 15-20 seconds for an interior visual moment. I’ve always stepped back and become an observer of all those walking by these visual moments to study the behavior of the client as they walk by the setups and I’ve been known to approach the client to ask why they didn’t stop or what caused them to stop to better understand the human behavior. Learn from your customer, there is no better teacher than the one whose attention you are seeking.

3. Are you providing information or a learning moment to the customer? This comes from signing and some sort of educational moment, assigning features and benefits are a core requirement. The educated customer is the “norm” so it’s better to always play to this person. Yes logos are a always recognizable and should be used vs converting to a font.

4. Does your setup have a sense of emotion? People shop visuals by the “feeling” it exudes. Place a stand with a shoe in the aisle and no one cares, now add a bag on a stand next to it and still no one cares. Add a mannequin that is styled correctly and talks to the event that ties in that bag and shoe and you have a “emotional moment” that’s recognizable to the client.  This causes a pause and creates an engagement moment.

5. As in my previous Cliff Notes it’s all about “lighting”.  Creating differentiation moments on the floor and in-department allows for the eyes to understand what’s different and where we are to focus. For example Box retail stores most are created with a flood of ceiling florescent lights that’s equally pushed onto the floor, this allows for absolutely no differentiation between goods. A lighting specialist is key and the most important in my opinion; pin-spotting, washes of lights are always welcomed touches. I’ve also been know to turn off and remove above lights when it’s not necessary for the space. Lightning should never be forced onto an item simply because it exist in the ceiling.

“The soul of a store can be seen through its windows”

Until next time....

Dennison