Brandscapes
In tough economic times, retailers need good design more than ever, says INDU VARANASI
Varanasi: Designers
should “listen” to the
product
It may be a thought, to begin with…there is a product for sale and there is a buyer for the product.
A transaction is conducted and both are happy! Is life so simple? Obviously not. The products are many, buyers many more and their needs even more. But transactions have to be made; preferably in an ambience that enhances the needs, perhaps even transcends needs and also creates an ‘impulse’.
And that is where the design comes into play.
Design needs to be sensitive to the subtle nuances of the product, it’s ambience which may include the product placement, product visibility, product accessibility and how the buyers reacts to it all.
Every product offers its own characteristics; it is almost human like and a designer should be able to hear the product speak.
Jewellery is always displayed in counters, usually manned because the product is special and not an everyday purchase, so its casing is special, as is the counter, its lighting is focused and the ambience it is sold is in special. And “design’ creates this speciality.
On the other hand, take for instance garments in a chain of fashion stores – they speak as an attraction. The t-shirt may not be needed but we like it, why do we have to like it? Partly because of the advertisement and partly because of the way it is displayed (especially if it is a purchase on impulse). And ‘design’ creates this need.
To make an impact, any product is sold by placing the product or an advertisement of the product in the line of sight. It should interrupt the light of sight, force the attention towards it and in this way it becomes the informer.
Once the light of sight is created, it is essentially to be able to reach it easy and fast without getting distracted.
The placement of the product is just as important,we cannot have ladies shoes displayed next to the men’s toilet areas, even if it is the line of sight. If clothes are being displayed, there should be adequate space around it for customers to touch and feel. The designer has to allow the product to speak to the customer too.
The power of good design is to create an ambience which highlights the strength of the product.
It is the materials used, the colours of the store, correlation patterns and most importantly, the lighting of the store that creates a reaction between the product and customer and good design acts a catalyst to create the purchase.
The beauty of retail design is that it speaks to the customers at one level and also speaks to the product. It is in the interest of the retailer that they think about the setting of the product they are selling, never forgetting the human factor of customer service. Design always needs to be responsive.
In tough economic times that extra effort should come through as the response to human factors; either in enhancing the physical environs through changes in colours, branding or even lighting. The response to an ever-changing, ever evolving, ever inviting retail outlet is much more than a static one. In most cases the designers need imagine the responses, the reactions and produce designs which work beautifully for everybody: the retailer, the customer, and in some unknown way, the product as well.
Indu Varanasi is the principal of Dubai-based retail design and interior architecture firm, I R Design. She can be reached at indu@irdesign.org
Thanks
i r design FZ LLC
Dubai Media City
Building No.8,
Office No. 216,
Dubai,
United Arab Emirates
Website: http://www.irdesign.org
Contact Person : Indu Varanasi / indu@irdesign.org
Phone 1 : +971 4 3625280
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