Project Evaluation

I have always been interested in owning fashion store and this project has give me the perfect opportunity to explore my ideas. 

I guess it was my determination to manifest my idea that got me through in the end, it started to become a troubling task (very expensive) mid way through , but I am happy with the results. Through the process I learnt a great deal about Visual Merchandising and how much work goes in to do a window play and a shop layout. Now that finished everything I now know what I will do different and I better to make use of color theory or combinations. The project give me great insight on how I can create my own fashion store and the cost of the window display, to creating the logo and how many needed for different spaces.

Constructing My Display

Final Poster Images

These images will be crop to 800-mm by 2000-mm. These are the final poster images that will be put up at the exhibition.

Hyde Park Pictures 2

Hyde Park Pictures

Shop Standard of Presentation

Mens fashion Pictures

These images are examples of man fashion

Final Project Space Proposal Image

Final Project Space Proposal

Final Project Space Proposal

I am creating a window and store layout for a high fashion men store. The final presentation of my work will need to be a scale model of what the features will appear inside a store. I am requesting 3meter wall space to full be able to present my work to the fullest light. So to give the atmosphere of you are in a high fashion store .I will be having two posters showing male models, the poster will be 60cm width and 2.5 meter long. The logo will be 60cm squared as that is the average size for an in store logo cutout that normally place on walls.  I be have some folded clothes on a wall shelf and the clothes will be folded to the standard of high fashion brand. The shelf is a length of 110cm x Depth 26cm Thickness 5cm. There will be a clothed manikin on display, which the fashion department has kindly allowed me to borrow for the show.

 

I do understand that a large wall space to be requesting, but it is fully needed to fulfill the vision that I have for this project and to take it to that next stage of making it into a real high fashion mans store. I have also invited the head creative of the Arcadia group to come to the degree show and that are all more than willing to come and see the out come of the project.

Chosen Logo

Logo Ideas

Visual merchandising Explained

Visual merchandising, until recently called simply merchandising, is the activity of promoting the sale of goods, especially by their presentation in retail outlets.(New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1999, Oxford University Press). This includes combining product, environment, and space into a stimulating and engaging display to encourage the sale of a product or service. It has become an important element in retailing that is a team effort involving senior management, architects, merchandising managers, buyers, the visual merchandising director, designers, and staff. Visual merchandising starts with the store building itself. The management decides on the store design to reflect the products the store is going to sell and how to create a warm, friendly, and approachable atmosphere for its potential customers.

Many elements can be used by visual merchandisers in creating displays, including colour, lighting, space, product information, sensory inputs such as smell, touch, and sound as well as technologies such as digital displays and interactive installations.

Visual merchandising is not a science; there are no absolute rules. It is more like an art in the sense that there are implicit rules but that these also exist to be broken for striking effects. The main principle of visual merchandising is that it is intended to increase sales, which is not the case with a "real" art.

Visual merchandising is one of the final stages in trying to set out a store in a way that customers will find attractive and appealing and it should follow and reflect the principles that underpin the store’s image. Visual merchandising is the way one displays 'goods for sale' in the most attractive manner with the end purpose of making a sale. "If it does not sell, it is not visual merchandising."

Especially in today’s challenging economy, people may avoid designers/ visual merchandisers because they fear unmanageable costs. But in reality, visual merchandisers can help economies by avoiding costly mistakes. With guidance of a professional, retailer can eliminate errors, saving time and money. It is important to understand that the visual merchandiser is there, not to impose ideas, but to help clients articulate their own personal style.

Visual merchandising is the art of implementing effective design ideas to increase store traffic and sales volume. VM is an art and science of displaying merchandise to enable maximum sale. VM is a tool to achieve sales and targets, a tool to enhance merchandise on the floor, and a mechanism to communicate to a customer and influence his decision to buy. VM uses season-based displays to introduce new arrivals to customers, and thus increase conversions through a planned and systematic approach by displaying stocks available.

Knightsbridge Pictures 2

Knightsbridge Pictures 1

My Project Diary

Week 1

Wrote a brief for the window display for men store. I work for Hugo Boss UK I was able to get an interview the VM for Hugo Boss UK at head office to let me know the processes of how the company go through to create there window display for the current season collection.

Week 2

I was able to get hold of the studio manger at Topman Mrs Emma Murphy and asked her if she can help me in my research of the can help with process of how their window displays for their stores. Mrs Murphy told me to send her a email and she will forward to the department that deals with that section, to make sure I get all the help that I needed for my reach.

Week 3

I had to wait for Mrs Taylor creative Assistant for the company to get back to me, finally she emailed me back to confirm she had received my email, and she was willing to help me in anyway she can. Within that time I was looking at the at window display of all my favourite shops.

Week 4

It took me about two weeks to one get hold of Mrs Taylor over the phone because she was one on business for about 10 days and she got back to me, I explained what information I needed from her, and I even send in the brief I created and she was able to email me back and give me all the information that I needed and more.

Week 5

The information that I was provide by Mrs Taylor, I had to start thinking about the location of the store and what does the store have that makes it stand out, for where the store is locate will reflect what the target audience will be. I also started making thinking and sketching down what the name of the store will be and what impression it will have amongst it competitors. I was also developing the value of the store brand (what it stands for). Also from the research I gained, I had to think of how does the brand of the store will communicate to the target audience with the window display and layout of the store, will it have a boutique feel or it will be another high street store.

Week 6

I went to Knights Bridge and Slone Square to view the window display of the store that was there and the demographic they appeal to. I took photographs of Harrods, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana and Billionaire. They was a similarities to the stores that are locate in Knight Bridge, they were very grand, and classy and at times simple but still maintaining that high-fashion atmosphere. Out all the stores in Knights Bridge one store stands out to me in a way I could imagine, that was The Giorgio Armani store, the design of the store was breath taking, the walls was something out of ancient Rome feel to it, but the standard of folding and presentation was immaculate which make the store grand and I noticed a big difference between Giorgio and Emporio Armani in the sense of style of clothing and price. It seem that Giorgio Armani was for a more mature audience while Emporio was for a more youthful audience.

Week7

 I began to make my inquiries about how much the logo would cost to be made. I was very surprised how much it would cost, based on me still going with the ‘oh Boye’ logo idea. The signs companies were giving me quotations up to £900 just for the logo. So asked how can I bring down the costs, I was told by the various companies the size, number of letters and materials that it made from, also lighting effects and installation cost. By now I started to get frustrated with creating a name for the store, this was due to me over thinking the store name, for the over thinking was starting to going in the way of I was creating a clothing line. I had to remind myself that I creating a men’s store not a fashion house. This allowed my thinking to be free and stay with the name JO that are my initials.

Week 8

Two of my friends agreed to be my model for my project and for me to take pictures of them at Hyde Park, central London. I had to play stylist to let them know what kind of look that I was going for. I use the lake as a backdrop for a lot of the shots. I even manage to get a kind gentleman to use his Harley Davidson as a prop for some of the shots and I was able to go to the Austin Martins show room in Park Lane, to use in the pictures also. I was able take some pictures of the Hugo Boss store in White City, to show the high standard of presentation that a luxury mans store presents.

Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising should be used to create impact, as the average shopper spends less than 11 seconds considering a window.  It needs to talk fast, about the product, its price and more importantly its desirability.  The design concept and development of a store will only work once you have recognised, who your consumer is and what they want from a store experience. 

Research areas to consider;

• Visit different types of stores in the Knightsbridge area, with regards to design concept, materials, store names and aesthetic.  Are there any similarities and is this due to the demographic location. Do a Comparative Shop.
• Store design of the Brands mentioned, with regards to location, materials, layouts, garment displays.  

• Who is your target audience and why will they want to shop at your store? PEN PROFILE / SOCIO-ECONOMICS.
• What are your brand values?
• What will differentiate your store from your competition?
• Who is your competition?
• Will it be affected by the recession?

Visual merchandising;

• How frequently will the window displays be changed?  Note: boutiques generally changed weekly, with garment up-dates to promote latest stock.
• Props?  Permanent or non-permanent
• Where will the materials by sourced and why? Cheaper / quality / environmental / innovation
• Do you have a budget and are there any areas where you could save money?

Process stages;

• Comparative shop – research (photograph) stores for design inspiration
• Mood board – collate images found (secondary and primary research)
• Pick key garments / trends to promote in-store.
• Create a design scheme around the chosen trends. Note: the design scheme must be flexible, enabling you to up-date the store layout / windows.
• Send designs to suppliers for quotations
• Create a 2D example of your desired window / layout.
• Install in-store – the design should represent your stores values and encourage your consumer to want to shop. 

Key elements used to communicate from Head office to stores are;

• Trend info – using info collected, create a trend booklet this will help direct and support decisions made at a later stage.
• Component positioning – computer generate example of how your garments/ props will be displayed in the window(s) and in-store.
• Garment positioning – key garments should be found at the front of the store.  This should be monitored weekly to maximise product exposure.
• Layout – garments and accessories should be displayed throughout the store.  Display key pieces on mannequins, with accessories to compliment.
• Mannequins - styled to promote and represent the key trends.
• Checklist – of all the visual merchandising elements and previous ideas. 

Proposal Window Display

I will be creating the logo, window display (Visual merchandising) and shop bags for high fashion men’s clothing store called Oh Boye. The location of the store will be Knightsbridge, London. Oh Boye is a men clothing store that will give the widest range of men clothing in London, the store will have three level of shopping space so they will not need to go anywhere else. The competition will be the likes of Harrods, the Emporio Armani store, The Hugo Boss store and Harvey Nichols. The atmosphere will be lively all around the store with a modern look with a classic finish to the stores layout.

In order to complete my project, i have made enquiries with the Senior Creative Studio Manger and Creative Assistant of the Arcadia Group; owners of Topman, Top Shop and Burton. Both heads of the creative departments of Hugo Boss Uk and the Arcadia Group have offered to advise me in this project in the area of research in Visual Merchandising.

T-Shirt Concept

This is a urban Donald Duck drawing that i created for a t-shirt design that i was creating. I will be show an urban imagery of Donald Duck has you not seen him before. The Concept is similar to what the italian clothing designer Iceberg Jeans. Iceberg Jeans created a collection of clothing called Iceberg History which had images of famous cartoons characters on them, the Loony Tune ( Bug Bunny and Daffy Duck). But unlike Iceberg i am changing the look of the characters giving them a urban or street look to them. For Iceberg kept the cartoony characteristics while I'm not.

Ed Hardy T-shirt

Ed Hardy by Christian Adigier

In my research i will be looking at Christian Audigier (Ed Hardy). Christian Audigier is the CEO and head designer of Ed Hardy. The name Ed Hardy is a world famous tattoo artist, Christian Audigier owns the licensed rights to produce the high end clothing in the Hardy style.

Ed Hardy's tattoo style of t-shirt with the pictures of skulls, snake with text that say love kills, he style of t-shirt does have an oriental theme at times with the fishes, tigers and  dragons. 

Ed Hardy design clothing is the in things at right now people can't get enough of his designs right now especially on the urban scene. Personal i see the image as shocking at times over the top, but with  the same breath i find the image very artistic with some great imagery. Ed Hardy is still a high end fashion brand with t-shirts costing around £110.