Window dressing is one of the oldest forms of retail art and design and department stores have used this visual strategy since the beginning of retail. And it has since been adopted by street specialty stores and enclosed shopping mall tenants alike.
This article was written by Triad Manufacturing, one of the leaders in custom store fixtures for retailers. Feel free to contact them for your fixtures and Mannequin Madness for your mannequins.
It’s a pretty well known fact that window dressers — or visual merchandisers — understand how to make a window work best for a retail brand.
When implemented successfully, well planned and designed windows attract, captivate and tell a story. They successfully stop passers-by and convince them that they need to walk into the store to see what else is going or find the rest of the story that was briefly introduced in the window presentation.
There are actually different ways to use art in window design and, more importantly, to understand that art comes in different forms and mediums – graphics, paintings, wall or freestanding sculpture, fabrics and even lighting effects.
Of course, with today’s technology and digital offerings, video monitors can also play an important role.
Here are 2 unique approaches to using art as part of the display:
1. The art can be the main statement, especially if the merchandise on display is smaller in scale, or the window is larger than typical size.
2. Art pieces can be a background support element to merchandise or frame the merchandise, serving as a secondary focal point.
Some retailers approach window design tastefully and with a minimal touch. Others throw as much as possible in the windows thinking that it is better to show as much as visually possible!
