The Art of Visual Marketing

Our society defines and quantifies products or services often through a visual expression. This is where the art of visual marketing is important in its various processes and techniques, whether it is used to promote, sell, or distribute a product or service. Visual marketing permeates almost all consumer and marketing activities.

Why is visual marketing so valuable? Vision is our primary human sense. At a very early age, we use pattern recognition to differentiate and learn the nature of everything around us. The words you're reading right now are a prime example of our unique ability to recognize patterns.

Where is one place our business has the greatest visual impact? How about our window displays? A window display gives others an impression about your company and what you provide. It also is a calling card in that it can draw your customer’s into your store, or help promote a slow-moving item, announce a sale, or welcome a season. Window displays are valuable visual marketing tools but without being set up correctly they can give all the wrong visual cues. What creates a quality display?

Balance: Asymmetrical rather than symmetrical balance with the display.

Size of Objects: Place the largest object into display first.
Color: Helps set mood and feelings.

Focal Point: Where product and props/signage and background come together.

Lighting: Should accent focal point, if possible.

Simplicity: Less is more so know when to stop and don't add too many items.

Like any other aspect of retailing, creating attractive display cases takes a little skill and lots of trial and error. As your store changes, so will your opportunities for visual displays. Keep working at designing eye-catching and innovative ways to make your retail store profitable through visual merchandising.

Visual marketing is also about branding. With branding you are able to build an identity in the minds of your audience. As with creating window displays, there is also an art to this. For one you must try and keep your company’s image clear and concise.

Secondly, look at keeping your company’s message consistent, whether it is in your logo or your storefront display. Brand category leaders are invariably the organizations who employ the best visual marketing. Memorable, appropriate, and consistent visual images are presented across these company’s communication channels. It is easy to see how visual messaging, along with positive customer experiences, drive brand awareness, loyalty and repeat sales.

Any visual cue is going to tell your audience who you are. If you are aiming to be seen as unique, consistent, professional, and persuasive, your visual marketing with your branding must follow. Visual marketing also reaches into nearly every aspect of your communications plan. Advertisements, brochures, sales and informational DVDs, Web sites--the opportunities for enhancing your marketing activities through good visual planning and strategy are endless. No message exists in a vacuum; every message is delivered through a medium. That medium can be well controlled and intelligently utilized, or it can be poorly handled and become a wasted opportunity. Visual marketing applies intelligent planning to all communications media. More than simply design, it's design that is supported by a cohesive strategy.

Yes visual marketing is many things but mainly it is that which defines everything your business is, so take the time to think through the identity of your company and what you would like to present before starting your visual marketing campaign.

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Despre amenajarea vitrinelor de bijuterii 

Displaying Your Jewelry To Sell
The difference between jewelry that gets a second look or even purchased and jewelry that doesn’t is often in the way it is displayed. Many jewelers overlook the importance of displaying their art correctly and feel the work will sell itself. This isn’t always so. So what makes a good jewelry display?

Effective jewelry displays require balance between style and restraint. While there is no perfectly right or perfectly wrong way to show your jewelry, there are a few things to consider.

One feature of a good jewelry display is that it reflects the style and personality of the jewelry line and the taste of the targeted customer. Be as creative with your display props, backgrounds, and textures as you are when creating your jewelry. For ideas, flip through catalogs that feature women’s fashions and jewelry. The idea is not to copy the way the catalogs display jewelry, but to use their settings as a springboard to a great new display of your own.

Of course one can get carried away and put too much into their jewelry display cabinet, which can communicate the wrong message. Picture an entire table filled with bamboo stalks, tiger-print fabric, and driftwood under and behind every piece of jewelry. This is far too busy and cluttered, even if those elements do communicate the style of the jewelry line.

Jewelry should show up against whatever props and background materials you use. A clear crystal quartz pendant would be practically invisible on a leopard print silk scarf, but a chunky silver cuff bracelet on the same scarf would stand out nicely.

A background that contrasts visually with the jewelry will help the jewelry stand nicely. Choose no more than three colors for your display elements and tablecloths - for example gray, white, and blue. Each item you use for your jewelry displays would be one of your three colors. Also choose no more than three textures - for example stone, lace, and linen; each display element would be one of these textures.

When laying our your jewelry display, take proportion and height into consideration. You can use all kinds of things to vary your heights in your jewelry displays, so experiment.
Other ideas for visual interest are to put things at unusual angles, and set props at a diagonal. Diagonals are always dynamic.

Lighting is another critical aspect of showing your jewelry. All jewelry looks best when it is well lit. Whether you are showing your jewelry in a store, at a show or on the street, you can’t count of the lighting to be of the quality you want, so be sure to purchase the right type of lighting equipment to correctly light your works.

Now for practical matters. Be sure all of your jewelry is cleaned and shining. You don’t want to show dusty jewelry or work that has been tarnished. Also, avoid clutter at all cost. Clutter creates confusion in the mind of your customer, which will decrease your chance of making a sale. Keep your display as streamlined as possible without sacrificing interest and originality.

Last, be sure customers can touch your jewelry. While you may be a bit hesitant due to shoplifting, keep in mind that studies have shown that customers are four times more likely to buy something they have touched or tried it on.

Will your jewelry sell or attract customers? This could be entirely up to you and the way you have put consideration into your display.

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Istoria manechinelor de vitrina 

Wax Mannequins and Wax Sculpting History
We are often amazed at how lifelike one can make a wax figurine. Some recall the number of wax museums you could visit when growing up. So what is the history of wax figurines and is wax still being used to create lifelike people?

Beeswax has historically always been an excellent medium for preparing figures and models, either through carving or by casting in molds. At ordinary temperatures, wax can easily be cut and shaped; it melts at a low temperature; it mixes with any coloring matter, and takes surface tints well. Its texture and consistency may be modified by the addition of earthy matters and oils or fats and when molten, it is highly responsive to impressions from a mold. With wax, once it sets and hardens its form is relatively resilient against ordinary temperature variations, even when it is cast in thin laminae. This is possibly why we have seen wax used for modeling since the Middle Ages.

During the Italian Renaissance, modeling in wax took a position of high importance, and it was practiced by some of the greatest of the early masters. The bronze medallions of Pisanello and of the other famous medalists owe their value to the properties of wax: all early bronzes and metalwork were cast from wax models first. The famous wax bust attributed to Leonardo da Vinci acquired in 1909 by the Museum of Berlin is the work of an English forger who worked about 1840. The wax model of a head, at the Wicar Museum at Lille, belongs probably to the school of Canova, which robs it of none of its exquisite grace.

There are a number of very high quality wax figures from the 16th and 17th centuries, mostly portrait figures and religious or mythological scenes, often with many figures. Antonio Abondio (1538-91) pioneered the colored wax portrait miniature in relief, working mainly for the Habsburg and other courts of Northern Europe, and his son Alessandro continued in his footsteps.

Towards the close of the eighteenth century, modeling of medallion portraits and of relief groups, the latter frequently polychromatic, was in considerable vogue throughout Europe. Many of the artists were women. John Flaxman executed in wax many portraits and other relief figures which Josiah Wedgwood translated into pottery for his Jasperware. The National Portrait Gallery has forty wax portraits, mostly from this period.

Meanwhile, as storefronts were becoming popular as was the rise of the mannequin, the idea of using wax seemed the most apparent solution. With wax, models could be created in the most flattering way to the store’s clothing line. One of these great wax model designers was Pierre Imans a mannequin manufacturer from Paris. Imans was known for bringing a beautiful sense of human element to mannequins by capturing body expressions in wax. He created interactive compositions of figures, as though they were in the process of living and unaware that they were also being observed. Heads and torsos were sculpted as one. With a slight turn of the head, a hint of movement was achieved. Hands were more delicately posed to create storytelling attitudes.

Miss Modesty, a wax mannequin of 1899 is a prime example of the development of storytelling attitudes. She stood in a store window, with hands and arms covering her face, stating reservation and shyness because she was wearing and selling corsets and undergarments.

At the turn of the century, the women's suffrage movement was gaining momentum, a definite influence on the female mannequin. In fact, a particular Siegel mannequin that was set upon a turning base (she was without legs) translated into a determined, assertive female of that era. With one arm held back and a hand slightly clenched, her head was high with vision focused straight forward. The other hand was more relaxed, showing a touch of softness. True to the accepted body language of her day, she portrayed the mature woman, with hips thrown back and heavy bosom thrust upwards.

After World War I, countries were plunged into the chaotic realm of picking up the pieces and getting back to the business of normal living. Concurrently, there was a major transition in the type of material used to sculpt mannequins, and there was a move from wax to plaster.

Plaster figures didn't melt in the show windows. They were much lighter in weight, and easier to handle. But at the same time, with plaster, it was more difficult to achieve the detailed features and anatomy that were possible with wax.

Wax figurines are still made today, but not wax mannequins. Today’s mannequin is typically made of fiberglass yet retains the very lifelike features of history’s wax mannequins. Despite the lack of need for mannequins made of wax, the medium of wax is still in high use and may always be due to its numerous qualities.

Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail store displays including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures.

http://www.slstoredisplays.com/

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Scris de Claudia Popa
22 noiembrie 2006

Micii comercianti ignora influenta aspectului exterior asupra consumatorilor

VitrinaO vitrina bine amenajata poate vinde cu pana 30\% mai multa marfa, spun specialistii. Cu toate acestea, majoritatea magazinelor mici, de proximitate nu pun mare pret pe aspectul exterior. Cu toate ca acesta trebuie sa capteze atentia trecatorilor, sugerandu-le cu rapiditate profilul magazinului si elementele distincte fata de concurenta din vecinatate. "Vitrina reprezinta cartea de vizita a oricarui comerciant", spune Sorin Saftescu, directorul firmei de amenajari interioare Cass Design.

Cu toate acestea, patronii actioneaza in functie de propria experienta si de cum considera ca este mai bine, desi stiu ca o vitrina frumos aranjata determina cumparatorii care nu au in tentia de a cumpara sa intre in magazin.
O vitrina bine amenajata poate vinde cu pana 30\% mai multa marfa, afirma specialistii.

In vizitele intreprinse la magazinele mici din Bucuresti am remarcat ca cele mai ingrijite si aspectuoase vitrine apartin celor de firma, ca de exemplu "Medeus"sau "Margelatu'". Vitrinele sunt transparente, iar firmele sunt vizibile de departe. Insa am intalnit o serie de magazine despre care clientii nici nu stiu ce nume poarta. Ma refer la magazinele mici, situate in general printre blocuri.
Vitrina

Intensificarea luptei dintre comercianti si aparitia de noi supermarketuri si hipermarketuri ii va determina pe jucatorii de pe piata sa gaseasca noi modalitati de a-i atrage pe clienti.

Fatada magazinului este o forma majora de promovare a vanzarilor pentru comerciantul en-detail. Aceasta functioneaza ca interfata intre imaginea magazinului si cumparatori, captand atentia trecatorilor si sugerandu-le cu rapiditate profilul magazinului si elementele distincte fata de concurenta din vecinatate.

Vitrina comunica clientilor natura, calitatea si preturile marfurilor oferite de magazin. Este importanta pentru a convinge clientul sa intre in magazin prima oara. Daca este un magazin de lux, pretul nu are ce cauta acolo, mai ales ca acel magazin nu are clienti care intreaba cat costa. In schimb, un magazin alimentar trebuie sa contina cat mai multe promotii, astfel incat cumparatorii sa fie convinsi sa nu ocoleasca magazinul.
Un magazin alimentar trebuie sa aiba in vitrina cat mai multe promotii, astfel incat cumparatorii sa fie atrasi sa intre.

Rolul vitrinei a inceput sa se diminueze o data cu aparitia magazinelor cu autoservire, care au renuntat la etalarile obisnuite si folosesc intreaga fatada cu geamuri pentru a asigura vizibilitatea intregului magazin. Comerciantii folosesc spatiul pentru a comunica promotii. In alte cazuri insa, vitrina este acoperita in totalitate de afise cu promotii la sucuri, bere sau iaurturi si uitate apoi in geam timp indelungat. Foarte importanta e iluminarea, precum si crearea unui fundal, astfel incat privirea sa se opreasca la vitrina, ghicind doar ce contine la interior magazinul.
Vitrina

Pentru amenajarea unei vitrine de catre o firma profesionista, un comerciant trebuie sa aloce in jur de 1.000 euro, in functie de marimea vitrinei. In cazul in care se doreste o amenajare scenografica bugetul alocat poate urca si pana la 10.000. Singurele magazine unde avem de-a face cu vitrine cu adevarat profsioniste sunt cele de haine sau de pantofi, unde, de altfel, concurenta este foarte mare, iar clientii trebuie atrasi prin orice mijloace.

"De exemplu, un magazin pescaresc trebuie obligatoriu sa contina un acvariu sau ceva legat de pestele viu, iar unul de paine ar trebui sa aiba vizibile catre exterior cat mai multe dintre produsele comercializate la interior, dar aranjate dupa o idee, nu haotic", recomanda directorul firmei de amenajari interioare.

Serban Cristian, directorul de marketing al magazinelor Bucur din Bucuresti a declarat ca notiunea de vitrina a disparut din ce in ce mai mult iar clientii sunt atrasi sa intre in magazin de promotii si afise care anunta reduceri de preturi sau produse noi pe piata. "Am folosit la maximum spatiul disponibil si am fost nevoiti sa acoperim partea de vitrina cu o vitrina frigorifica", a declarat Serban Cristian care a precizat ca in amenajarea vitrinei s-a mers pe incitarea curiozitatii cumparatorului.

Spatiul ramas disponibil este folosit pentru promovarea produselor pe care doresc sa le vanda la preturi mici sau pentru promovarea produselor speciale, cum sunt cele ecologice. De asemenea, reprezentantii magazinelor Bucur speculeaza si perioadele de sarbatori moment in care vitrinele sunt amenajate intr-un mod special. Serban Cristian a declarat ca nu s-a apelat pana acum la firmele specializate in amenajari interioare pentru ca sunt costisitoare si abia acum magazinele au inceput sa mearga la o capacitate satisfacatoare.
Pentru amenajarea unei vitrine de catre o firma profesionista un comerciant trebuie sa aloce intre 1.000 si 10.000 de euro.
Vitrina

Catalin Neacsu, directorul magazinului Mon Com din Bucuresti, spune ca amenajarea vitrinei nu este un scop in sine, nu pentru ca ar fi ceva lipsit de importanta, insa a preferat sa mearga pe anunturi. "Avem afisate pe vitrina produse sezoniere, produse care intra in promotie, avem si afise ale producatorilor care doresc sa isi prezinte produsele", a subliniat Catalin Neacsu. Acesta este convins de faptul ca modul de aranjare a exteriorului unui magazin da o nota aparte intregului magazin, insa scopul nu este doar sa atraga privirile trecatorilor, ci sa ii determine sa intre in magazin. "Afisul in sine care promoveaza ceva atrage cumparatorii si ii face sa ne treaca pragul. Daca o vitrina este amenajata frumos, doar impresioneaza si atat. Majoritatea intra atrasi de anumite semnale scrise", mai spune directorul Mon Com, care detine un magazin de 70 de metri patrati, cu servire directa si o vitrina cu o suprafata de cinci-sase metri.

La randul sau, Aurelia Cheles foloseste vitrina pentru anuntarea promotiilor si a reducerilor de pret. Produsele expuse reprezinta marca Aro a lui Metro. Comerciantul este convins ca atrage prin preturile mici practicate in magazin, prin amabilitatea vanzatorilor si prin faptul ca au un adaos mai mic la unele produse. Aurelia Cheles este de acord ca in viitor va trebui sa mearga pe inovatii in prezentarea magazinului pentru a face fata noilor concurenti de pe piata.
Recomandarile unui vitrinier

"Rolul vitrinierului era acela de a prezenta marfa in asa fel incat sa creasca vanzarile prin atragerea clientilor. Pentru a atrage, o vitrina trebuie sa se remarce prin simplitate si eleganta, fara prea mult decor care sa impiedice marfa sa se vada, cateva produse bine puse in valoare, si neaparat ceva special - ori marfa aranjata intr-un mod neasteptat, ori un aranjament decorativ care sa atraga ca un magnet privirile trecatorilor, sa-i convinga sa se opreasca sa vada despre ce e vorba si sa le provoace dorinta de a cumpara. Vitrinele din Romania sunt, in general, foarte incarcate, spre deosebire de cele din Austria si din Germania. Vitrina a devenit doar un spatiu care trebuie umplut cu ceva. In Austria si Germania magazinele alimentare nu au vitrine clasice, atragerea clientilor se face mai mult prin afisarea preturilor decat prin prezentarea produselor in vitrina si asta pentru ca marfa alimentara este perisabila.

Vitrina este locul in care se face cea mai eficienta reclama produselor oferite spre vanzare. Dupa parerea mea, o vitrina este bine facuta, interesanta, atractiva atunci cand il face pe trecator sa intre in magazin sau sa isi doreasca sa posede articolul prezentat in vitrina. Chiar daca nu va cumpara pe loc, clientul va retine locul care i-a placut si in mod sigur se va intoarce si va cumpara ceva."
Mariana Ionita, fost vitrinier intre 1982-1991, in acest moment artist plastic independent in Austria.


Tags: vitrine, amenajare vitrine, decoratiuni vitrine,  iluminare vitrine

Articol preluat : http://www.revista-piata.ro

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'You spend a lot of time up ladders'   Interview by Alex McRae


Steven Dempsey says window dressing isn't just about decorating things

Steven Dempsey, 31, is a visual merchandising manager for Peter Jones department store in Sloane Square, London

What do you actually do?

I run a team of 25 people, creating window displays to attract customers into the shop. The head office issues a brief, and we design displays around that. We do themed displays for Christmas, Easter and so on – we've just done a bridal display with a mannequin on a giant Perspex staircase. I try to make everything aesthetically pleasing, but it's not just about decorating things. We also help customers to find products, using signs and table displays. Promotional sites are always in the same place, so people know where to look, and we place bestselling products at the front. The idea is to make it easy for people to buy what they want as quickly as possible.

What's your work schedule like?

My working hours are 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Weekends are about selling, so you can't be painting or putting up signs on a Saturday. I start by walking through the store, to see if anything has broken or fallen down. Then I meet my team and dish out jobs for the day. It's a really physical job – you spend a lot of time up ladders and changing mannequins, and you get strong muscles from hammering things together.

At Peter Jones, we have 150m of window space, which we change regularly. It takes two days to change a window – one day to strip out the old display, the following day to put in a new one.

In the afternoon we have planning meetings, to discuss our design ideas and how best to promote new products.

What do you love about it?

It's very rewarding, because I get to see all my hard work on display in the shop window on the King's Road. We work very closely as a team, which is lovely as you get praise and thanks from your colleagues. There's almost instant job satisfaction, because you can make a display look amazing if you've put effort into designing it. In December, for example, I'd see our display of Christmas lights twinkling in the darkness as I came into work each morning, and it kept me smiling all day.

What's not so great about it?

You have to be prepared to take criticism. Window dressing is obviously a visual medium, so everyone has different preferences and tastes, and sometimes people can be negative about your ideas. You have to try not to take it personally – there's no point in doing something that the senior managers don't like, for example. You have to be self-critical and look at your work through other people's eyes.

What skills do you need to do the job well?

You don't have to be artistic, but you do need to be imaginative and passionate. We often build a display around colour, so you need to be good at choosing colours and understanding how they go together. You should be upbeat and positive– it's a creative environment, so some of the people you work with can be temperamental.

You have to be open to ideas from the company you're working for. It's not just about your personal preferences. Finally, you need to be fairly fit, as you'll be lugging lots of heavy things around.

What advice would you give someone with their eye on your job?

You need retail experience, and you need to love fashion and home design. But you've also got to decide if you want to work in a shop. If you just want to do the job because you like designing pretty things, it's not for you. You need to be aware of how your displays will affect sales. You can do work experience with a visual-merchandising manager, and there are courses in visual merchandising. But it's mainly on-the-job learning.

What's the salary and career path like?

When you're starting out, you'll probably earn about the same as a shop assistant – from £12,000 to £14,000 a year. As an assistant section manager, you could earn £20,000 a year. A visual merchandising manager earns about £30,000 plus. You could move into a head-office role, designing corporate initiatives.

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