Looks Real to Me

Learn about the importance of window display settings and how they support your brand image!

Tiffany & Co. (Source: The Best Window Displays)

When in a shopping area, one thing that stops shoppers in their tracks is store window’s. As a visual merchandiser, you must know the power of an effective window display. A window display can communicate a theme, or story, to consumers. With your creativity, you can cultivate a memorable display that tells your store’s story.

A window display’s purpose is not only to attract the eyes of passerby’s, but to turn passerby’s into customers. You must be able to entice passerby’s to the point that they begin to imagine what it would be like to own the merchandise you are displaying. Choosing a window display setting (an approach to set the scene for the merchandise or the concept to be sold) will help achieve this. The fun part of this is the variety you can choose from: Realistic, Semi-realistic, Environmental, Abstract, and Fantasy/surreal settings. Visual merchandiser’s will know which setting best fits their store image and the theme they want to present.

A great example of a window display setting being used effectively is shown in this Tiffany & Co. display in New York during 2012. Realistic setting is being used. With this technique, you create a true to life display that is so realistic that it grabs everyone’s attention. But, when you select this setting, you are taking the risk of the viewer paying attention to the background more than the merchandise being displayed. Tiffany & Co. avoided this issue by making their merchandise the center focal point of the display. The beautiful jewelry is shown as the perfect gift for the holiday season. And, the snowy steps of the front door look so realistic, you can almost reach out and touch it!

Takeaways

As you can see, the theme/story of your store can shine through a window display. With creativity, and the selection of the best window display setting, anything is possible. I hope you gain some inspiration from Tiffany & Co.’s display.