Paula Arkell – Expert Advice how to perfect a window display
05-05-2005
‘Never judge a book by its cover, the same can be said about a shop’
How many times have you walked passed a shop but failed to go in because of the dim windows or to bright interior? Even in the shallowest windows you cannot afford to rely entirely upon daylight to illuminate your display and interiors. If the day is sunny or you are facing the suns gaze it will be obscured by street reflections in the glass.
A well lighted window, like a display, should first attract the eye, and then increase the appearance of the goods presenting them ‘in their best light’.
Good display however is not just about fluorescent strip lighting or copious amounts of spot lamps but a combination.
Fluorescent:
Fluorescent tubes are not the final answer to display lighting. Though they are useful and effective in their right place in the scheme, they are cheaper to operate but the light is cold & under dramatic.
Display is a three-dimensional art, and fluorescents tend to reduce the shadows and make it look two-dimensional. Many warehouses and out of town stores tend to use this as it is meant to create a natural light, but instead it creates a blue light which can play tricks with colour schemes and will give you headaches.
Spot lamps:
Besides highlighting the focus and other important places in your window, spot lamps can deal with many of the specific problems encountered in the practical setting up of the display.
When your display includes: mannequins which are surrounded by props and accessories: jewellery, shoes, ECT that are lost in the shadows cast by their taller neighbours. Spots fitted as footlights, throwing the beam up toward the mannequins, can disperse the inconvenient shadows and restore the visibility of smaller products, directed upon the display, and angled the light falls across the product and can lead the eye to branded names or marketing.
But be careful spot lights heat up quickly and are quite capable of discolouring or even burning combustible materials especially if left switched on for considerable periods. I have learnt this the hard way by leaving a spot light to near some fabric and just caught it in time before it turned into a torch! So please be careful.
How to use light effectively:
Avoid bright lights, directly on a mannequins face, elbows, or shoes.
Use coloured light to create the right setting for the merchandise, save it for props & background. If the coloured light is used on a garment to intensify the colour, stay with pastel fillers:
Pale pink for reds
Pale straw for yellows & oranges
Day light for cool colours
Use spot lights aimed across a display rather than directly down on it. The upper left light can be directed to the lower right side of the display: the upper right light is then directed over to the lower left, this creates a crossover of light.
The lighting in the window display should be checked at night. What may have seemed perfect during the daylight hours, at night may appear harsh.
Always move the lights or change them before they become hot and it’s on a track do not put too many together as you may blow the circuit.
Display lights are expensive to use. It’s wise to set up a timed device that will be automatically turn off all the lights during the night.
When changing a display – change the lights, this is one thing people forget to do!.
If you want to know more about Display & Merchandising, I am running a one day workshop:
VISUAL MERCHANDISING & RETAIL WORKSHOP 2005
Course content:
Sharper sales tactics
Window display
Store layout
Selling/Body language/visualisation
Merchandising
DATE:
TIME:
VENUE:
FEE: £50 including refreshment, and course material and certificate for each delegate.
To book a place on the course contact:
Telephone: 020 8802 5555 fax: 020 8809 5549 email: info@londonapparel.com
