The space story continues… I talked about how design of
spaces creates ambiance for activities that are going to be performed there. A
neatly designed cozy reading corner accentuates the joy of reading whereas a
well lit, colourful space will encourage children to learn new things in a
cheerful way. In case of commercial spaces ‘design’ has to go a step further
beyond ‘setting the mood’ to ‘influence’ the user to ‘indulge’ in that
commercial activity i. e. buying if it’s a shop or gaining information if it’s
an informative exhibition/museum.
Retail spaces are narrating ‘brand story’ to the customers
as they are moving around. Along with 'Space Design' designer has to work on
‘Brand Design’ with equal attention. All elements in the space like floor,
walls, ceiling are designed to make the ‘brand’ impact.
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| Interior of concept store Eka, Bengaluru Image source:http://retaildesignblog.net/2015/01/13/eka-concept-store- by-frdc-bangalore-india/ |
Specialist visual
designers called ‘Visual mercendisers’ are hired to design window and interior
displays to attract customer’s attention. These displays are visual treat for
window shoppers and many a times lead the shopper from only ‘window’ shopping
to actually purchasing that item. It is the store ambience which distinguishes
a brand from other competitive brands in the same shopping mall. ‘Store
ambiance’ is one of the prime factors to influence the shoppers to revisit the
place apart from quality and service. It helps in building brand loyalty.
Retail space design becomes even more important in the era of convenient
e-commerce where the store ambiance has to fetch customers in physical
environment.
Apart from actual point of sale, exhibitions and museums are
other forms through which a brand is communicating with customers. The designer
has to take care that the spaces enveloping the users aid best connection
between the product/information displayed and the user. The Digital age equips
the designers with new tools and mediums to make exhibition spaces more
engaging. At the same time it demands the designer to be updated in his/her
skills in digital, graphical, experience design along with space (spatial)
design. Earlier exhibitions were mostly in the form of a large trade pavilion
divided in smaller stalls dedicated to particular exhibits. But now they are in
diverse forms as an event, as a performance or an installation. It offers
designers opportunity to explore their creativity.
Exhibitions are temporary while museums are permanent.
Exhibitions focus on the products the brand offers whereas museums focus on the
philosophy, evolution of that brand. Automotive brand museums like Porsche,
BMW, Mercedes Benz are good examples which display brand evolution of the
brand. A visit to these places is an enchanting experience.
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Museum at T2 Mumbai International airport is visual treat for visitors
Image source:http://im.rediff.com/money/2014/jan/20airport5a.jpg
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Another interesting type of space design is stage or set
design. Designer has to give ‘feel’ of actual space as per the theme in given ‘limited’
space of theatre stage or film set. Designer uses key elements representing the
theme creatively to design the stage or set. Interesting feature in this case
is that the audience can experience this space only visually. Lighting design
plays important role here.
There are courses available for professional training in
retail design, exhibition design and set design. While other specialized
interior space design like hospitals, schools, factories, offices etc. one gets
to learn by assisting professional designers having gained basic training in
interior design, interior architecture design or architecture.
Some useful links
Note:The writer has no rights on the images used
in this article.
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