Windows Lecture notes PDF

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Christie Hand; CTE 3835...

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CTE 3835

9/19/18

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Windows: Introduction: - Window displays can entertain, educate, and stimulate demand - Strategic window designs draw traffic into the store from the street and support sales - Windows help shoppers project themselves into the displayed merchandise. Window Display Theory: - A display window’s fashion image must be: • Strong enough to stop foot traffic • Compel window shoppers to enter the store • Locate the time in the department - Effective fashion windows mark the first stop in a planned progression that leads shoppers from viewing to purchasing Closed Back Windows: - This is a typical display window facing the pedestrian or street traffic • Full back wall • Sides • Large plate-glass window • AKA an enclosed window - Small stores may have a single display window, or a pair of windows, often separated by the entrance into the store - Bank of windows: • A “run” or long group of windows • Often in larger stores, some specialty stores, and downtown department stores • Stores with a lot of frontage - 2, 3, or 4 windows, and then a physical divider between the windows • Doorway • Wide area of masonry (pier) • Small shadow box - The display window may also be one very long run-on window of 20 feet or more • Architectural dividers • Create division - Issues: • The biggest problem with window displays is the glare in the glass - Cuts down on the visibility of the merchandise • The other issue is reflection: - Depends on the type of glass used • Tinted glass affects the color of the merchandise and requires more energy to light the window properly • Curved windows can be even more disastrous than flat glass when it comes to reflections

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• Deeply recessed windows leave costly pockets of space that might otherwise be used for storage or selling - Floor: • Most display window floors are raised anywhere from 8-9 feet to 24 feet from street level • A raised floor makes it possible to dramatize an object by forcing the viewer to look up to it. • Some stores have installed raked floors - Back of the floor is several inches higher than the front - Creates a ramp effect

• A few stores that are located in cities, have elevator-type windows - Elevator platform that can be lowered to basement level - “Window” is prepared, raised, and set to the desired level • Some visual merchandisers rely on platforms and risers to elevate groups of merchandise or mannequins for greater visibility, separation or dramatic impact

• Floor finishes can include: - Parquet wood tiles - Carpets (usually a neutral color) - Floorboards cut out of fiberboard to cover the existing floor (either painted or covered with fabrics)

- Vinyl floor tiles to create color and style changes - Back: • Back of the traditional display window goes from floor to ceiling and is usually fully constructed

• Some stores hav removable panels - Change from a closed-back to an open-back window • Convert the display space into selling space or open-back • The part of the constructed window back that faces into the store may be part of the main floor interior - It may be shelved - It may be hung with merchandise - Backup for a counter area • In some stores. there is a storage area between the back of the display window and the actual selling floor • Access the window space through a door or sliding panel • Back wall is usually a neutral color • Can be altered with graphic panels, vinyl wallpaper, appliqués, or draperies - Ceiling • Often quite high and made of concrete • Window lighting equipment often set into the ceiling • If there is a side lighting source, it should be covered or hidden behind panel • Ceiling grid:

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- Useful for attaching props, hanging elements, and lighting - Sidewalls: • When window displays are constructed as “rooms”, sidewalls may be painted out or used as part of the display theme

• Can use panels or fins set against the front glass and angled in toward the center of the window

• Panels or fins: - Limit the view of what is on the sides - Concentrate the viewer’s sight line on center stage • The angled panels also add a feeling of depth to the window - Create an aspect of forced perspective - Lighting: • Greater opportunities for magical lighting effects - Highlights featured merchandise - “Paints” the background a complementary or accenting color - Dramatizes the setting by creating ambience • Place mannequins and merchandise as far back as possible to reduce the effects of glare and reflection

Proscenia: - This is a structural arch that is used around the window glass - Basically, the proscenia is a frame and is used to: • Accentuate the display setup behind it • Hide the pipes and lighting fixtures • Provides a promotional or seasonal theme • Unifies and adds a dramatic and coherent quality to a group of windows • Makes the window opening suitable to the scale of the merchandise to be presented Masking: - Masking turns a large area into a small shadow box - Reduces the size of the window • Makes an opening for viewing that is smaller - Enhances the enclosed presentation: • Appears more important and concentrated - By using the mask concept, vertical dividers can create a series of openings out of one long stretch of glass Open-Back Windows: - Offers a direct view into the selling area and beyond because there is no back wall - Problems: • Reflection and glare

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• Lighting • Background presentations • Extra effort to maintain a sense of excitement in the window • Competing for attention with in-store merchandise and lighting - Can use some type of divider to partially block the view of the store interior • Panels, screens, draperies, ribbons, curtains, etc. - This can help create a positive background for the merchandise featured in the window

- The attention of the viewer should be diverted to the area in front of the panel, to-

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ward the window foreground To capitalize on daylight and save energy, the display person may use narrower background panels When a decorative device is used to separate the selling area from the window space • Should be finished on both sides Should complement the merchandise being displayed on both sides • May need to use different finishes There are many different types of dividers that can be used to separate the space between the window and the inside of the store These include: • Plants • Curtains • Ribbons • Fine metal mesh • Security grids • Beaded chains • Etc. If not using a divider, take advantage of the view of the store interior from the street • “Dress” the area directly behind the window • Especially successful in small stores and boutiques Lighting the open back window must always be balanced • Window lighting will have an effect inside the store Lighting the back of the window may mean lighting the selling floor

Island Windows: - Has glass on all 4 sides - Presentation can be viewed from all angles and directions - Nothing can be left “unfinished” - Issues with island windows: • Lighting: overhead lights will be visible from some direction, no matter where they are positioned • Light on the glass can create a “barrier”, preventing the merchandise from being seem

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• Glare and reflection are amplified - Usually one view is played up and the others are played down depending on the traffic pattern in or outside the store Shadow Boxes: - The shadow box is a small, elevated window • Close up presentation of special merchandise or accessories - Lighting is usually limited to a very few mini-spots or pinpoint spotlights • Lights are generally directed right on the merchandise - The glass is special: durable for security; expensive - Usually about 3 by 5 feel, either portrait or landscape - It’s also shallower (18 inches to 24 inches deep) and higher from the street level than the standard window display - Often appear on side streets or on either side of a store that has a foyer - Color contrast is important for shadow boxes Elevated Windows: - An elevated window floor may be raised up to 3 feet above street level. It may only be 5 feel tall and the display area may be very shallow - Best techniques utilize merchandise groupings • Flying technique • Lay-down technique Deep Windows: - A very deep window, even if it’s of standard height and width, presents several problems: • May require too much merchandise • Too many mannequins • Too much energy to light the back of the window • Wasted space - In an open back window, a screen or drapery with a finished back can reduce some of the depth of the window - Also provide a setting for another display, one that’s viewable from inside the store - In a closed back window, a new “back wall” must be built closer to the glass line - Can use the space between the existing back wall and the new back wall for storage of: • Props • Fixtures • Mannequins Tall Windows: - Tall widows are usually 9 or 10 feet in height - These kinds of windows utilize proscenium and masking to cut down the size of the window

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- The lighting in this type of window is usually so far above the merchandise or -

mannequin that accent lighting is useless Instead, they rely on side lighting or they have to lower the lights to a better level Take full advantage of the extra height and raise the mannequins onto pedestals, piers, or columns Merchandise can soar to create new and startling effects Mannequins should be staggered on different levels: creates rhythm

Make-Your-Own Display Windows: - New, popular shop front: • Sheets of glass from floor to ceiling, either flanking glass doors or off to either side of the glass entry - Visual merchandiser must often create their own “window” - In an open facade store with no glass, you must create a display at the store line • Creates interest or excitement - Could also use risers, platforms, mannequins, props, etc. to create an island display

Window Merchandising Functions: - Fashion apparel windows feature: • The store’s newest trend merchandise • How current trend garments may be coordinated with accessories - Housewares window features: • The latest dining trend • Candles, dinnerware and table linens that relate to the dinner theme • Furniture and home furnishing accessories - Promotional window features: • Products that are part of an advertising strategy promoting an entire line of goods, a single item, or a special storewide event • Holiday themes - Sale windows: • Announce the store’s manor sale events • May not feature any merchandise at all - Drive-by windows: • Masses of merchandise, larger-than-life graphics, backdrops, and intense, welllit color schemes - Live or demo windows feature: • Live models - Interactive windows feature: • Invitations to passersby to interact with window displays by touching sensitive panels on the exterior glass Housekeeping:

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Displays must begin with a thorough dusting and glass cleaning Ensure that fashion items have no tags or threads showing Make sure lighting is pointed on the merchandise and away from windows Revisit displays daily that are accessible to shoppers and reposition or replace merchandise that has been handled or sold - Make sure the lights are pointed at the mannequin...