Creative Store Windows

The Basic Rules Of Design

Once you live on alert and your idea comes alive, how do you proceed?

Design: Reduce confusion

Unless there's a clear theme or topic, organize the objects by:

- color

- texture

- use

- (life)style

- or any other common feature.

Design: Beauty in composition

Sometimes the idea you want to showcase involves a theme or topic.
When that's the case, you should keep in mind that you shouldn't try to replicate a real situation.

When creating store windows you should strive to create impressions.

You can't replicate something like a swimming pool or the beach. That would be overkill.
You need to extract the beautiful lines, colors and forms and perhaps some appropriate display symbols.
When you use an object again and again and it establishes a pattern, you get harmony and focus.
Generally, the large items are the focal points and are the featured merchandise.
The smaller surrounding items should support the large items. These items may be products like accessories or props.

Design: Color themes

Color is the first thing a customer notices.
The most exciting displays are dominated by one color.
The next obvious question is how do you decide what color to use?

The dominant color in your merchandise usually determines the color in the display.
For example, in the display on the right the most dominant color in the merchandise (Rosé Champagne) is pink.

Color also establishes a mood like happiness.

In addition, the customer identifies color with price, quality and style.
In this case, the color pink is associated with love.

It's important to know that too many colors in equal amounts confuse the customer and weaken the presentation. It's ok to showcase lots of products of all shapes and sizes in a store window, but you don't won't it to look like a big mess.
The way to deal with a big mess is to strip your idea of too much color.
That's when the beauty of minimalism comes alive.

Remember: More often than not, less really is more!

Tip : If red earrings are hot, dress as many of the mannequins as possible with red earrings.
Enhance the earrings with red belts or shoes and this will strengthen the color theme.
Don't worry about using too much of the same color.

Design: Lines

You can use lines to connect shapes or objects so the eye follows one object to another.
Or you can use imaginary lines to accomplish this.

For example, in the photo on the right, you can see how products are used to create an imaginary line.

Obviously, there're all kinds of lines: straight, crooked and curved.
Vertical lines create impressions of strength, permanence and stability.
Horizontal lines create feelings of dignity, calm and order. Diagonal lines create attention.
Curved lines are ideal to confine the contours of objects or to create an endless motion like a wave.
Crooked lines are everchanging.

Focus on Usage / Function

Create a scene showing how the products can be used.
Mannequins are perfect for this.
For example, you can show them while they are at the beach, or while they are playing in the snow, or having fun in the kitchen.

Visualize what it would be like for your customer to buy your products.

Creative ideas for window displays that focus on usage & function can be found here

Focus on Lifestyle

Your products enhance someone's lifestyle.
If that lifestyle matches your store's brand then try to find objects that go hand in hand with that lifestyle.
And use them in your window display.
This will turn your window into a magnet for anyone who associates him or herself with that lifestyle.

Go here when you're looking for some inspiration.

Nature

Tap into nature's genius.
You can find everything in nature: love, grand openings, drama, elegance, ...
Use the beauty of flowers, the darkness of forests, the rich color of butterfly wings, ...

When you would like to see some really good ideas for your window displays that make use of nature's genius, click here

Fairytales, fiction & dreams

Position your products in a fairytale window and tell a story.
Think of Snow White who looks into the mirror or bites into a poisoned apple.
Or think of The Little Mermaid and the Sea Witch. A circus act or a magic trick.

For a few ideas on how to use fairytales, fiction or dreams in your window displays, jump to this page

Nonprofit organizations

Celebrities & Photos

Talk to your vendors, ask for some big photos or posters and special displays that you can place in your window displays.
Try not to give up your creative control, because in the end, it's your store, it's your brand.

Go here to see what other store owners and visual merchandisers did.

Holiday spirit

At times shopping is a necessary function.
Sometimes it's a therapy for the stressed out souls.
But during the holidays the actual buying or window shopping is also a form of entertainment.
It's something that can not be replicated online.
Your windows should be your gift to the city, your gift to your customers.
Your gift needs to reflect your unique take on the holiday season and spirit.

Usually, the holiday theme takes center stage and your products become the props that enhance the holiday spirit. For example, you have a Santa Claus in your window and your products (the Christmas gifts) are the props.

Below you will find some very specific windows and links to windows for all kinds of holidays. Enjoy!

Christmas Store Windows

Click here to see some really amazing Christmas Window Displays. There are some really good animated Christmas Windows on that page as well.

Inspiration for Valentine's Day

To see window displays with nothing but LOVE in them, click on the word 'love'

Easter store window inspiration

Need inspiration?

Click here to see a slideshow with easter window displays.

St Patrick's Day store window inspiration

Rarely seen in window displays, but here are some St Patrick's Day ideas you may be interested in. Click here

Carnival Store Window Inspiration

Carnival Inspiration

Halloween store window inspiration

Want some scary ideas?

Then have a look at this page

Thanksgiving store window inspiration

Make the jump to this page for some very useful ideas.

New Year store window inspiration.

The photo on the right doesn't do it justice. For better ideas go to the New Year window display page.

Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring

Window displays should be designed to entice customers to enter the store and buy what they discover.
Color is key here. Brightly colored flowers are perfect for spring, but not for fall.

Tip: You can make a seasonal decoration like a flower made completely from pieces in your shoe collection.

Below you will find inspiration for your summer, fall, winter and spring store windows.

Summer Store Windows

Creative ideas for the summer

Fall Store Windows

Fall window display inspiration

Winter Store Windows

Winter store windows

Spring Store Windows

Creative Spring Shop Windows

Magnify props and merchandise

Creative ideas for your next window display.
Magnify your props and merchandise and not just by using a blown up photograph.

Think Outside The window Box

You can make sculptures that dive through the panes of glass.
You can wrap your store in holidays lights, decorate your storefront with giant butterflies, use graphic lines in your window and onto the pavement, as well as into the store, there're all kinds of things you can and should do.
You shouldn't restrict yourself to your store window.
That's especially true when your store's location isn't in the middle of a shopping street.
If you want to have the most talked-about windows of the city, you have got to do extraordinary things.

Surrealism, Humour & Symbolism

Your goal is to awaken the senses and captivate your audience's attention.
One way to accomplish this is to look for relationships of objects that are unconventionally beautiful.
Something that lets us undo old habitual ways of seeing things.

For surrealism ideas, look at Salvator Dali's work.
You could give your mannequins long arms and legs.
Imagine how the long legs push the mannequin through the roof and the head reappears through the floor beside the mannequin's feet.
You could also give your mannequins lampshade heads.
You could also use the mannequin's hair to create a "hairpet" , or give each chair in the display 4 shoes.
Or you can let your mannequins use a saw to play a violin.

The possibilities are endless.
The same is true when you're looking for symbolism in design.
There could be a lot of symbolism when you use ice cubes in a scene wherein you portrait policitians.
You can find symbolism in all kinds of objects: a barbecue, a candle, clouds, tape, ...

Humour is no different.

For more ideas go here

Surrealism & Salvador Dali

Art

You can get amazing reactions when you take art out of a gallery's environment and push it at people where it's least expected.
Use your window spaces as a public gallery wherein you showcase known and unknown artists.
When possible try to create synergy between the art and your products.

Art isn't suitable for every store.

Displays with high-fashion merchandise are more likely to use art. That being said, your creation inside your store windows is and should be a work of art.

Timing

It's not that difficult to make the new season's windows look fresh because they come right after the sale.
However, you need to think of the entire season and start gently with key colors.
Don't put your strongest pieces in right off the bat.
There needs to be an element of surprise.

And read the mood of the street!
When it's a dark & rainy day you shouldn't try to sell bright colors.
That wouldn't make a lot of sense.
It might not be a bad idea to at least change your windows every month but in the end it's your customers who decide how often you need to change your windows. Once a month might not be enough.
This takes some planning and organizing but it's worth it.
The goal is to show your new products whenever possible because you want your customer to see what's new in your store.

When to hire a professional?

Lighting

Display windows need to be lighted intensily because of two reasons:

1. It creates a greater impact than the impact of the store's architecture.

2. It eliminates the sun's glare and reflections on the glass.

When this is being ignored or simply forgotten, then you're actually making it difficult for your customers.
They won't see what's inside your windows and it makes your store look like it's closed.
In addition to general lighting, overhead spotlights should be used to highlight the focal point like the merchandise.
You can use those spotlights to create a theater like effect when you combine it with a dark background.
As a result you will have a higher contrast with the merchandise.
Keep in mind, the darker the merchandise is, the more it tends to absorb light, therefor stronger lights might be needed.
Sometimes you will need side-fill light to eliminate unwanted shadows.
Shadows create the illusion of depth in your store windows.
The right amount of shadow makes luxurious items look interesting, while general lighting sometimes does the opposite.
You can also change the expression on the mannequin's face with it.
When you mix everything up, do try to make sure there's balance in your window.
It needs to look like the light comes from one source.
And try to show the merchandise in its true colors.

Photo on the top right : on a cold day you can use lighting that warms up the display.

Props are the DNA

Props: antiques, reproductions, architectural fragments, furniture, ...
Props are the key players in your window because props complement and enhance the merchandise.

For example, in the photo on the right, the miniature Vespa scooter makes it clear the watches are Italian.

You can also have it the other way around: products can become props when you want the customer to focus on the topic or theme (like Christmas)
There's usually an obvious relationship but it shouldn't always be like that.
When your display engages a response, it works.
The props should never upstage the merchandise or clutter the display.
How you select your props depends on the message.
They may be selected for the contrast value, or because they create harmony and rythm.
The strongest messages are created when all objects in your display support each other.

Mannequins

Mannequin design changes as ast as fashion styles.
Some stores prefer the mannequins to be a little bit more abstract compared to the realistic mannequins.
Abstracts are more reflective of the times without being too specific.
Do keep in mind that:

a) the mannequins should be a perfect fit for your store, brand and the lifestyle you're trying to sell.

b) your customers expect that whatever the mannequin wears is the latest fashion and is available in the store. You don't want to disappoint your customers.

Mannequins shouldn't just stand there and do nothing. There should be some interaction or you could make them sit or stand in a way that really draws attention to them.
You could give them an attitude that helps establish the lifestyle you're trying to sell. It's important because your customers want to identify themselves with what they are seeing in your windows.
You don't want your mannequins to look like they aren't having a good time.

Cost

Most stores don't have access to thousands of dollars to invest in visual merchandising, but that doesn't mean you have to compromise and settle for some not so amazing windows.
Your customers want you to be amazing so you need to be creative.
And the good news is; creativity doesn't cost money.
Some props cost money, and the time you put into it costs some money as well.
But, consider this:
Let's say your amazing windows pull in 5 more customers a day who spend $50 each.
And when your store's open 300 days a year, your sales will increase by $75,000.
If your windows pull in 20 extra people a day, you're looking at a sales increase of $300,000.
That's an extra $25,000 per month.
What's that worth to you?

Sales ideas

Obviously, a sale should not be used as an excuse to leave your windows unstyled and boring!
You need to create a sense of urgency and you need to stop your customers in their tracks.

Need ideas for sales season? Go here

Special : Jewelry Displays

Go here to see inspirational jewelry displays

Special: Animation

Go here to see some amazing window displays

Special: Sports

Go here to find some interesting Sports window displays

Special: Technology

Interactive Gesture Based Technology With 3D Capabilities... all in one sentence.
The goal is to interact with the audience, captivate them and sell them on your ideas. Take a look at the videos here

Special: Go Green

Going green shouldn't be about following the latest trend.
Be real and go here to get some tips on how to really go green with your store and visual merchandising ideas.

Did you know?

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When in doubt, go back or come back some other time.

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