A Peek into Retail Store Window Design Trends

Duggal Visual Solutions was entrusted to harness Christian Louboutin’s signature showmanship and vision into a set of truly “traffic-stopping” window exhibits at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City to showcase the French Designer’s first fragrance line. Image courtesy of Duggal Visual Solutions.

Designer Perspectives

Now that architects and interior designers use digital displays along with printed graphics, the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD) has become the “Society of Experiential Graphic Designers.” The SEGD helps create content-rich, emotionally compelling, experiential spaces for retail stores, museums, healthcare centers and educational campuses.

Former SEGD Director of Education Craig M. Berger is currently director of development of CD Pathways at New York’s FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). He says, “Window display designers have to be incredibly creative. But they have to realize their artistry is being applied to a money-making enterprise.”

Right now, he says retailers are finding it difficult to determine the ROI of different types of displays. Berger believes that retail windows are still more likely to use physical elements and mechanical motion than digital displays. As more technology is used within the store, Berger believes windows with tactile displays can counteract a shopper’s sense of digital overload.

Window displays in urban areas might also differ from those in re-imagined malls and small-city shopping districts. “In New York, Christmas window spectaculars still reign supreme,” Berger says. In smaller cities, retailers are investing in pop-up stores at events that draw crowds.

With the growth of e-tailing, stores are no longer simply about selling things. Stores today function as showrooms, gathering places or distribution centers. Even brands and e-commerce companies recognize the value of having a few of their own pop-up or permanent physical stores.