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Window Display Creativity Reclaimed!

Creativity plays a huge role in a shopping experience. A window display is the first thing that a customer sees and quite often defines a decision as to whether they enter the store or just pass by. In the current climate, retailers need to attract as much custom as possible and creativity is one of the most enticing ways to do it.

Looking back at a previous blog post from Christmas 2008, 2009 - Bring It On, which discusses the cut backs and low budgets used in visual display on the high street, six months later, has the industry moved forward in terms of in store creative ideas?

The Brief

2009 - Bring It On gave a good impression of what retailers were trying to make out of a bad situation six months ago. With a chance to reflect and great opportunities to make new decisions, it was time to see whether the high street had taken advantage of trying to become more creative and regain some lost interest. I visited some of London’s popular shopping areas including Oxford Circus, Regent Street, Carnaby Street, Kings Road, Knightsbridge and The Westfield Shopping Centre to view a variety of brands and stores in different locations.

A creative outcome

I noticed that retailers, overall, had made the decision to push the creative side of their brands. Many display ideas were simple but effective, keeping costs at a minimum whilst initiating custom from shoppers.

One particular idea which reflects the choice of simple but effective came from Jigsaw who used a repetition of gift wrap ribbon in their display. I saw a few different windows by Jigsaw all following suit using a squared back drop of the ribbon and a layer on the floor of the window.

Another good budget window, Gap who created a fresh and structured image using large scaled cardboard cut out letters which were angled to give a 3D impression. A straightforward mannequin window with a twist using plenty of colour leaving a bright impression.

An attractive matt black vinyl as displayed by Cos was particularly intriguing. It was difficult to walk by without looking through the vinyl to see what was in store. Although Casio didn’t demonstrate a physical window display, their use of graffiti around the shop fascia and windows looked fantastic. With more of an artistic view in mind this really gained attention.

A brand that constantly stood out to me was Nike. Using masses of vibrant colour, patterns and introducing an interactive theme, it was difficult not to notice them in Covent Garden. This may not have been the cheapest window on the high street however, as an alternative, the Oxford Circus store displayed an image of a football game as a back drop, metal, cross-over wiring at the front of the window with three football boots in a line balancing on the wire. A straightforward, minimal idea that works because there is focus.

Wrapping it up

After reading ‘2009 - Bring It On’ and realising the difficulties that retailers were facing it was a great surprise to see so much effort being put back into the high street. Some brands will naturally always have a budget to create any type of display where others have very little to work with. This brief has really proved that creativity is still out there and is being produced, on many occasions, from a low budget and a simple idea. I personally believe that creativity has moved forward or that it has just been regained after a loss of confidence from a challenging financial situation.

Lisa Cooper