3rd Year Critique for studio class on 12/5/2008

Students were to create their own individual retail store within a larger shopping center. The two shopping centers were BioMech Mills and The Shops at Buffalo Creek. Students had to link or unify their store with the larger shopping center. From these powerpoint presentations I learned a lot about presentation as well as process work.

Cultivation- Plant store

The designer presented this store with many hand-rendered drawings of what the space would look like. To figure out the right color she made many different renderings with different colors for all of the accents. One of the most important and helpful parts of her presentation was the way she made the plan with color coded walls. She then showed perceptive hand-renderings of her store. Each perspective was color coded to match the wall that corresponded with the plan so that viewers would not become disoriented. She also included a small thumbnail plan picture at the bottom left of every perspective so that we could still see the plan in its relation to the perspective. The designer was criticized on the structure of her displays in that they stood on very thin poles that didn't seem to look like they could handle the weight placed on them. Also the amount of merchandise and displays within the store was very sparse.

Soiree Green- Party store

The designer spoke of the ways in which people would move through the store in a circular motion. Store has an elevated consulting area where party planners can meet with customers. One thing the designer didn't think about well as pointed out by Stoel was the the lack of possible child interaction with the store as the displays and products were mostly marketed towards adults.

Sight Waves- Camera Store

Designer was inspired by light waves and digital displays. Uses Digital display touch screens throughout the store so that customers can interact with the cameras, upload them to the screens and make choices based on this holistic experience.

Overcast- Overcoats, briefcases, and high-end office supplies

Her concept was overcast as well as urban business culture. The most important thing I learned from her store was the way she made the front displays. Each display told a story of people interacting with their urban environment with their briefcases and overcoats. One mannequin was shown running in the rain, one shown walking down the sidewalk and another going down stairs to a fire escape. The clothing and merchandise were showcased on dark backlit backgrounds so that a silhouette of light will accentuate and enhance the products.

The last stores included: Your State (produce mart), Choc-A-Lot (chocolatier), and Stiches (jeans store).

One of the most important things I learned from all of the presentations was that hand rendered drawings rather than computer generated renderings were much better in showing detail, attraction, light as well as what the designer wanted to communicate. Also all of the designers showed lots of process work in their development of logos, spaces, colors, modules and size.