“ONE PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS”- very true when it comes to Visual Merchandising.

The art of visual presentation of the products or merchandise. The VM is the visual treat to the customers. It is one of the critical elements in retailing. Everything which meets the eyes of the customer about the store is the part of visual merchandising. A good VM will make the customers stop at the door step and pull them inside the store.

When we speak about VM everything includes like arrangement of merchandise in store, store layout, window display, signage, lightings, use of mannequins and props, etc… The foremost thing is window display because it is the first thing which attracts the customers. Merchandisers should be very careful in doing window display because choose of right theme is very important. Store may have exclusive collection of apparels but right VM only will attract the customers and strengthen the brand/identity.

EXTERIOR PRESENTATION

The presentation that is done outside or in front of the store.

• Marquees – To display store name
• Banners – For promotion purpose can be used
• Landscaping – Simple landscaping with flower boxes, plants can be used.
• Window Display – Too much merchandise will spoil the display. Proper Lighting should be used. Based on theme can be done. Proper usage of mannequins, dress forms and props.

INTERIOR PRESENTATION

The interior presentation should be based on

• Target customers to be attracted.
•  Merchandise going to be displayed.
• The location of the display.
•  Reason for displaying the particular merchandise

For displaying the merchandise, the principles of design are followed:

1.  Balance – Equilibrium between two sides of display. It can be formal or informal balance.
2.  Emphasis – From which point eye movements flow. The eye movement can be from centre, left to right or based on size and texture.
3.  Proportion – Relationship between parts on the display in terms of distance, size, etc…
4. Rhythm – Measurement of organized movement of whole display from larger presentation to smaller one.
5.  Harmony – All parts which are displayed should be related to each other i.e., consistency of the theme.

COLOR & LIGHTING

Color is the most significant factor because it can transform the customer perception about the store. Color combinations used in the store for floor, ceilings, walls, etc…Should give overall fine outer shell to the store. It can be of two types warm and cool colors. Warm colors (red, yellow, orange based hues) for stimulating and energizing feel. Cool colors (blue, purple, green) for pleasing, refreshing and relaxing feel.

Next to color, lighting is also important. It gives attention to display area. Appropriate lighting should be used considering the theme.

Some of the techniques in Photography are….

BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY

One of the basics that can give importance to a black and white shot is contrast. Related to contrast, the lighting in a black and white shot can be very significant. Even though there aren’t any colors in these pictures, that doesn’t keep them from being an inspiration.

MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY

The word itself tells us what the photography is all about. It is an extremely close up photography of small subjects. The major things to be considered for macro photography are macro mode, tripod,aperture, focusing and flash.

TILT SHIFTING PHOTOGRAPHY

As the name itself describes, tilt and shift to distort the focus which creates a blur image. The main object is made to focus and sharpen by blurring the image of unwanted objects. It also produces the effect of a miniature of the image.

INFRARED PHOTOGRAPHY

It is all about infrared light which is invisible to human eyes but digital camera sensors has ability to capture the infrared spectrum. Infrared passing filter is used which permit the particular light to pass through so that some appealing effects are obtained.

HDR PHOTOGRAPHY

HDR is called High Dynamic Range Photography. It gives the detailed range of intensity levels found in the real scene. It is usually done by taking several standard photographs of the same subject and integrating them

HIGH SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY

It is the process of taking multiple photographs at a high frequency rate. It also represents the technique of taking pictures of exploding things or freezing the movement of the fast moving subject

PAINTING WITH LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

It is the method of illuminating the parts of the subject through some light sources which gives pretty cool effects in the photography