Visual Merchandising Display - Fairchild Books

Figure 4.11 Bee lights, neon, and other novelty lights can be added to a lighting plan for assorted effects. Here, a green neon strip runs
just under the ceiling to effect a tinted wall wash and play up the brick textured wall in the men’s jeans area. In addition, neon signage
is decoratively employed throughout this store to designate the shops within the shop and to highlight them with color. River Island,
Amsterdam. Design: Dalziel & Pow, London.
to the merchandise. With the great variations in state and
city codes, the ever-increasing desire for an upscale image,
and the specialization of areas on the selling floor, a trained
lighting specialist is required to perform the lighting magic
needed to bring the store to life.
David A. Mintz, a lighting authority, has lighted more
than 40 million square feet of retail space for many of this
country’s largest department and specialty stores. According
to Mintz, “Perception is what the lighting actually enhances.
It is the customer’s perceived attitude toward lighting and
merchandise.” Lower levels of illumination usually suggest to
the upscale customer better or more expensive merchandise.
Retailers too, feel that incandescent light means that softer,
finer merchandise is being offered. However, a light level that
is too low may not necessarily make a shop look elegant and
exclusive; it might just look dull and gloomy. Mintz personally
opts for an “upbeat, brighter rather than duller luminosity in
44
P a r t 1 : G e t t i n G S ta r t e d — V i S u a l M e r c h a n d i S i n G a n d d i S P l ay B a S i c S
the retail ambience.” In low light, people tend to whisper in
hushed tones and move as though they were in a museum. The
merchandise becomes untouchable and remote. The shopper
can be inhibited, and that’s not good for selling.
Properly lighting a store requires a palette of lamps
and light sources to create the total effect. It requires incandescent
plus fluorescent lights, tungsten-halogen lamps,
and even novelties, like neon strips. According to Mintz,
there is no single ideal or best lighting design for a store.
There are too many variables: the changing feeling, texture,
and look of the merchandise; the location of a department
and what type of merchandise it carries; how the adjacent
areas or shops relate to one another. The lighting design is
also affected by neighboring establishments (especially in
malls), the nature of the clientele and their perceptions, the
colors and textures that comprise the decorative scheme,
and the height and type of ceiling.