Part 5 : How to lay out your display?

How to improve the appearance of your window from street level ? 

20. Never place furniture with it’s back to the street. This includes the till. Don’t forget that from street level, passers-by have a view through your window and into your shop, albeit partial. 

21. The whole shop is visible from the street: make sure it’s spotless. This is particularly important when an enclosed window display is not an option. 

22. When arranging your window display, make sure it is visible from different viewpoints: the pavement outside the shop, the opposite pavement and the street (for passers-by in cars and buses).  

How to arrange your products in the window?

23. Generally, customers “read” a window from left to right. Any display, large or small, must be constructed around a “vanishing point” or “focal point”, which naturally steers the gaze of passers-by. This point is generally situated at eye level (1.60 metres) and slightly off centre. If your window display is slightly elevated in relation to the pavement, adjust the focal point, placing it at a slightly lower level. Remember, it should always be at eye level to passers-by.            

24. Orientate your merchandise according to the direction of travel of passers-by: if the majority approach from the right, angle products slightly to the right.                                                                                                                     

25. Place your star products in the centre of the display and not along the side walls. They draw people in and must be clearly visible.                                            

26. Think in 3D! Make the most of the depth, height and width of your window display. You can think of depth as a series of planes: foreground, midground and background.                                           

27. Each potential layout has a different impact on customer perception: a horizontal layout generates a feeling of calm, a vertical layout highlights the item placed at the top, while angular compositions add dynamism and curved compositions imply lightness.                                                    

28. Try grouping products in a “pyramid formation”. This relatively easy-to-achieve layout first draws attention to most elevated item, in the centre, then to the secondary elements.                                             

29. More complex, “grouping by repetition”, is best left in the expert hands of a window dresser. The challenge here is not to lose sight of the vanishing point of the display. For example, in a row of three mannequins, it is unclear whether the central mannequin is the vanishing point - if one of the side mannequins is wearing a brightly coloured garment, the eye will be drawn to this one first.                                                                                                                            

30. Play with visual balance: group objects in odd numbers. Three mannequins in a row have greater visual impact than two.