The Art & Science of Store Design
With
W.B. King
Table of Contents
Forward by Harold Lloyd: 4
Acknowledgments: 5
Chapter 1: Defining the Future by Respecting the Past 7
Chapter 2: The First Step: Selecting & Working with Designers 19
Chapter 3: Retail Business & Space Strategy 37
Chapter 4: Design Begins with Space Layout 55
Chapter 5: Reinventing Space by Maximizing Square Footage 71
Chapter 6: Branding with Signage, Graphics & Logos 85
Chapter 7: Showcasing Design through Lighting 97
Chapter 8: Selling Environment: Ceilings, Walls & Flooring 106
Chapter 9: Psychology of Design 121
Chapter 10: Our Collective Future 129
Dinesh Doshi’s Glossary of Terms & Phrases 137
Chapter 1
Defining the Future by Respecting the Past
“Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.”
–Leonardo DaVinci
Retail giants operating mega box stores and super centers have employed the design theory that bigger is better. This sparse, warehouse-like blueprint is perhaps effective on a grand scale, however a new wave of successful operators are raising the retail bar by focusing on aesthetics, amenities, marketing and above all else, customer experience. To achieve the latter, one must redefine their respective design concepts by assessing customer needs and creating an all-encompassing profit center-and an outstanding one at that.
Uncovering the key elements to successful design concepts requires a mélange of variables that I refer to as the “science of effective store design,” or architectonics, a concept derived from cytoarchitecture: the arrangement, or pattern of arrangement, of cells in a body tissue, organ or structure. This organic approach resonated so deeply with me that I named my Long Island-based firm Architectonics International, Inc., which recently celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. When approaching any design project, I use these aforementioned principals to maximize our clients’ profit objectives and long-term standing in the marketplace.
After thirty years in the industry, and countless flights and meetings, I’ve successfully completed over 600 projects both nationally and internationally. I’ve lectured and presented my designs to countless audiences. I’ve published scores of articles on design solutions. Among our awards and designations, Architectonics International, Inc. was named Display & Design Ideas 2004 top 100 Design Firms. Additionally, my designs have been featured in leading industry books such as Supermarket & Hypermarket and Designing the World's Best Supermarkets.
It is in response to uninspired designed mega stores and box stores, along with an inclination to inspire a new generation of unique designers that I took time to impart my experience and acquired knowledge via this book which serves as a soup-to-nuts guide to retail and marketing design concepts for merchandisers, grocers, students, designers and store operators.
Thus, this book will not only decipher the science of design but more importantly, provide thought provoking solutions while spurring imagination. I wish to convey to the corporate community that innovative designs can be achieved while meeting conservative budgets. Corporations owning locations nationwide, for example, can maintain their brand while personalizing each location to reflect the respective community. This is accomplished through effective design and branding concepts. The store is where sales take place, not at corporate headquarters.
Appropriate design solutions will motivate management and employees at the store level. This enthusiasm will reflect in customer service and in turn increase sales as well as promote customers as the kings and queens of the store.
While I considered writing this book for a handful of years, I was prompted by a recent fire at my office building that in some respects deconstructed my life. Thankfully, no one was injured, although many of my precious drawings, sketches, and designs were damaged. The random nature of this event led to the conclusion that it was time for me to pass along the knowledge and experience I have acquired in this field to the next generation.
Throughout the course of this book, I will systematically cover the following topics:
Retail Store Design Budgets
Selecting and Working with Designers
Store Layout
Retail Strategy
Marketing
Maximizing Space through Design
Signage, Graphics and Logos
Floor Coverings
Lighting
Wall and Ceiling Materials
Psychology of Store Design
Case Studies: Supermarkets, Super Centers, Superettes, Convenience Stores, and Fast Food Establishments
Reflections on my Past
I was born in 1949 and spent the first decade of my life in Africa. My family’s business was retailing which is where I developed my acumen for analyzing commerce. My father’s textile and cocoa business underscored a critical business philosophy that I employ when approaching design projects to this day. I studied the relationship between the product, consumer and retailer. I realized the importance of the physical structure. It was at this juncture that I began to embrace the integral value of effective, functional design and how best to present products to the consumer.
At the age of thirteen, I began studying in Bombay [now Mumbai], India where I discovered a passion and proclivity for artistic expression. It was at this prestigious high school that I learned about the facility of art and architecture. I became focused on art and decided at the age of sixteen that the path of my life would focus on artist expression. It would take years, however, for my destiny to be realized.
India would be my home for the next eleven years, six of which were spent studying architecture and design. I continually painted and began to implement my love for color and contrast into my canvases while receiving structured training in three dimensional architecture design concepts. Looking back, I was able to strike an interesting balance because painting provided freedom while academics kept me focused.
I was once humbled by accomplishments. Today, I’ve learned to embrace accomplishments as mile markers. In 1971, at the age of twenty-two, my art was recognized on a grand scale when a group of my paintings were selected to be presented at the prestigious Jehangir Art Gallery located in Mumbia, India, which was a sold-out show.
I hold the distinction of being one of the youngest artists to be offered a one man show at the gallery, which holds equal weight to such U.S. based institutions as New York’s Museum of Modern Art. I accomplished this while continuing my architectural studies. And while I do not know the whereabouts of the paintings today, all art featured in that show sold immediately. Looking back, it stills brings a smile to my face. And as I study these early paintings that adorn the walls of my home, I’m continually amazed that these varied interpretations completed so long ago still influence my approach to design concepts.
Communicative Tools
After completing my studies, I returned to Africa briefly and spend nearly a year in London before landing in New York to begin a master’s program at the Pratt Institute of Architecture and Urban Design. In Bombay our instruction was extremely structured with the intention that if you knew architecture techniques you would become a successful architect. When I came to Pratt it was quite different. The focus was on philosophy and how designs work with people. I was enthralled with the concept of understanding how the public interacts with various design concepts.
During this time period, Sydney Katz was the dean of my program. He expressed the importance of philosophy when approaching design. Looking back, Katz was a significant influence from the perspective that he trained me to think beyond technical standards and break from convention.
This instruction was in stark contrast to my previous field training. Before arriving at Pratt, I spent a year as an architect abroad and was accustomed to a structured and somewhat static approach to design with Karim Noorani & Company. As a young apprentice, I was told by Pravina Mehta that in order to be a great architect you must know your tools. I spent six months sharpening pencils for the architects in the office, a ritual every morning.
In short, I knew both sides of the coin. I made it my goal to absorb and grow while at Pratt. Aside from the philosophical differences, I encountered a significant professional assimilation process. When I came from India all the materials were completely different. In many respects it was like starting from zero. While the theory of architecture was consistent, I had to learn new technicalities and construction practices such as different materials and their respective capacities.
While there were many other obstacles, I remained focus on innovation. All effective and inspirational designs begin with pencil, paper and an imagination that is supported by knowledge and experience. A designer should identify the clients’ needs and achieve the necessary solution through innovation, ultimately accomplishing the projected goal.
The Path Less Traveled
Aside from receiving a stellar education at Pratt, I was offered a job from one of my professors, Stuart Pertz, who was then a partner at Pokorny & Pertz. Today, Pertz is managing director of HLW Inc. Finding a niche within an industry as diverse as architecture and design is a formidable challenge that requires years of dedication. While working for Pokorny & Pertz, I completed various city planning projects including the City of West Islip (Long Island). I was heavily influenced by city planning and still am. While I was on a solid trajectory toward becoming an accomplished city planner and designer, I still wondered how I could incorporate the joy of artistic freedom into my work.
The mid-to-late 1970s was a difficult time for young architects and when Pokorny & Pertz’s project load began to lessen, I was recommended for adjunct work with other firms on the strength of my portfolio. As a result, I was apart of a team that designed houses in Nigeria and a city housing project located in the Bronx, among other various projects. Mainly, I was a draftsperson and junior architect. I kept my head down and worked tirelessly. My goal was to absorb information and become apart of the American way.
Finally, fortune smiled on me when I was asked to interview with the famed architect Edward Durrell Stone’s firm whose work includes Radio City Music Hall (1932) and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C (1971), among other famous buildings. The position was project manager overseeing the design of a new city outside of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. For a young city planner, this was a terrific opportunity and great honor.
Over the course of the next a year and a half, I had a total of five interviews for this competitive position. However, as new graduate and young married man, I had to continually find new opportunities while awaiting the news. It was at this point that my career took an unexpected turn. I accepted a position from Creative Designs International (CDI), a retail and interior store design firm located in Riverdale, New York. I was encouraged by this position because they promised an architectural division would be created, which they did not have at that time. I figured it was a good situation while I awaited the news of my dream offer.
CDI, along with its president Herbert Ross, was one of the leading supermarket designers in the United States. Ross, who passed away in 1989, had a range of clients including D’Agostino’s (Manhattan); Shop Rite’s and Winn Dixie. Ross had done extensive studies on supermarket designs and conducted research on the most effective area on a shelf to sell merchandise, as well as other studies such as the best way to transport people throughout a given space. He was ahead of his time in his attempts to understand the mind of the consumer, a quality that intrigued me.
And while Ross’s finding were published in leading journals and books such as Graphic Standards, I felt that the store design principals required updating. These store designs were still basically a box. The design and general layout did not provide an experience for the consumer. I knew something was missing. Customers needed a sense of excitement such as land mark departments and creating experiences within experiences. I knew this could be achieved by incorporating city planning principles within retail designs. I knew I could accomplish this with my designs concepts but I needed a platform. The wheels were turning and innovative ideas began flowing on pads, napkins; basically anything I could sketch on.
It was during this time period that I began archiving designs with the idea that these concepts would be implemented once innovation met opportunity. At CDI, I was eventually given the chance to bring cutting edge principals based on my experience with city planning and overall design techniques. This was a groundbreaking period in my career, an era I recall with great fondness and gratitude. Basically, I was looking at supermarkets like a city planner; the perimeter of the store was my highway and the aisles were my local streets. The various departments—deli, produce, seafood, meats--became points of destination not unlike a museum in a commercial district. This was to be a new take on the supermarket “trip.”
I’ve always have told my clients that if you send a consumer to a department store to shop but he or she doesn’t have anything to buy; he or she will likely spend up to thirty minutes shopping. If you tell that same consumer to spend five minutes in a supermarket he or she will grunt and moan. As a result, I was driven to develop innovative designs for supermarket and convenience stores as well as other retail establishments. It remains my desire to continually reinterpret the consumers’ attitude toward food focused retail shopping and promote the grocer.
Still, CDI was a situation that I assumed while biding my time until I heard back from Edward Durrell Stone. But as more and more projects were completed and my designs began to resonate with clientele, I realized something: I was making a difference in consumers’ lives. Finally, I got the call informing me that I was indeed hired and my presence was requested in Saudi Arabia immediately. After further consideration with my wife Rita, I declined this opportunity for the simple reason that I was enjoying what I was doing. Additionally, I felt that in time my designs could change the retail industry.
Within two and a half years, I was named CDI’s vice president. Soon CDI became known nationally for its approach to retail design. Clients were coming from all corners of the country looking to capitalize on a signature design product that was conceived by the CDI team. At this juncture, I began the process of developing my own firm, a company that would be limited only by imagination and drive. Thus, after eight years with CDI, Architectonics International, Inc. was born. I kept close ties with CDI during the early years of my firm’s existence, often taking on projects on behalf of CDI. However, I was now free to interpret the retail design industry through my own lenses.
Reinventing Store Design
During the early 1980s, design concepts were mediocre and many national chains looked for the cheapest way to build branch locations, a practice that continues to this day; to my dismay. Engineers are often forced to build and design stores that focus on slashing budgets while sacrificing design concepts and customer experience. The result is realized in retail environments across the country that value discount over experience.
The huge price club stores miss out on the retail experience-manipulating the customer through a space while exposing them to different products. One reason, again, is that engineers are trained to build the cheapest stores, which is why box stores are so mediocre. It’s a boring, dull and a tedious shopping experience. Ask customers who frequent these stores if they enjoy the shopping experience and invariably they will answer that they are going to the store to save money. If unique innovations are not integral to the shopping experience, a business that can no longer offer savings will lose customers because their allegiance is to savings—not the store.
While working at CDI, I developed successful retail design for Waldbaum’s (New York), Lloyd’s Shopping Centers (New York), Mobil International (New York), SuperAmerica (Texas), Harvest Markets (Massachusetts), Dominic’s Supermarkets (Illinois). All of these operators recognized the value of the customer experience. In many cases operators owning more than one store eventually have had all their stores designed to reflect new CDI principals.
Today, when I sit down with a client, sketch pad in hand, and we discuss a project— whether it is a redesign of an existing store or the building of a new structure—I say the following phrase: Design begins with layout. And with these words, a new store is born, stamped with what has become the distinctive Doshi style, elements of which will be dissected and explained throughout the course of this book. []
