Transcripts
1. Introduction to Visual Merchandising 101: Welcome to visual
merchandising, one-on-one. A cost to help you increase your knowledge and skills about how to present merchandise in an inspiring and impactful way. I'm Christina, I've been in visual merchandising
for over ten years. I've worked for luxury stores
and big box stores and retail as a visual merchandiser and a visual
merchandise manager, leading teams that
design window displays, floor plans and
large-scale presentations. I have so much to share with you all to help you either become a visual merchandiser or if you're a retail
business owner, ways how you can improve the presentation of your
products and your own store. Let's have a look at
the course outline will cover the role of visual
merchandising in retail. Merchandising fundamentals
for apparel and accessories. The importance of color theory, floor plans, mannequin styling, and window display fundamentals. We'll look at job opportunities
in the retail industry, where I'll share some interview and portfolio tips
with you guys. And lastly, our class project, which will help you
practice all you've learned and prepare you for
heading into this field. I'm super excited. Let's get started. And before we do, my cat Dilantin will probably make an appearance in the background. So please excuse her. Alright guys, I'm super excited. Let's get started with the
role of a visual merchandiser.
2. Role of a Visual Merchandiser: There are two key roles
for a visual merchandiser. One is to visually
translate a brand identity. Every brand has its own
aesthetic and identity that they want to convey. This differentiates the
brand from its competitors. Making this aesthetic and this feeling come to
life in the store is what visual merchandisers do through various
display techniques, and we'll review
those in this course. The other role of a
visual merchandiser is to create an easy
shopping experience. Retail stores need to
generate a profit to keep their doors open
and pay their employees. Obviously, if customers
are constantly having a difficult time finding
the products they want, it's unlikely they'll
return to the store. In a retail climate
where we have a lot of online competition, visual merchandisers are
such an important part of making the store experience easy and pleasant for customers. How the merchandise is
categorized in the store can make a big difference between confusing the customer
and helping them. Here's an example
of the importance of how we categorize
merchandise. If an entire store
decided to merchandise their products by
brand, which some do. And a customer
came in and asked, where is the dresses section? Because that's all
they're interested in. Well, that's not how the
store is merchandised. Its merchandise by brand. The customer now needs to walk through the entire
department store, through each brand
and see if they have dresses in
that brand or not. Whereas if the store decided to merchandise the
products by category, meaning all dresses
in one section, all coats in another section, genes in another section. It's much easier
for the customer to understand what their
options are all in one section of the
store without wasting so much time looking around
the entire building. This creates a more efficient
and pleasant experience for the customer, depending on how we choose
to merchandise the product. Let's head into the next module, merchandising fundamentals.
3. Merchandising Apparel: Here are some
important qualities every visual merchandiser
needs to have. Visual merchandising is a very
physically demanding job. Being able to lift
mannequins, prompts, and clothing racks,
and be on your feet 8 h a day isn't necessary. By default, visual merchandisers are expected to be detail oriented and strive for close to perfection and how
they present products. More on this shortly, it is important to assume
responsibility for organizing your daily workload and your tools and supplies. E-mail is the main channel
of communication and retail. So ensure you're checking it twice daily to stay on top of priorities and deadlines from your manager or from
the corporate offices. Visual merchandisers
are expected to be aware of current
fashion trends. So make time to do some
research online each season. Equally important is gaining some insights about the customers
who shop in your store, like demographics and lifestyle. How people live often relates to the types of
clothes they want to buy. This information should
be used to inform your Merchandising
window displays and your mannequin styling. Lastly, a positive
attitude during overwhelming projects is going to help protect your reputation. Pay dividends
throughout your career. As mentioned earlier,
being detail-oriented is the expectation of
a visual merchandiser. No one should have to ask you to pay attention to wrinkles in the clothing or fold neatly or space the hangers
evenly takeaway, the tags are clean
fingerprints off the windows. Taking care of the details demonstrates that
you take pride in your work and want to represent the brand in the
best light possible. Here's a good example of
some folded clothing. You can see the piles are
full and folded very neatly in size order with tags tucked
away and nowhere in goals. Here's another good example, this time of hanging clothing. The hangers are all
the same color, facing the same direction
and are evenly spaced. This is commonly known
as finger spacing, where the hangers are
about two fingers apart. And another good example. Note the cohesive
color story here. It's easy for the customer
to build an outfit from this rack will dive deeper into this in our
color theory lesson. This is a bad example of
merchandising fundamentals. The racks are a mess. There's too many different
types of hangers. There's no color story. How we treat the
products influences how customers think about the
quality of our store. This is another bad example. Merchandise is
nearly on the floor. Colors are all
mixed on the racks. It's a beautiful space
with large windows, but the merchandising
looks like a yard sale. Here. The customer doesn't
know where to begin. She seems hesitant
to ruin the pile, but she doesn't know what
size or price the shirts are, let alone if they're
long or short sleeved. There's no one mannequin nearby
showing a sample either. Additionally, having only
two shirts per pile with all that negative
shelf space gives an impression of low
stock and emptiness. Everything about this
presentation creates a negative experience
for the customer. Let's look at some
important tips. Folding piles of
clothes neatly isn't as time consuming or
difficult as it may seem. You can use regular
eight-and-a-half by 11 paper or a folding board to place at the back top of the shirt and then just
fold as you normally would. Slip the folding board out and the shirt will retain
its neat fold. Paper, on the other hand, will remain inside the
shirt and give a thicker, fuller appearance to
the pile as seen here. Facing the merchandise forward, also known as face outs, is an easy way to take up
more space on the rack as opposed to hanging everything sideways. This is
a good approach. If you are low on stock and need to make the Rack look full. It's also great to show interesting details on the
clothing, like unique buttons, zippers, colors, or
patterns that would otherwise be hidden
if hung to the side. Keep this in mind for the
next slide where we look at the phase-out
technique in a wall rather than Iraq
as pictured here. Merchandising walls
is like a puzzle. You first want to consider what items you're working with and if they would benefit from
being hung or folded, e.g. jackets, skirts,
suits and dresses are always better hanging to show the structure
and the detail. And when hanging, you want
a balance of phase outs, number one and side
hang number two. Whereas things like sweaters, t-shirts, and jeans
can be folded. It's also great to have
a bust form or a half Mexican number
three in the wall. So the customer can
see an example of how the folded item looks without
unfolding every pile. Alright, well, moving on to merchandising fundamentals
for accessories.
4. Merchandising Accessories: Organizing accessories is
important to make it easy for customers to compare
their options so that they can make a choice. Organizing them by
color, size, pattern, or brand are a few ways to
merchandise accessories. These ties are great examples. These ties, however,
are a bad example. The colors and patterns
are all mixed. This messy, disorganized
presentation can indicate poor quality
to the customer. The handbags here are shown in small groups that
coordinate well together. Composition and color theory, which we'll get into
later in the course, can help you coordinate. Well, handles are
standing up straight, longer, bag straps are tucked
away. There's no clutter. There's lots of space, so the item stand out on their own and there's nice
lighting under the shelves, so nothing's in the shadows. The accessories here
though are a mess. There's no rhyme or reason to the merchandising,
no color story. The bugs are not standing up, straight straps are everywhere, and it's hard to have an
easy shopping experience. Clean, minimal
presentation makes it easy for the customers
to focus on the quality, design, and material of
the shoes pictured here. The customer can
see the profile of the shoe which shows the
heel height clearly, repetition is used on
the bottom shelf for visual interest and the various
colors offered or clear. The shoes here are presented
at different heights, creating visual
interests from afar. Some turned on the side, like the black sandal to
show the buckle detail. The shoes in the
store organized by brand and show the
designer name on a plaque. One can assume that
brand names are very important to the customer
base of that store. The shoes face forward on the front and the
back of the table. So no matter the direction
the customer approaches, they are seeing shoes
that are hopefully enticing them to
browse and then Bye. It's difficult for
the customer to compare and choose what suits their style because
these shoes are not merchandise with any
rhyme or reason, this force is the customer
to waste a lot of times scanning the shoe section for the few that
would interest them. In today's retail climate, where customers are more
reluctant to spend time at stores and do my
shopping online, we need to ensure
their experiences pleasant and worth
their time without good lighting or
having any presented with the side profile
showing none of the shoes are shown in a
way that would highlight any interesting
features or details. Necklace, bracelet, and earring prompts are
used here to present the jewelry as opposed to letting it flat in
the display case. The case is well lit and everything is spaced
out nicely so the customer can appreciate each design without
feeling overwhelmed. Here, the jewelry is
way too cluttered. It becomes difficult
to give the customer a pleasant experience
to make a choice. Among this chaos, clutter, particularly when
presenting jewelry, gives an impression of
cheap and low quality. Each pair of sunglasses
has its own shelf here with no
fingerprints or dust, and each shelf is well lit. The shelf enables the sunglasses to be presented
standing upright. This then enables
the customer to have a better look
at all the options. Additionally, because the
sunglasses or on a wall, customers can see
them from far away. And this will help attract more people as opposed
to on a table. Or customers may never
see them from afar. Here, presenting the glass is loose and crowded on this table. It makes all the
glasses vulnerable to getting stretched and
full of fingerprints. It's also more difficult
to keep organized without having any cubby
or case for each pair. And it's hard to understand
if their merchandise by brand, color, or style. Again, this looks
like a yard sale. We always want to avoid that. Alright, moving on
to color theory. This is one of my
favorite topics. Color theory is
key to helping you understand how to
create an appealing aesthetic that can translate
to any retailer and to demonstrate your tastes level to potential employers.
So let's go.
5. Color Theory: One sign of a strong visual merchandiser is the ability to create a cohesive color story for the merchandise
you're using. You can mix and match whatever colors you think
your customer likes. But it's important
to know the rules of creating harmony with color in order to break them in a way that
is still appealing. This is where color
theory comes into play. This is the universal
12 slice color wheel, and you can see it's
broken in half. The wheel is comprised of
cool tones and warm tones. The green portions
specifically do a great job of showing the difference between
cool and warm. The green on the left has
a more blue undertone, making it a cooler green, as opposed to the
green on the right, which has more of a
yellow undertone, making it a warmer green. Analogous colors,
or three colors adjacent on the 12
slides color wheel. Analogous colors will create an appealing combination
that most people can relate to whether they
understand color theory or not. Complimentary colors
are two opposite colors on the 12 slice color wheel. Colors are the more
bold combinations, like blue and orange, yellow and purple,
red and green. These are not as widely
appealing as analogous colors, but many retailers still use them if they have a
more bold aesthetic. Interior color story on the
clothing rack is cohesive. Cool tones together,
warms together, brights together,
pastels together, break up the colors with
neutral colors in between, like black, white, gray, olive, Navy, or denim. This gives ideas to the
customer to build an outfit. Here we have a good
example of using color theory in one
corner of a store. The different colors, stories, reds and purples, clearly
separated on the walls, then brought together
on the table to unify the merchandise in this
corner of the store, giving an overall
appearance of cohesion. Neutrals like gray and
black are in-between to break up the offering and create a more dynamic selection. A customer entering this
section of the store would immediately have many options
for creating outfits, since everything
coordinates so well, it's likely they will purchase
more than they intended, which is a sign of a successful
merchandise presentation. Here's a bad example
of color theory. There is no color
story whatsoever. Colors and patterns
are all mixed. This makes it difficult for customers to build
a complete outfit. We wanna give customers and efficient, easy
shopping experience. And this is not it. Here we have another
bad example. And it may seem like it has a strong color story with all the similar red
and pink tones, but it's overwhelming to create
an outfit from all this. It looks a bit like a
Valentine's Day bargain rock. Breaking up the offering with neutral colors really would help the customer
make sense of it all. Also pay attention to the fabrics being shown
on the same rack here, we have a super thick
fleece jacket in the front and lightweight
polyester dresses at the back. This makes it confusing to understand what season
we're dressing for. Next up is floor plans. In some retailers, the
corporate offices will design the floor plans and then send photos via email to the store. Visual merchandisers so they
can implement the plan. In other retailers, the visual
merchandiser needs to have that skill and make those decisions about
the floor plan design. Let's go over some floor plan
fundamentals to give you the knowledge to make the
best use of your store space.
6. Floor Plan Fundamentals: Placing the merchandise
in the store with intention is key to the
success of the business. Floor plans will help us make sense of the space we
have to work with. This helps us present
the merchandise in the best possible way for the
customer to experience it, which then helps drive sales. Oftentimes, the visual
merchandiser will be consulted for advice on the floor plan or will need to design
one on their own. It's important to have a
digital copy of the plan so you can print it out and
make adjustments anytime. This can be as simple as
making notes on the plan to denote where you're
going to place fixtures to display merchandise. Oftentimes, changing
the floor plan creates a domino effect. If you have 50 new
products arriving, you'll need to re
merchandise some of your existing products to make an adequate
amount of space. It sounds easy, but
without planning, this becomes tricky quickly. Here are a few scenarios where you'll need to refer
to your floor plan. When you receive
new merchandise, you will need to make space in the store to fit
these new items. You will need to survey
the current space and see how many and what size
fixtures you need to add in order to accommodate the amount
of new merchandise. If you have merchandise
that is particularly new or exciting and you want to
drive more sales using it. It should be placed in a
high traffic location in the store were many
customers will see it aside from Windows. A common high traffic area
is the store entrance. Another scenario to refer to your floor plan is
if you are having supply challenges and you don't have enough merchandise
to fill your store. Use your floor plan to see how you can move
fixtures around. The store doesn't appear empty. When making changes
to your floor plan, always ensure you leave
enough space for customers to walk through the store and
between clothing racks, you need to have aisles in
your store at least 3 ft wide. This is an osha occupational Safety and Health
Administration requirement in the United States, many countries have
similar requirements. In case of emergency and
for handicap customers, 3 ft wide aisles are
required at minimum. This gives all customers a
more enjoyable experience being in your store if they can navigate through with ease. Let's talk about sight lines. Outlines are the
most focal areas of the store there where the
eye travels naturally. These are great locations to feature important merchandise
that you want to sell. Here you can see we have
three strong sight lines. The center entrance
of the store and the two window displays are
what draw the eye first, one looking at this storefront, these three areas
should be used to highlight and port
and merchandise or promotional signs to peak the customers interests
to enter the store. This sight line is very focal. It's in the center of the
store, creates symmetry. The eye travels here first, this creates a clear path
to the back of the store. This is a great location to
reach your mannequins or any kind of presentation you want the customer to focus on. Customers from all
angles will encounter this mannequin
display as they shop through the store since
it's in the center. So make sure you are making intentional decisions
about what clothing to put on these mannequins. It could be some top-selling
items, a new collection, or a current trend on social media or in
the fashion industry. Here's another clear sight
line that creates symmetry and gives the customer a view of the merchandise through
the back of the store. This helps give customers
a clear overview of how much merchandise
the store has to offer. The floor plan here, left room for a line to
form by the register without crowding the rest of
the browser and customers, which is important to consider. Using a combination of mannequins, clothing,
racks, tables, and platforms creates visual
interests for the customer and allows them to experience the merchandise and
a more dynamic way. This allows for some
clothing to be folded, some to hang, and for you to add accessories or props
to the display. The way you combine
different fixtures is called composition. Here, creating a little
rectangular noch using the fixtures can help separate different colors,
stories, or collections. It creates little curated rooms for the customer to explore. This helps make the store
experience more interesting as opposed to having all racks
just in a straight line. Here we are using a
multi-level table. Number one, hanging racks
number two, and a wall. Number three. These three fixture
is help support the different types of clothing and the best way to show them. You don't want to
fold things like suit jackets, suit pants, or dress shirts, those
should always be crisply ironed or
steamed and hanging. More casual pants and
T-shirts, however, can be shown folded nicely
as seen on this table. This table, since it is front and forward in the floor plan, should show exciting items that draw customers into
the whole area. Either new items, items with a great price, or top sellers. This is another example of when you should consider
your floor plan. If you position the table with
enough space on each side, it creates two secondary
aisles to easily draw customers back to the wall to explore the
merchandise back there. Here's an example of a
good floor plan that uses all the principles
we've reviewed so far. The entrance has a
strong sight line with a mannequin presentation to inspire the customer
as soon as they enter. The clothing racks
are evenly spaced with at least 3 ft on all sides. The walls are used for hanging
and folding merchandise. There is a table to
add visual interest. There is a clear space by the registers for a
line to form as well. And there is a clear pathway for all traffic to enter
and exit the store. You can easily create this
using basic shapes on PowerPoint or a canva.com
or any software. You don't need to
be an architect to create a retail floor plan. It's important to note that
using basic software like this will not make your
floor plan to scale. Meaning the sizes of the
shapes on the plan do not accurately represent what fits
in the space in real life. To draw a plan to scale, you'll need to get some
real-life measurements. With a measuring tape. Simply measured the
length and width of the actual clothing
racks and tables in your store and measure
at least 3 ft around them as well to ensure
clear pathways. Like we spoke about. The
walls always stay in place, but racks and tables
can move easily. So those are what can change
the look of your floor plan. Now with these measurements, you'll have a sense of
how many more fixtures you can possibly add or remove. Then you can easily replicate
your drawing on a computer. And you can create
various new options for how to place the
racks and tables. Here's the same example, but the red and
blue lines indicate two different traffic
patterns that customers can take while
browsing the store, starting at the entrance. There are many possible
traffic patterns. We cannot really control exactly where customers
choose to browse. These are just two
examples to help you envision how your plan
affects traffic flow. You can see by placing
the table in the corner, it automatically creates
a new pathway for the customer to explore the
merchandise in that corner. The placement of the racks and tables can create new pathways. So be intentional with direction you want to lead
the customer into. There's also a clear empty
pathway in the center for traffic to flow easily through the store without overcrowding. Employees need space to
walk and move carts of merchandise without interrupting customers
trying to browse. Here are several bad examples
of floor plan decisions. You can see there's no
clear pathway for traffic. The entrance is
blocked by two tables, making it confusing for the customer to understand
where to go next. Some rocks are so
close to the walls, they are blocking
the merchandise on those walls and customers
won't be able to reach it. When three racks are placed
adjacent to each other, how will the customer be able
to reach the center rack? Mannequins are not in good sight lines or
focal areas at all. And the roundtable is going to cause a
lot of problems for customers trying to wait
online to pay at the register. For the next module, we head into mannequin
styling fundamentals, where we'll review
the different types of mannequins you can use. And the importance of
attention to detail.
7. Mannequin Fundamentals: Customers look to mannequins
for ideas and inspiration. So it's our job as visual merchandisers to ensure that our mannequin styling is serving this purpose with an appealing aesthetic that aligns with the brand
we work for it. While we're hired
to use our visual, I acquired tastes level, and knowledge of
industry trends. It's not our job to dress the mannequins for
our personal style. A strong visual
merchandiser can translate various fashion aesthetics
through their styling. Here we have various
types of mannequins, Adult, Teen and
children's mannequins. There are dressed
forms that have only a torso with
no arms or legs. There are leg forms that
have only legs and feet. Headless, mannequins
or width heads, faceless or with the face. Matte finishes, high gloss finishes a leg
pole, a foot pole, a rear pole, glass faces, Chrome bases,
brushed metal bases, a twist on torso, a twist on leg, magnetic arms, various sizes and various races, whatever types of
mannequins your store has, and you may have a mix, try to use a consistent
type in each presentation. Don't mix glass and metal bases, face and faceless,
full body and torso, matte and gloss finishes. This distracts
from the clothing, which is what you want to sell. What you do want to mix is various size and race
have mannequins, inclusivity is non negotiable
and you should have a desire to represent all
human beings in your work. Here's some common
mannequin manufacturers. Rubinstein is known for their
hyper-realistic mannequins, complete with a full
face of makeup, wigs, and nail polish. These are not as common as they were in the eighties
and nineties, but some luxury department
stores still use them. More common today is the less detailed or even
faceless fiberglass mannequins. Bona very is a large
manufacturer of these. Their line of
schlepping mannequins is seen in many retailers. Mannequins come in
many different poses. It's important to pay
attention to the pose you are pairing with the outfit
you're about to style. You wouldn't want to
put a business suit on a mannequin pose like
it's dancing or lounge. Anna Sophia. Conversely,
you wouldn't want to put a stunning voluminous ball gown on a mannequin that is
simply standing straight. This doesn't show the detail on the shape of the gown
in a strong way. The way we grew up,
mannequins together or apart is called composition. This can tell a story, create an attitude, or send
a message to our customers. Imagine every store simply place their mannequins
in a straight line. This would not be very
exciting or unique. And in today's retail
landscape where many people can shop online
instead of the store. Ensuring your visual displays impress your customers
is incredibly important. Create a sense of balance
using symmetry or asymmetry when creating
a mannequin composition. There are endless
types of wigs you can purchase for
mannequins online. More commonly, you will
only see wigs used on the realistic mannequins
rather than the faceless ones. Wigs can help complete
the look and also help maintain diversity
and inclusion, which a strong
visual merchandiser must always consider
in their work. When it comes time to actually dress the mannequins
and style them. Details matter as an employee on the visual team for getting the details is as bad as
forgetting to breathe. So let's review some
non-negotiables. Some things to
always keep in mind when styling your mannequins are testing the clothes
before addressing the mannequin top the tags away. Make intentional decisions when to button the buttons
and zip the zippers. Don't hide functionality
of the clothes like zippers pockets draw
strings or Velcro, scrunch up the sleeves are cuffed pants for some
visual interest, use the proper size
clothes for the mannequin or pin a larger
size if necessary. And please wipe the basis
with Windex to remove dust. Larry and clothes
and accessories is important to create
visual interests, no matter the season. It also helps build
a complete outfit, encouraging the costumer to
buy more than just one piece. A successful display is
one that generates sales. Color theory is important in all aspects of visual
merchandising. Keep in mind color
theory when styling a group of mannequins or even
just a single mannequin. Here, various tones of
analogous colors are used. Blues, greens,
yellows, and oranges. You always want to achieve
a feeling of cohesion. And here we have a bad example. There is no cohesion whatsoever. Pastels are mixed with brights, warms are mixed with cools. It's very distracting for most customers and
doesn't really inspire them to want to buy anything we're showing
on the mannequins. Take pride in styling
your mannequins. Your work is a reflection of your capabilities
and your integrity. Alright, Next we have window
display fundamentals.
8. Window Display Fundamentals: One of the few things
that will always distinguish brick-and-mortar
stores from online stores is the ability to experience the merchandise
in a visceral tangible way. And impactful window could mean the difference
between getting the customer to enter the store
or having them passed by. So to create an impactful,
inspiring window, here are some elements will
review how to create a theme, how to create an
implementation plan for ensuring you can make
your design come to life. How to consider mannequin
and prop composition, applying color theory of course, and the importance of lighting. So theme, to send a clear message to the
customer, viewing the window. First, create a story or a theme you want to
convey inside the window. Use these questions
to build your theme. Who's your target customer, and what's their lifestyle? What's the season? Some industry trends, what are our
competitors showing? And what specific products do
we want to sell right now? Have a plan of execution
before going into the window, a general rule is to
install the backdrop, lighting and any
hanging drops first, then place the mannequins
and any signage. Then you can work
your way out towards the exit of the window so you
don't disturb your display. This works in most cases, but evaluate the props
you need to fit in the window and decide what
order is best to implement. Think of painting the
floor of any room. You would start at the corner
and work your way out so you don't trap yourself in
and walk all over the paint. Same idea with Windows. Knowledge of basic tools
like a drill hammer, paint, roller,
wire, fishing line, or monofilament, are all important to achieve
impressive window displays. Remember mannequin
composition from the previous lesson
that applies to Windows to how you group
the mannequins can create drama or
simplicity in a window. So try out different
compositions before settling. Again, color theory is
important to apply to all aspects of visual
merchandising, including your Windows. Getting more comfortable with combining different colors will help you break the rules as
you progress in your career. But using the color wheel is a very helpful tool to start. Lighting can create
a mood depending on the story you want to tell
with your window display, it can also direct
the customers. I, a general rule is to aim your spotlights at
the clothing first, since that is what
you're selling, light the background
minimally so it doesn't overpower
the clothing, which should be the main focus. Scale is important to create
a visually balanced window. In this example, using larger ornaments in multiple
sizes would have created more dimension to
capture the attention of passers-by and fill more
of the negative space. Right now, it looks too sparse. Many companies will
include decals or signage as part of
their window displays. This can help communicates
sales or promotions, introduce new products, or help create an inspirational
feeling for the customer. Final decals are applied directly to the
glass of the window. They can be placed on the inside or the outside of the glass. The inside is preferable as customers will not be
able to damage it. Using a level will
help you ensure the decals is straight
because crooked is unacceptable and a
varnish air will help you apply it on smoothly
without any bubbles. Using all these
principles can help you create elaborate
windows like this. For more simple ones like this. Next up, we'll discuss
job opportunities and some interview and
portfolio advice to get you prepared for
entering the field.
9. Job Opportunity and Portfolio Tips: You can be a visual
merchandiser for a brick-and-mortar physical
store or an online store? Yes. Retail websites need
to be merchandised to. You can work freelance
by contract, or you can find full-time
employment with a retailer. You can develop into a
visual merchandise manager, a regional visual manager, and eventually creative
director of the brand. The most common employer
of visual merchandisers is the apparel or clothing
sector of retail. Both mass market and luxury. Arriving early is on time. Dress professionally, but show a bit of
your personal style. The same applies to your resume. Discuss what you will
add to the company with your skills as a
visual merchandiser, talk about the
relationship between visual presentation
and driving sales, like using mannequin
presentations and strong sight lines in the floor plan to show new collections or
top-selling products. Explain your understanding of the brand identity of the
company or interviewing with. Do some research on the company website about
this before the interview, be prepared to show
your portfolio in a physical copy or on
a tablet or laptop. Creating a portfolio
will greatly increase your chances
of nailing the job. Even without former experience, you can still put together a strong portfolio demonstrating
your capabilities. I have two options for you guys. One is to create a vignette
like the one pictured here, by purchasing a clothing
rack online and merchandise the rack as if
it were your own boutique. Photograph that a nice
light by a Windows fine. And use a free online site like canva.com to create
a digital portfolio. Style the rack in various
ways to demonstrate your understanding of different customer lifestyles and needs. Use your own clothes to do
this or borrow close from a friend or family member or purchase some and
return them later. E.g. a. Night out,
a work meeting, casual date, weekend
with friends, summer vacation,
winter holiday, etc. To impress the interviewer, do some research on
the demographics and the brand aesthetic of the company you're interviewing with and style the
rack accordingly. Another option to build
a portfolio is to create a presentation of window display concepts
on your computer. We will be doing this
for the class project, so you will get some practice. Here's an example I
made using canva.com. Again, canva is a
great free resource to design your portfolio with.
10. Class Project: Let's have a look at your class project that will help you practice creating some work
to put into a portfolio. I have two examples
to show you guys. And what you're
gonna do is create a mood board for
a window display. If you want to take
it a step further, which I highly recommend. You will also use your
mood board to then create the actual window display
on your computer and create an implementation
plan explaining the steps that you took to
make this window come to life. You'll see this in
my two examples. While creating your mood board. Keep in mind everything we
discussed in this course. What's your theme for the
window with the season? What will the color
palette beam? What will your mannequin
composition look like? What's the inspiration for
the backdrop or the propping? What kind of clothing while the mannequin where
based on the season? I use the design website, canva.com, which is
completely free. They do have a Pro plan
with more features, but they're free
libraries are incredible. You won't even
need the Pro plan. So let's have a look
at two examples and then you can have fun
getting started on your own.
11. Outro: Congratulations you guys. You made it to the
end of the course. I hope you feel
well-equipped to embark on your journey as a
visual merchandiser. It is an incredibly
rewarding and exciting job. It's a lot of hard work and I wish you all
the best of luck. You've got this.
Cristina M., Visual Merchandise Manager
