Neiman's adventure of 2012

Today my design class and I got to tour Neiman Marcus at the Shops at Willow Bend. Two corporate employees on the design team walked us around the store before the doors opened to the general public. We discussed the various elements of retail design and talked about the characteristics of Neiman's culture. Seeing a normally busy department store, quiet and abandoned was strange and kind of eerie. It was also the first time I'd been in a store and wasn't in a hurry...so I had time to observe something other than the merchandise and the price tags. When you start to look around at each display all of the sudden you're like... they put vases with flowers on displays?... there's a stack of books here? have they always been here?...why are they here? And then the ceiling.... my fellow student Elizabeth put it best "it's a hot mess"... it's all down lights and spot lights pointed at the merchandise....so the ceiling is covered with them! The ceiling itself isn't that great looking... but they served their purpose because I never once noticed the ceiling....I noticed what was meant to be noticed...the clothes. Each display reflected the designer and the emotions the designer wanted the customer to feel. One of my favorite displays was the Ralph Lauren/Sport section for men's.... the display was palm leaves and a lounge chair and it made you want to get away....because the mannequins looked like they were having a blast....as much of a blast as you can have with no face or fingers and a disproportionate body. The clothes reflected this casual/vacation vibe...and conveniently the luggage display was nearby in case you wanted to get away that instant! Another one of my favorites was the evening gown section. The field lights were slightly dimmed, invoking an evening atmosphere....with bright spots on the gorgeous gowns. The wall coverings on the back wall sparkled, the carpets formed a runway, and elegant seating was arranged for the observers. The displays truly sold the item...and the gentlemen that showed us around even said one recent change they made in the way they displayed their merchandise from their Cusp line....increased sales 30%.
I'm learning more everyday....and now I can't go shopping without subconsciously analyzing the space.... that's going to slow down my bargain hunting....