Everyone has seen a window display where they stop and stare in awe. That’s the goal for window displays with a wow factor. Window displays with good wow factor inspire you to create, make you feel deep emotion, and sometimes, even envy the skill of the visual merchandiser who put it together. In the case of wow factor displays a picture is truly worth a thousands a words. Displays with wow factors combine attention-getting devices with key design principles to create a masterpiece that forces consumers to take a closer look and vividly remember the window case.

            

            Wow factors are great elements to incorporate into your window display design because they attract customers. Fascination is sparked and consumers spend more time analyzing and looking at these displays than they otherwise would have. Wow factors draw consumers closer to the window to see all the details. Wow factor displays also serve as a source of entertainment because they can be funny, thought provoking, filled with tension, or purely beautiful. Also, wow factors attract store traffic and promote sales. People are intrigued enough to walk inside the store and look around! Using wow factors in a window display differentiates your store and makes a first impression on consumers. People will remember things that make them say “wow!” The retailer that uses wow factors will stand out compared to their competition.

           

         Now you might be wondering, how do I actually create a wow factor? That’s where I come in. I’m going to tell you. There are several attention-getting devices that are important for successfully making a wow factor. The first is the effective use of color. Using high contrast colors like green and red or blue and yellow demands the eye’s attention. Red is the number one color for grabbing consumer’s attention. Lighting (as you know from my previous post) is super important too. Adding a large chandelier can create drama and focus on the display. Also, colored or high tech lights cultivate a strong visual interest. Lines are also a great element to incorporate. They direct the eye and produce a natural rhythm to follow. Playing with proportion and scale is a cool design technique use as well. It is very intriguing and eye catching for on lookers. Repetition is another great principle to include because it emphasizes merchandise.

         

         Now that you know the design principles to include, lets discuss the themes and items that can be utilized in wow factor displays. In order to wow customers the display needs to be a little out of the ordinary and by no means boring. Themes like humor or nostalgia are very good at achieving this. Making people chuckle and laugh at a window case is a really cool thing to be able to do. Things like tension and funny mannequin positions add a humorous aspect to the design. Nostalgia, making people think back on their past or childhood is personal and effective in making your display memorable. Maybe you could utilize old technology or scenes from previous events to invoke nostalgia. Mirrors are a cool prop to include in wow factor displays and are great for showing all angles of the merchandise, but they can be tricky to perfectly set up. Masking the window is another technique that can create a wow factor. This method blocks of a chunk of the glass and makes the window case appear smaller and adds emphasis to the elements that are still visible. It easy to get creative with the shape of the mask a retailer uses since it’s essentially a giant window sticker. Lastly, motion, which is my favorite element, is an amazing technique to utilize. Wow factors are made when things like still merchandise and mannequins either physically move or give the illusion of movement. Some retailers even use live models in their wow factor window displays.

         

        No matter how much I say about wow factor displays it’s hard to fully understand unless you see photos. Below are some amazing examples of wow factors. There are several design principles, props, and themes that can be arranged to make a wow factor display. I hope you have the opportunity to include a shocking element into your next display and are inspired by this post.