Design for Retail Experience | PGDPD
V S Ravishankar
FRDC Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru
Keywords Fabric retailing Space planning Store design Experience zone
The project involved creating an innovation-driven retail experience for the GokulTex Pvt. Ltd. fabric wholesalers’ retail brand, a fashion-led fabric store. It aimed to design an entirely new fabric-buying experience that required a strong understanding of fabric retailing and its nuances, along with an in-depth study of customer behaviour and expectations. I had to translate this understanding into a shopping experience through design strategy.
The design process included an understanding of fabric industry, its competition, fabric retailing, market study and customer study as part of the contextual study. This was followed by an in-depth analysis, followed by drawing inferences and making key design directions for strategizing and planning the experience at the store.
Subsequently, the design phase of the project was taken forward in two phases: In the first phase a selected number of designs and design suggestions were adopted while the second phase involved taking forward the same concept and visualising it independently. I thus developed a different identity for the store in terms of spatial design and experience.
It was a great experience and a challenge to create an experience for an untapped industry, in terms of retail environment. My journey through this project was extremely enriching for I learnt various aspects of spatial design.