Course Description: An exploration of visual merchandising through the consideration of product presentation in the retail environment. Investigates the theoretical and practical use of in-store environments, lighting, special effects, fixtures, and product placement as a form of visual communication intended to convey a specific message about the fashion brand and to influence the consumer. Topics include the creation of specialty and department store displays, the design of visuals for walls and windows, professional presentation techniques, and the effects of color, music, and lighting on consumer behavior. Continues the development of students’ retail marketing e-portfolios on OpenLab.

Professor: Dr. Robert L. Woods

Syllabus:

Museum Color Project:

Select a visual display from a Fifth Avenue store/boutique and then go to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and select an art piece. Compare the two pieces, write a critique and discuss the similarities and difference. Discuss color of each (include tones, shades, tints, and values). Discuss texture, juxtapositions, line formations, rhythm, repetition, balance, contrast, proportion, and dominance. Also include how art influences life or vice versa, and how this assignment assisted you with the understanding of design elements and gives a deeper sense of art.

Color Theory Assignment (part 1):

Create an original color wheel. Mix all of the colors yourself. The 12 colors may be in any shape you wish as long as they cover the primary, secondary, and intermediate color groups on the color wheel.

Color Theory Assignment (part 2):

Select a hue and paint a 2-inch by 1-inch swatch and place it at the “purest hue’ spot on the chroma/value chart. Complete the chart with tints, tones, and shades of your hue.