Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising is the artistic display of merchandise and theatrical props used as scene-setting decoration in a store. It is everything a customer sees in a store, possibly including both its exterior and interior. It helps create the store’s positioning, a distinct and
consistent image that sets it apart from the competitors in the target
customer's mind. It also reinforces the store’s advertising
campaigns.

Visual merchandising is a retailer’s primary tool for creating
an image. It communicates the store’s philosophy and
identifies its target market.  It also builds the personality or
character of the store, associating itself with a human trait or
characteristic that customers can relate to (e.g., fun,
discriminating, etc.).  The marks, signs, lines and colours
used in merchandising become an identity that adds to the
memorability of the store and what it represents.


Course List


1st Term

571-KNN-05 Colour Theory
581-C17-IR  Fundamentals of Drawing
581-C15-IR  Fundamentals of Design
571-KNA-03 Fashion History


2nd Term

571-KRU-05 Visual Merchandising
570-216-90  Typography
570-QEH-07 Fundamentals of Graphic Communication
571-KRK-08 Store Layout


“There are no best products. All that exist in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of the customer or prospect. The perception is the reality. Everything else is an illusion.” - Al Ries and Jack Trout

Upon completion of the course, participants will have become adept at planning and executing the following: 

  • Exterior presentation (exterior signs, marquees, banners, awnings, walkways and entrances, landscaping and window displays)
  • Design (interior presentation, display designs, principles of design used in displays, such as balance, emphasis, proportion, harmony and rhythm)
  • Colour and lighting (monochromatic colour scheme, analogous colour scheme, triadic colour scheme, complementary colour scheme, split-complementary colour scheme, double complementary colour scheme,  tone on tone colour scheme, in relation to primary, accent or secondary lighting and atmospheric lighting), including colour rules that can improve displays
  • Props, fixtures and signage (props, merchandise and fixture displays, basic rules for fixture placements and interior signage)
  • Avoiding common display errors, such as too much merchandise, too little merchandise, lack of an underlying theme, too many props, poorly selected props, displays not changing often enough, time required to change a display is too lengthy, limited or no display budget, lack of attention to detail and mistakes in applying the display principles