Thursday, 30 April 2015

Live Project - REX

Design Practice – Live Project - REX

Our aim in this project is to design a a number of different areas in the REX store, we don’t have a budget for this project but we need to make our designs as cheaply made as possible. As a group we got given a few areas to design, including the café, the art gallery, general design throughout the store, the box and the window display. We need to carry on the narrative throughout the store as it is lacking in the specified areas. There was not much specific requirements so we had a lot of choice in what we could do. I chose this project because I liked how free it was with them having no requirements.

The first week we decided on our focused areas, I chose to focus on the window display advertisement and also some lighting and bits around the store, I chose this because I felt this is the area which needed the most work. I still looked at inspiration for most areas at this point.

Some research I started with..








I liked this painting idea because it would grab people's attention as it goes onto the floor which would bring out the advertisement for the store. 





Also advertisement could be used on the side of the M&S building similar to this one which would encourage people to go to the store as many people wont know it is there.

















The boxes with lighting in gave me inspiration for the entrance as you enter REX as currently it is just boxes.




I liked this coffee menu idea
for the cafe as it is a more interesting way
to display a menu instead of just a simple list, REX also has a chalk board wall so this would be ideal.

I then started creating some ideas for the store I started on some lighting ideas..







This is the entrance when you enter REX, currently >
It has a series of different sized boxes without lids on, also empty. My design includes lids on a lot of the boxes with laser cut outs of patterns with a light inside, this will project shapes onto the floor entrance to create a more inviting feel for the customers and a more brighter appearance.


This idea was to create hanging wooden boxes with plaited rope/cotton attached to display items, also you could hang and peg items from the material. This would help catch the potential customers eye as they passed as it is a different way to display items.




Glass painting the windows adds a creative feel to the store and will entice passers by to go in and see what is there and what the store sells.    




We then met with the REX architect to find out some information on what the safety rules are and what we are allowed to do and not allowed to do. We found out which things weren't possible to create because of some circumstances in the store and the Rapid store, we also found out ideas they had thought of but had not been created, this helped us so we knew what was possible - this gave us a better direction to go in.

After this we then met with the REX owners, shown them our designs up to now - they really liked them and the direction we were all going in. We got an idea of what to do next by their comments and how to develop our designs and move them forward from this point. 


We now all came together as a group to discuss what designs we had done and types of materials we have used so we could link and correspond all of our designs to follow the same narrative and theme in all of them. This is so the same themes would run through the store. We reflected back on the comments the REX team had said and worked on this.


The materials we all incorporated into our designs were:

- perspex
- cages
- metal
- wood
- plastic
- material (rope/cotton)
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My more developed designs..



This is a window display design, their would be hanging caged boxes - these would be hanging from a plaited rope/cotton material, this follows the theme through from the store designs so the narrative is still on going. The caged boxes make a more interesting way to display items from the store. The material links well with Ashley's dead space idea.
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This is another window display using pro/art tempra paint or acrylic paint, these are good paints to use for window displays, their would also be advertisement on the floor, the boxes would be wooden and attached by command strips.



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Here are some lighting idea's for the store..















This is
to disguise the strip lighting and to create more atmosphere through the store.




On the last presentation with the REX team it was decided to carry on for a few weeks to have a go at creating our ideas and to get some materials we may need for it. This is a good opportunity for us to actually make some of our ideas and explore more.

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WOW Silver Statement

Reflection on feedback

From the silver statement feedback I've realized from the comments that I need to explain more thoroughly what job I want and I need to state it more clearly which field I want to work in, the field I’m interested in would be a store visual merchandiser or a store interior designer co-worker.

Criterion 1 – I am happy that I have successfully given a good overview on the features of IKEA, this shows I have gained good knowledge in this section. It is good to know information about the company like what the store sells and who the customers are as this shows the employer that you have researched information on them and know what you are applying for. Knowing the sales and values of the company is very important as you have to follow their values yourself as a worker and help keep the sales at the best they can be.


Criterion 2 – I need to clearly state what role I am looking for in interior design, I have not shown what role I want and haven’t shown a detailed enough list of duties I would be expected to do, I've just shown a few duties which need to be followed by everybody in the company but not just a specific role. The specific role I am looking for is a store visual merchandiser, I am going do more research more about the duties in interior design to get a better understanding on what they are.

Criterion 3 – Here I have demonstrated a good awareness of what behavior is a professional approach at work but only in general not for my chosen sector. After I have my chosen role I will more clearly be able to state what behavior fits my chosen sector and would make sure in the future that I am more specific.

Criterion 4 – I have evidently shown a good understanding of the factors currently affecting IKEA but not additional factors, I will need to further research on this by using the PEST technique as an employer would expect you to have some knowledge on this. Technological advances would be a good area to look at as this is improving rapidly and could affect the company in some way. I talked about what saves the company money which is important for me to know as this is an important part of having a business.

Criterion 5 – I am happy with this feedback as I have clearly shown I am aware of what is a current topic recent media. In the future I will defiantly make sure I am keeping myself up to date with current news and developments related to the industry, this will impress the employer as it will make you stand out more than other candidates.


Criterion 6 – I have not shown sufficient evidence of my understanding of the customer’s needs, I struggled to understand to show this. I will need to research the main customers and services thoroughly and find out more information on this, I need to make sure I become confident in this area and understand what the customers’ needs are and why it is important to know this, also maintaining good relationships in order to keep the company successful. 


Criterion 7 – Having knowledge on managing the reputation of the company is very important as if you want to be working for a company you also would need to keep up the reputation and knowing this will prove you won’t let their reputation down. A step IKEA is taking in order to improve its image is donating €101 million in 2013 to projects that create substantial and lasting change for millions of children in some of the world’s poorest communities. This shows the company uses some of its earnings for a very good cause, which keeps up a good reputation.

Criterion 8 – I need to develop on my structure and make sure there is no grammatical errors in my future statements, I will thoroughly check them through and make sure that this doesn't happen as stated the employer may de-select applications including these errors.

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