CASE STUDY: Smart Water

The internet is host to all kinds of bizarre video's, accumulating millions of views a day globally. One  of social media's biggest pages 'UNILAD' has recently had a viral video, submitted by a guy who's girlfriend is obsessed with Smart Water as she thinks it genuinely makes her more intelligent. 

When Brad says 'you do know that its just a brand name.. its not just a magic water that makes you smart', 'Jen' replied saying "No-one would do that.. thats not a smart idea is it".

In the video, Jen had bought 2 family size packs of smart water and had already consumed 4 bottles that day.

Jen: "I'm feeling really good"

Brad: "No you're feeling Hydrated"

Jen: "No I'm not I'm feeling clever... IM FEELING CLEVER BRAD"

Brad: "Jen it doesn't make you smarter"

Jen: "Well why do they call it smart water then?!"

Brad: "Its just a brand name".. "You genuinely think that you feel clever after 4 or 5 bottles of that?... The only thing its going to make you do is go to the toilet more"

Jen: "No its educating me!!"  (*ironic tone of voice* Yeah, the chasers on The Chase are in that position by drinking loads of water)

In an attempt to convince his girlfriend that she has actually fallen prey to a clever advertising trick, she truly believes skills like Maths enhancement will come after drinking more water, so will not stop consuming until it happens.

She ends by saying "You're ridiculous for not having this".. Smart water job, complete.

Sex Sells - Eckhaus Latta S/S 17

Sex sells – "or at least, that’s the thinking that Eckhaus Latta wanted to tackle head-on in its first ad campaign featuring its SS17 collection". A full-frontal, look at real sex is unconventional but a totally on-brand take on the prominence of sex imagery in fashion. 

Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta teamed up with friend and photographer Heji Shin. The pair decided that they were “amused by the relationship between fashion advertising and sexuality (and) more interested in producing images that are open to interpretation.”.

Saying more than it doesn't, the couples wear Eckhaus Latta clothing, nothing else, even in their most intimate moments. Moreover, looking at the mix of people featured in the campaign is a political message about sexuality, ethnicity and identity as a whole. Same sex couples, inter racial couples and couples ambiguous of racial identity are featured non-discrimintantly, projecting an enlightened ethical quality to the brand position. By featuring couples of this make up, the target audience has been broadened to connect with everybody in one way or anything. This will start to build a brand reputation of inclusivity of the people, where free love and non-racial, non-homophobic  stereotypes occur or exclude anyone for any reason. Perhaps this is the message Latta wants to install in its audience- 'we are non-discriminatory, wear our clothes'.. 'wear our clothes and you'll get laid'...'wear our clothes and your relationship passion will increase just like the couples in the images'.. or even positioning the brand recognition mentally in the same place as sex. Think of sex, think of these ads, think of Eckhaus Latta. 

On the other hand, showing sex in this much detail is also a message about empowerment as much as fashion. The factors of self-esteem are impacted by the clothes we wear, the brands we consume and what this all means as facets of our identity and personality. Eckhaus Latta is selling ideal's and the Freudian complex, disguised by the unobtrusive camera angles and photographic style.

Muted, stylistic photography works in the favour to remove any 'tackiness'. When people think of sex, the most common relation is to porn or own personal experiences- these 99.9% of the time do not come with perfect lighting and the right cooling filter. The photographic quality brought to the situation hightens viewer perception by the removal of the 'smut factor'.. the removal of bright unsaturated colours and studio lighting gives a classic realism to the situation yet removing the connotations of smutty porn, cheesy 1970's music and shots created with schopophellia (and masturbation) in mind. 

This has been an extremely clever campaign by its uncharted shock tactics. 2.8K shares in the first few days, just on Dazed and Confused shows the response gained from public intrigue, positioning the audience as active followers of Latta's latest, encouraging interaction between brand and consumer.

H&M Launching 'Arket'

H&M group has announced the launch of new brand Arket, which will open its first store on London’s Regent Street in autumn 2017. The name means “sheet of paper” in Swedish and the branding is designed around this concept.

“It both relates to our origin in the Nordic tradition of functional, long-lasting design and symbolises the blank sheet, the sense of optimism and possibility we felt creating this new brand,” says creative director Ulrika Bernhardtz.

The brand has been designed by the in-house team together with “a group of specialist contributors,” she explains, using a typeface drawn “specifically for the needs of the project,” as one element of a “broad identity program”.
Arket will be a “modern-day market” offering products for men, women, children and homeware, from its own range and a selection of other brands. It will have online stores in 18 European countries and locations in Brussels, Copenhagen and Munich in future. Its headquarters is in Stockholm where H&M and the group’s other brands Cos, & Other Stories, Cheap Monday, Weekday and Monki are based.

Janson-Boyd 2010 - Identity and Consumption

In what ways can products & services relate to consumers?

Research suggests that humans buy products and services for practical functions, however this is not the full picture. The goods we purchase and services we consume help defining our identity, how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. Through being materialistic and giving into our impulses, peoples self-worth becomes reduced to that of a consumer (Kanner & Gomes 1995) meaning that people's identities are linked to what they consume. By going to a certain place every week or wearing a certain item of clothing, you are finding exploring a sense of belonging which inherently becomes a part of you. This categorisation through products and services allows others to 'pidgeon-hole' you, which in turn can alter any other aspect of your life. Eg: A Wall Street banker in a leather jacket and Dr Martens will be perceived differently as he is non-conforming. However, this may lead to him not having a job anymore, as his beliefs projected from clothing are different to that of the company. This could also result in friends turning their backs, or alternatively new friends showing an interest in you.


How do consumers use products/services within social interaction?

'Humans categories the world around them relating to themselves, to find it easier to find similarities between themselves and the person they're categorising . The incorporation of so many different characteristics to express who we are shows our identities to be multi-dimensional, hence why peoples possessions vary in style and practicality. Goods, especially high ticket items, express who we are on a social scale. This all suggests a sense of grander  and informs how we conduct ourselves around certain people. This can often lead to downward social comparison, improving self esteem as on paper, the quality and brands of which they are consuming, are simply better than others. Alternatively, upwards social comparison is 'where we compare ourselves to the ideal'. 

Using the theories discussed suggest some visual communication strategies that effectively promote a product to its target consumer.



 Are there any ethical issues?



Tag Huer used Cara Delevingne as the face of their brand in 2015, yet in the advertising collateral she does not even wear a watch.

Practical Research

https://www.creativereview.co.uk/christmas-windows-9-of-the-best-from-london-and-new-york/

https://www.creativereview.co.uk/the-unseen-creates-colour-changing-responsive-accessories-for-selfridges/

http://www.retail-focus.co.uk/qanda/1094-q-a-janet-wardley-head-of-visual-display-harvey-nichols

RF. Who or what inspires you?

JW. I get ideas and inspiration from everywhere and anywhere. I’m always inspired by fashion trends and details, but also get ideas from interior design and travel. I keep boxes and boxes of images that I find inspiring and I like to look through these to help develop my ideas. I am not into sourcing images online and prefer to use my old magazine tear outs.

RF. What are your thoughts on digital technology in display?

JW. Generally, I find digital technology a little cold and unfriendly. I feel it is used more as a PR exercise than an actual display. Having said that, there are some interesting ideas around, but it is still very expensive and not always that visual. If used as part of a large scheme to give added detail it can work, but when it is the main feature it can lack the emotional response a more creative display can give.

RF. What advice would you give to small, independent retailers who don’t have large budgets?

JW. You don’t need a large budget to create effective displays. The most important thing is that whatever you create presents the store in a style that fits the brand. When working on a design it is important you think about the space you have to work in, how your displays are viewed and by whom. The budget at Harvey Nichols is surprisingly small and mostly we work with easily obtainable materials. It is the idea, the skills of the builders and dressers, and keeping true to the idea that makes a scheme work.

Visual Merchandising 1- Tony Morgan

Window Signage and Type

Handwritten fonts in use??

It is frowned upon to use handwritten text for a ticket, it always looks unprofessional.

Lighting plays a key roll in the execution and versatility of window displays. Every window has to consider light in one way or another, wether natural, colourful neon signage or artificial lighting, with the intention to emphasise the beauty or visibility of a product.

The process of lighting should be planned at the same time as the window (p.90)

Graphics and Signage

Needs to be considered throughout

Designed to interact with the scheme and products

Signage should be prioritised in order of importance, too many signs or graphics can lead to a visual “over-kill” (p.92)

Contrasting colour is needed to increase legibility 

What would happen if type WAS the window display? Windows are not restructured to fashion or beauty, how would this work for a product store? or a product-less store??

• The suffrage posters in window displays as well as the colour scheme

Window Calendar

Plan some windows well in advance

Luxury stores like Bergdorfs plan some windows months in advance to give time to exquisite execution.

Careful planning is needed to give the buyers and designers time for the pieces to arrive (or even be created) in time.

“I do not like to commit to something a year away that might not be so topical when it arrives”- Alannah Weston, Selfridges. Selfridges window team works on a 6 month calendar to keep the customer up to date on trends” (p.98).

-Does this correspond with fashion weeks??

Graphic Design uses terminology such as ‘user’, ‘viewer’, ‘client’ or ‘target audience’, many overlaps occur in window dressing terms, yet they target the ‘customer’ with a ‘scheme’ rather than a concept- despite all meaning the same things when broken down.

Traditional graphic design and window dressing has the exact same process when design decisions always considered for the most appropriate reason.

A chinese New Year or Diwali may break the traditional brand aesthetic/style/guidelines of a company window display (p.100)

Similarities with business - (Fashion Marketing book)

Maintenance- is an issue with window displays, some materials collect more dust so will require staffing. 

Budget- May need to collaborate with artists, sculptors, typographers and graphic artists to achieve the desired outcome. This is only within some companies reach, therefore compormises need to be made, and the artwork and ‘show quality’ be reflected through the selected pieces. This act is making the product the sole feature, communicating clearly to the viewer. This style, if done effectively, could be accessible to a trained window dresser aware of the Reimann School.

‘The Future’- External influences and what it could lead/develop to.

(Modernist essay) 

Alannah Weston (Selfridges) believes the public will never stop admiring window displays, and they will always go to the high-street for inspiration.

-However! With increased online shopping and less interaction with physical stores, communication displays or any kind may need to be taken to new platforms to fulfil their purpose of art working a brand, This could include interlinking campaigns, internet marketing and user experience, photography, video’s of store set designs and seek peaks into their world so utopia is still there and the viewer can be transported to alternative parts of the world. (Fortnum and Mason).

 Escapism is the aim for some, which is now possible due to the internet and the reproduction of image.

A three dimensional window display will always be more powerful than a 2D Vinyl or TV. The viewer is allowed to fully explore the scene and full breadth of the windows communication. 

-However! Modernisation could lead to windows being replaced with screens  in the attempt of clearer, faster communication. This would reduce the budget after instillation, and designers could change campaigns quicker and easier but this is not window dressing.

A mannequin or physical product is currently required, yet if communication would be easier achieved by a ‘Form Follows Function’ approach, is it possible to remove the object all together? This may be (and is) a route service companies such as Thompson’s or Virgin Media take, communicating a clear possibility and fantasy to the viewer e.g.: a dream holiday or super-fast broadband! Just like interface design, they are trying to sell a feeling and communicating that through a piece of screen in the window.

Just like you pay for what you get when hiring a print designer or architect, the same goes for window creation. Budget is a huge factor and has the potential to effect the final outcome of the dispel.

This essay explores the possibility of the future accessibility of window displays through digital interaction, whilst considering the true ethics of window displays. Bergdorf Goodman pioneered the way in luxury window dressing as a reflection of their high end clientele. It is unfitting to the brands position in the market and couture reputation. These exstablished pioneers, such as Bergdorfs, Harrods and Selfridges will likely never move away from a 3 Dimensional, explorative display, as restrictions such as budget and man-power is not an issue.

Fortnum and Mason case study (p.104)

“The brands image is paramount when  designing a window scheme” “it should embrace it”

Fortnum and Mason are a luxury food supplier with aristocratic routes in London History, establishing 1705. Mentioned by Charles Dickins “all the hampers fly open and the green downs burst into a blossom of lobster salad” (p.104)

Paul Symes- Creator of ‘cabinet of curiosity’ window display scheme, Dec 2006

The scheme emphasised grandeur and related conceptually to the 18th century when the F&M team were travelling to all corners of the globe in search of the best food and beverage. 

“The cabinets eventually will become as diverse and eccentric as the artefacts they held” (p.104)

-collaborated with a prop maker

Generally, stores considered merchandise and designed around that. Constant changes are being made throughout the design process and photographic documentation is taken at the different studio’s, so “each party has a full knowledge of the detail under discussion.”

Often works best through trial and error, adjusting and developing the design as they go within a creative team.

Once a clear picture is in mind, Symes calls a meeting with his team to “present the concept and show them the props, which will now be in the final stage of production”. This design process is much different to Bergdorfs and that of traditional Graphic Design. The team is only involved last minuet, making it quite a ‘one man show’. One will assume that critiques will occur throughout the ideas and research process, making sure the final scheme/concept selected is the right one.

“A brand such as Georgio Armani relay on architecture and store design to promote the brand” (p.179). Much more expressive and long term. Classic, much like the brand. Stores like this promote a simplistic, modern attitude towards displays and only really incorporate transferable graphics in the cosmetics area. The colour emphasises the brands identity “bold, colourful and striking” can be “as powerful as window display” (p.179)

Stores concept fuses on Italian Chic and Oriental grace, reflected through overall design and other attributes such as lighting.

Mannequuines

There was a trend in the 1980’s where other props were used to carry clothes- could this be more inventive or more irrelevant? It needs to be fit for purpose so often a mannequin is needed.

“In the 15th century mannequins were made to represent ‘The Madonna’”, they were always “made out of papier mocha and leather and was very primitive looking”- could this suggest the oppression of women through retail merchandise? (p.182)

Pioneer of fashion and society related mannequins was Adel Roostein, best 1956 predicting growing 1960’s trends. 

The French created the first mannequine in the 1800’s. The Parisian House of worth left additional clothes making additions to give a clear idea of tailoring at the time, and even “nipped the waists to show corsets and bustiers” unlike before p.182. This invention and effective modernisation would not be possible without the need, meaning without displays.

Mannequines 1960’s onwards conformed to societies ‘ideals’ of perfection, making the mannequins skinnier, taller and “less like someones mum”. By perpetuating these ideals of female perfection (the male gaze) (to-be-looked-at-ness) contradicted with female empowerment. The mannequins are no longer portrayed as submissive creatures, simply “women in control of their own destiny.”<-bergdorfs quote.

Mannequines of the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s were “torso’s of the moment”. Fashion designers wanted to clearly show their designs on the ‘modern woman’ of the time as a selling tool, so  tried to visually target them by putting it on their bodies. As upwards comparison theory and freudian psychology suggests we upwards-compare and repress desires, these desires now had a way to be shown. What we wear and everything it embodies about us, projected on the ‘idea’. It suggests that if we buy what they are offering, we will be as perfect as them too and we are one step closer to idealism.

“The mannequin should emphasise the clothes movement and versatility”- clearly and legibly. Bergdorfs tailor downs to the mannequins  to achieve a perfect fit. Lesser retailers use pins to artillery existing items, yet it is imperative they are never seen.

“Visual Merchandising” is a sub-category of graphic design, taking into account windows, fixtures, in-store displays, lighting, props, mannequins and P.O.S Displays. Its purpose is to essentially create an idealistic selling point for consumers and potential buyers.

‘Typographica’- Rick Poyner, Published by Princeton Architectural Press, 2002

Typographica explores interviews from Alan Flecture, Ken Garland, John Commander etc”- (preface column 4)

’Spencer's post war experience as a typographer had rapidly brought him to the conclusion that was a need for a new magazine” (p.17) Alphabet and Image, turned into ‘Image’ in 1948 to address contemporary needs.

“asymmetric typography was not the answer to every design problem” (p.19)

Poster for a furniture exhibition by Celestino Piatti (p.28) features three dimensional colourful architectural structures and joins. Very much resembles a print/photographic reproduction of a sculpture/instillation or even window display.

Typographica Shifted decisively and became a much more visual publication in the 1960’s, due to the possibilities of new formats and methods of communication.

The introduction of multi-skilled and disciplined graphic designers “turning their hands to writing, rather than [hiring] experienced writers” (p.29).

Beautiful large and floral typography is often related to mourning and hurts (funerals). Sagmeister reviewed one on his Instagram lately, saying it was “beautifully formed”. This is a beautiful way a three dimensional artefact can be viewed on screen, increasing accessibility and possible interaction across the globe, rather than the place of origin. 

“I would like to bring into this the unfashionable nature of ‘beauty’, which i find compelling and immediate. However, theoretically inadequate. I mean this in the simplest way- what if i was asked ‘why do you like concrete poetry?’, I could truthfully answer ‘because it is beautiful’”.- Ian Hamilton Finlay, Between Poetry and Painting 1965 (p.36 Typographica)

“The look is interpreted, but the content is not changed”. Josiah Reichardt on editor-in-chief of ‘Typographica’ Spencer. ‘Spencer wanted to present things in a “[obsurd and exciting] way” (p.40). Jasiah says Spencer was “Postmodern before his time”. He wanted to counter up emotive responses from the viewer “so often reproduced things in a size or a way that creates interesting page layouts.” Bergdorfs take the same approach when designing a window display, making sure a large ‘anchor’ feature is present …

Matt Talbot’s ‘Shrine’, Dublin 1992 by Spencer was essentially a graphic print from an instillation, utilising and breaking down typography to its simplest form. Props and lighting were used inspired by the powerful graphic contrasts of Bill Brandt’s work (p.64), yet shadow many overlaps with the world of fashion communication.

Spencers photographs were “devoid of people” (p.64) “though not without a ‘human presence’”. He photographed organic typography situated organically in nature, this shows societies influence and the prominence of the creation of art, wether typographically informative or by using street art as a tool, this could be taking from Louis Vuitton’s Paris store instilling a flavour of anarchy, or using street-windows as ‘The Peoples Picture Gallery’.

“There was a big difference in view points between a designer, an architect and a photographer’. By virtue of ones training or experience one simple looked at things in a different way to select different view points”.

Pages 91-7: Typographica, NS no 4, December 1961. Sequence of spreads from ‘Street Level’ indicate street photography Brownjohn and integrated with work from Bob Gill. They were selected to show “what weather, wit, accident, lack of judgement, bad taste, bad spelling, necessity and good loud repetition can do to put a sort of music into the streets were we walk”. That music is influenced by windows too! Society influences fashion, haute couture collections filter down through garment collections, and peek into the future is created by the subsequent displays, acting as an escape to the future. The public then get drawn in, purchase what is on offer and it gets filtered back through society once again. Trends and Fads such as typographic quotes such as ‘YOLO’ and ‘CND’ eventually fade out and the whole cycle restarts.

The Politics of Aestetics’- Jacques Ranciere, 2004

‘We tried to transform the world in diverse ways, now its a matter of interpreting it’ (1974:14), These criticisms of the response by certain intellectuals to the events of May 1968 eventually led…’ (p.2)

“Artistic practices are ‘ways of doing and making’ that intervene in the general distribution of ways of doing and making, as well as the relationship they maintain two modes of being and forms of visibility” (p.13)

Theres “three ways of distributing the sensible that structure the manner in which the arts can be perceived and thought of as forms of art and as forms that inscribe a sense of community” (p.14)

“…the knowledge concerning typography and iconography, the intertwining of graphic and pictoral capabilities, that played such an importance role in the Renaissance and was revived by romantic typography through its use of vignettes, de-lampe, and various innovations”. These techniques are theatrical and historically instilled and used today in set and store design (retail windows).

“A ‘Surface’ is not simply a geometric composition of lines. It is a certain distribution of the sensible” (p.14)

“The reproduction of optical depth was linked to the privilege accorded to the story” (p.16)

“Its the connection forged between poems and their typography or their illustrations, between the theater and its set designers or poster designers between decorative objectives and poems- that this ‘new ness’ is formed that links the artist… who invents a new form of life” (p.16)

“The form of egalitarian distribution of the sensible stigmatised by Plato, intervened as the principle behind arts ‘formal’ revolution” (p.17)

“The word aesthetic does not refer to a theory of sensibility, taste and pleasure for arts amateurs. It strictly refers to the specific mode of being whatever falls within the domain of art, to the mode of being the object of art.

“herdrodgenous power, the power of a form of thought that has become foreign to itself.”

Also discusses post modernity

‘The flipped classroom’ is a philisophical approach to social/political structure and how it could be reversed.

Art is serving the people, we are all part of the same strugle. Visual communication was acting as a weapon against the world.

-Symbols of a better world

Sidewalks and Store Windows as Political Landscapes, Jessica Sewell

Printed in Alison Hoagland and Ken Breisch, editors, Building, Image, and Identity: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, Volume IX. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2003

The Suffragets used yellow as a positive colour signifier, as well as other visual design guidelines such as repetition, props and graphics. Shop keepers were given reign over the merchandise and stock featured in displays, as well as creatively, however the suffragettes always relayed the intent of their intentions, which needed to be communicated as clearly as possible.

“Window cards making prices and proclaining quality were hand-lettered cards supporting women’s sufferage and copies of an elegant poster”(fig 6.1)

‘This campaign pioneered or expanded the use of many tactics of visibility, including advertising posters.’ (p.89)

As well as the window storm as a secondary tool, they “[constantly] distributed leaflets on the sidewalk in front of the store, day and evening until 9pm” (p.91)

“The most prominent piece of suffrage advertising, a blazing “large, permanent, electric sign” reading “Votes for Women”.

British suffragettes used connected shop fronts as “offices, decorating their windows with suffrage posters and books” “British suffragettes also convinced shops to display clothing and accessories in the British suffrage colours, purple, white, and green, in preparation for a Hyde Park march in 1909”. When ‘retail mix’ all works perfectly, instant recognisability is acknowledged by the public.

Californian suffragettes followed British example in their poster campaigns, featuring in many store windows in San Fransisco at the time. They “printed some posters on yellow paper”, highlighting the public recognition between all forms of marketing and branding collateral.

Show windows effect “the space of the sidewalk” it “most explicitly engaged the commercial nature of this landscape” effortlessly, relaying on basic human intuition rather than modern day market analysis. 

“decorated their windows in suffrage colours, the milliners and the dry foods by hats and goods of our colour, the stationer’s by filling the window with suffrage books and periodicals” shows the collaborative, ‘for the people’ nature which went into these displays. A community of stores would gather and come to aid, all in the support of Votes for Women. The tool of a window could of been anything- billboards, posters or marches, but the tangible nature of fashion it is possible for everyone to contribute to the outcome at some level. This was window dressing on a improvisation level under the clear artistic direction of the suffragettes, who knows what tuition from schools like Reimann would have done to increase voting rates?.

‘They gained access to their stores windows through social connections and purchasing power.’ (p.91) Men owned the stores, yet they were generally ran by women. By shop workers contributing to the positive success of women rights, it was also a rebellion against their own employer. Windows in this sense encourage a wise for equality and peace, rebelling against society as discussed in Miss Addams “Newer Ideals of Peace” (p.91)[25]

‘For store owners, promoting sufferage in their window displays simply continued a policy of accommodating female consumers’. ‘It was also a way of attracting middle-class women’ into their stores, further competing with stores which did not have such displays. (p.92).

Windows are just one method of modern marketing and communication, with the intention to entertain and engage. 

The use of pro-sufferage advertising was a very popular selling tool through advertising, with societal marches and community groups set up in active support. There was an uprising through windows and shop owners willingly aligned with them to further increase profits and social reputation.

‘The use of a single colour and the repetition of the Votes for Women poster’ (p.92)

Colour was one of the early rules of window dressing

‘The official report of the committee on design write that “the psychology of advertising teaches us to repeat, with slight variations, a familiar design until the public eye is caught by the manifold repetitions of the same arresting idea’. (p.92)[32]

Major display strategy in this era was repetition- did this stem from Paris or NYC??

“Model windows after model window was organised entirely out of handkerchiefs, shoes, canned goods, or other commodities, arranged to create a striking visual effect” (p.93)

Yellow was used as a suffrage colour in the US since 1887 and he use of multiple props, objects, graphics and wall decor all in the same colour but different shades suggest an “abundance through a variety” and excessive, almost theatrical way.

Poster was displayed in the window, balanced with ‘yellow goods’ which ‘marked the display of the goods as part of a political display as well as a commercial one’. (p.93)

The of repetitive colour stems from New York Store ‘Greenhut’s. Historian William Leach discusses the 1907 arrangement of “carpets, side walls, stool seats and desk blotters wore different shades of green; window back-grounds were green velvet, and the store attendants dressed in green; there were green stationary, green stock boxes and wrapping paper, green string, even green ink and green ribbon for the green store type-writers.” (p.93)[34], which proved to be an effective commercial marketing tool in windows.

“The ambiguous status of show windows is visible not only in their use as a forum for speaking to passers by through display and window cards but also in the design of the windows themselves”. (p.93)

By the Suffraget campaign in 1911 “show windows were visually and in many ways physically, separate to the interior of the store.” and the incorporation of other early techniques such as the “use of a background screening the window so that displays could appeal directly” as a “[draw into] the store.” (p.93). The use of a background is another tool in transporting you away from the pavement you are stood on, and into a utopic idealistic land- or perhaps a different part of the world through a truly immersive photograph.

Advertisements were influenced by the consumer relationship with windows at the time, “More than one advertisement showed immaterial window glass pierced by giant hands reaching out to grab customers on the sidewalk”.(p.93) One can question, if the consumers were aware of the capitalist intentions window displays are often based upon, why did the consumer still give them so much power? As history went on the art of window dressing merged into other subjects, such as graphic design etc..

Tricks like lighting were considered in 1911 way before modern technology was readily available, whilst window dressers today are still learning new techniques to better that of the past.

“lighting was carefully planned to minimise glare while fully illuminating the goods in the window”.  (p.93-94)

‘According to a 1914 article for shopkeepers, a clear window served as “the oasis in the desert and will attract the passer-by. In contract, a “frosted window is worse than having no window at all” as it is negatively communicating the accessibility and quality of the brand. To solve the problem of fogging “air circulation made it one (p.94) with the outside”, perhaps unknowingly the problem was being “designed out”, much like the axe’s in Sweeden. Designing out the problem is essentially what traditional graphic design is.

“blurring the lines between interior and exterior” (p.94)

“However, for male window viewers suffrage windows also implied that the prominent business-men who owned the stores supported womens suffrage, making it a political position worth taking”. Taking political revolutionary movements to the capitalist controlled socialist streets.

“conventional use as a space of (commercial) speech to passerby” (p.94)

“By using the windows for public speech, suffrages tipped the balance in favour of the public sidewalk.” (p.94)

“By exploiting the power of consumers, suffragists redefined the windows, making them not only a space of commercial display but also a space for [powerful] political speech”. (p.94)