Target

301 Veterans Parkway, Normal, IL 61761

For my last blog post, I decided to take pictures at Target. I've noticed lately that they've been paying more attention on their inside merchandising, and I am loving what they're doing with their visual displays. On the left side of this blog post is the display featured in the women's section. I love this display because it looks like a runway, and it doesn't take up an room with with outward appearance. All three of the mannequins are posing the same way and same direction, but the customer can clearly see what each of them are wearing and what brand it is based on the signage towards the back of the makeshift "runway."

On the right side of this blog post, there is a display featured in the men's section of Target. These two mannequins are also representing a specific brand. They are elevated at different levels, giving the customer two contrasting looks and poses. Similar to the women's display, the men's mannequins take up almost zero room within the men's department.

One of my favorite things about these displays is that each of them have the merchandise on the rack right next to the display. So if the customer likes what they see, all they have to do is take a few steps and grab the garment that is being shown on the mannequin. It is such a smart idea to have the merchandise more and more accessible and ready to be bought.

Dressbarn

314 South Towanda Avenue, Normal, IL 61761

Dressbarn's window looked pretty similar to a lot of the women's retail stores in the College Hills Mall area. They incorporated a simple signage of their current sale promotion, along with a few mannequins displaying their new spring merchandise. I really liked how Dressbarn labeled each side of the window "misses" and "woman." This lets the customer know what kind of sizes the carry, and what side of the store each size range is on. People really appreciate this kind of information that is provided at the very front of the store.

The window display is very simple. On the "misses" side, there was the obligatory signage along with two mannequins that displayed short cocktail dresses. On the "woman" side, there was almost the same signage along with one mannequin displaying a longer sundress. The proportion of each display is utilized, and the rhythm is very even throughout both windows.

Lane Bryant

305 Veterans Parkway, Normal, IL 61761

When I took this picture a few weeks ago, spring was just arriving. The weather was finally starting to warm up, and retail is starting to embrace spring trends. In this window, Lane Bryant brings visually appealing and simplistic displays with their minimal signage. In my opinion, "Endless Possibilities" lets customers know that their merchandise can be mixed and matched with a variety of things, thus the endless possibilities. Also, in this window, their merchandise is not on a mannequin, but on hangers (literally) hanging from the ceiling.

Within this window, Lane Bryant takes advantage of the dimensions of the window and proportionately places the mannequins and patterned window frame throughout.

Both of these window displays demonstrate proper proportion and rhythm that is very pleasing to the eye. LB did a great job at being innovative without overwhelming the customer.

LOFT

305 Veterans Parkway #200, Normal, IL 61761

LOFT at College Hills provides customers with multiple window displays. Their simplistic and elegant merchandise always shine through.

Their displays are almost perfectly symmetrical, which is very pleasing to the eye. Their use of merchandise flows between the mannequins' arrangements and works well with the signage being displayed just behind them.

Some of the mannequins are elevated above other mannequins, which also contributes to the rhythm and flow of the display. All of the merchandise is also displayed proportionately to the window.

White House | Black Market

303 Veterans Parkway #100, Normal, IL 61761

In this window, White House | Black Market focused on the merchandise that customers could wear to work. The proportion of the window is asymmetrical, but it works well with the hanging merchandise and signage. The sign above the merchandise says "Master Pieces: The pieces you can't work without." WHBM is smart about this because they display the clothes on hangers as if they were hanging in your closet, and they also displayed the clothes on the mannequins. This is smart because some women have a hard time picking what to wear to work, so this display really communicates to the customer that you can most likely wear all of these items together. Showing customers the difference between how the clothing looks on the hanger and on the body is such a clever idea.

Chico's

303 Veterans Parkway #130, Normal, IL 61761

Chico's had quite the variety in their window display selection! Their merchandise directly relates to the new season and warm weather.

"New Style Adventure" is the theme as they present many different styles for different occasions. From daywear to evening wear to beach wear, Chico's has it. They did a great job in displaying these different styles together.

The mannequins and signage were evenly placed within the dimensions of the windows. Besides the adventure theme, Chico's displayed a couple graphics of models wearing some of the merchandise behind the mannequins, which might give a customer a better understanding of how the item would look on an actual person. Their windows were huge! The bigger the better, and Chico's used the space well.

Francesca's

307 South Veterans Parkway #515, Normal, IL 61761

Francesca's always gives me a younger (and cheaper) Anthropologie vibe. Their soho chic styles and unique trinkets are so adorable, and their merchandise is clearly presented in their windows.

As Easter is quickly approaching, Francesca's decided to add a few Easter bunny ears to the windows. Little details like these can make a customer smile by simply adding a humorous aspect relating to this holiday.

As far as proportion and symmetry goes, the two mannequins on each side of the main focal point is a good way to split up the customer's viewing of the window. The main focal point provided a few trinkets that could be found within the store, which could be great Easter basket gifts!

J. Jill

303 Veterans Parkway #110, Normal, IL 61761

J. Jill's window display at College Hills immediately caught my attention with its bright spring colors. I am slightly obsessed with watercolor artwork, so I was so excited to see that J. Jill used a couple pieces of artwork as the background of their window display.

I also loved their even proportion and symmetry. Four mannequins were evenly placed within the space, and the two pieces of art were displayed evenly between the mannequins. It was very pleasing to the eye.

Their signage had a simplistic design and message, "Welcome Spring." Spring has definitely arrived, and it is now time to shop!