How to win big by choosing the best materials for your Visual Merchandising concepts?

display window, window panels, window display tools, Christmas window props

IWC Schaffhausen – Christmas Windows 2021

November 25, 2021

festive display, shopping mall Christmas decoration, visual merchandising project

Landmark – Christmas Joy House

December 1, 2021

Published by TDF Asia on November 30, 2021

Wood/(Medium-density Fibreboard) MDF in Retail Display

Sustainability is gaining traction in the luxury industry. As luxury brands have set their sights on sustainability goals, the supply chain is top of mind for recalibration to decarbonise the production process, whereas the brands tend to reconsider possible materials for manufacturing sustainable or recyclable installations. Compared to plastic, solid wood/MDF is a choice for more eco-friendly production to reduce the environmental impact. As different luxury brands have varying sustainability standards and codes of conduct, material selection for visual merchandising projects is subject to the guidelines provided by the brands.

The versatility of wood is best manifested in production of diverse merchandising props/POP displays through a wide range of applicable techniques such as bending, shearing, CNC, sanding, grinding, varnishing, veneer application and more. Besides, solid wood is endowed with distinctive wood patterns and an extensive array of shades that can vividly enrich the visual delivery of the stores. Based on the design concepts, brands can select the most suitable type of wood to convey corporate narratives. For example, to deliver the message of embracing nature or an eco-friendly image, solid wood (i.e., oak, beech, ash wood), MDF, bamboo and plywood are the go-to materials for visual merchandising projects.

To name a few advantages of incorporating solid wood into your visual merchandising concepts:

Durability and resilience
Adaptability
Aesthetic enjoyment

MDF indeed is a high-quality composite material made from recycled wood fibres and resin, making it possible to reduce waste from the production of wood boards and beams. Among the perks of applying MDF to visual merchandising projects are:

Imparting eco-friendliness and concern for nature
Bringing less detriment to the environment
More resistance to warping and cracking compared to solid wood
Durability
Cost-effectiveness
Easy combination with other materials such as fabrics and metal

The high utility of wood/MDF makes itself a popular base material to make window displays and POP display tools for luxury brands and merchandising. Let’s see how some high-end luxury fashion and skincare brands have integrated the usage of the material into their visual storytelling for merchandising:

Example 1: L-shape Display Unit

Apart from L-shape display units, display boxes can also be a useful tool to make awe-inspiring product displays that customers can hardly take their eyes off. The deluxe hinged display boxes above are crafted with MDF as the base material, and finished with high gloss paint and silkscreen printing. In place of plastic, MDF was picked to manifest the high-end image of the luxury skincare brands.

The sleek and spare design makes a unique presentation that makes the luxury brands stand out from the crowd, catching affluent customers’ eyes as soon as they enter the physical stores. If you would like to adopt solid wood, please do not hesitate to reach our team to learn about the fumigation process.

Example 2: Ingredient Sample Display Stand

Adorned with silk flowers, the exquisite display stand visualizes product information for shoppers to grasp instant knowledge. When customers enter the store, they can understand the brand messages at the first glance. The lively imagination and sensation of product ingredients are evoked as customers feel by themselves the smell and textures of fresh flowers used in the skincare formula.

The solid wood base of the display stand, on the other hand, enchants customers with an authentic touch of nature, bringing out the naturalness of the products when presented to customers.

Example 3: Wooden Signage

To underscore the timeless aesthetics of the fashion brand image, ordinary lumber was highly polished and turned into noticeable signage. Given the versatile feature of MDF, a metal logo was crafted in relief on the material to make the wooden signage more outstanding in the store space.

While acrylic can be another option for the base material to produce vivid visual effects, MDF is more aligned with the brand value for environmental friendliness.

Paper/ Cardboard/ Print

While wood can be a green material for production of visual merchandising props, paper is another recyclable pick for window installations and display tools. The FSC certified paper has gained rising popularity among luxury brands as customers choose the materials to bring their concepts to life.

To spotlight a seasonal collection, various techniques can be applied to paper installations, including offset printing, digital printing, film printing, silkscreen printing, pad printing, hot stamping, lamination, embossing, and many more to imbue brand stories with liveliness.
This flexible material can quickly draw people’s attention to the theme of the collection or the brand message. Before actualising your groundbreaking and captivating visual merchandising concept, do fully explore the advantages of using paper, such as:

Cost-effectiveness
Easy management
Easy assembling
Recyclability
Easy combination with other materials such as fabrics and metal

The afore-mentioned pros about paper/cardboard make it an ideal base material to deliver mesmerizing visual displays. Let us show you examples so that you get more inspirations to plan for future visual communication.

Example 1: Christmas Window Props

Without the need for printing, our skilled artisans can show you creative and delicate window props through exquisite craftsmanship with paper. The Christmas trees in this project are carefully handcrafted. Experts’ attention to detail made every tree with an identical look by hand. The paper production can further mix and match with other stunning props to create enticing window demonstrations for shoppers to explore the featured products.

Example 2: Fashion Window Back Panel

Using paper to create petite and appealing window props, embossing cardboards to highlight brand logos or collection themes can make a striking and engrossing exhibition. The straightforward delivery makes it for shoppers to catch and digest the brand messages and heritage.

In the example above, the embossed cardboards feature sophisticated patterns to infuse a sense of elegance and vintage. Even in the absence of a shiny design, the delicate paper prop still manages to transform the window installation into a graceful “spokesperson” that exhibits the brand value without the need for words.

Example 3: In-store Display Set

For promotion of featured products, the use of cardboards can greatly contribute to multi-dimensional illustration of visual stories. In this example, 3D printing enables an effective way of handling in terms of cost and time. However, paper artwork filled with vivid colours in the storefront is more engaging for passers-by, if in line with the brand values.

Lighting Solutions

The window display of physical stores is the first touchpoint with customers. Lighting always plays a significant role in building a welcoming ambience that invites patrons to sense, feel, think and act.

To bring out the creative ideas behind window displays, decorative and sensational lighting can highlight shape, texture and layers of the showcase. A direct way of execution is fixing spotlights, LED strips, dimmable LED panels and colour control. On occasion, we can even see mesmerizing lightboxes for some inspiring window displays to deliver the brand messages. It easily catches the attention of passers-by and kindles their interest in visiting the stores.

On the other hand, in-store display units installed with LED panels or strips are another popular tool to bring patrons’ attention to products, and guide them through exploration of the physical space. Using combination of various materials, we can install illumination in various fixtures, retail display units and tester units. Let us explore some marvellous examples in storefronts as shown below.

Example 1: Window Display Lightbox

Lighting solutions are among the popular ways to promote featured products in the storefront. Signature brand colours in multi-dimensional window props attract the attention of visitors in the shopping mall. It thus develops a long-lasting impression on viewers.

In this project, spotlights on the top help foreground the name of the featured collection. LED strips in neon light form behind the props add layers to create a focal point of the window display.

Example 2: Display with Illumination

Spotlights aside, adequate light distribution in physical space can heavily bear on patrons’ brand perception. To make each showcase recognisable, a cosmetic display stand with illumination can help customers to focus on one thing at a time.

For this project, the display stand of artificial marble dazzling with illumination delivers a luxurious and modern feel. Different from glossy natural marble that reflects ceiling light, artificial marble’s matte texture reduces visual disorientation.

Example 3: L-Shape Tester Display Unit

Using one-layer display unit may not be able to capture shoppers’ attention. L-shape tester display unit with lighting effect strikes a modernistic and trim look. Hence, it is laid within a polished stainless steel frame, draped with premium grey fabric and covered with bright white-light LED panels. The light sources for the miniature enrich customers’ sensory experience while letting patrons examine the merchandise in details.

The intricate and elegant L-shape tester display unit requires meticulous craftsmanship. It can reinforce the brand message for patrons during the shopping journey.

Work with TDF

Visual merchandising concepts aim to tell a story of your shop, brand, or product. Creating visual displays using storytelling often requires different material handling, technologies, and finishing to realize each element of your visual merchandising concepts into reality.

Our professional Tour De Force team collaborates and advises retailers, brands, and other clients and can help you choose the most suitable materials. We can develop and artfully construct your idea into an engaging visual merchandising display.

Should you want to know what kind of materials we can handle, check out our website here and let us bring your visual merchandising concept to life.

Visual merchandising concepts are intended to tell a story of your shop, bran, or product. Creating visual displays for storytelling often requires handling different materials, technologies and finishing refinements to turn each of your visual merchandising concepts into reality. When helping the clientele to curate production materials to reduce carbon footprints, our professional TDF team collaborates with the clientele closely to provide professional advice that specifically caters for their needs, facilitating selection of the most suitable recyclable materials for different concepts. Please do share with us your desired presentations and sustainability targets to shed light on your brand’s eco-consciousness in your own way.