Pint Size Attraction. The Gist on Designing for Kids.
Recently, CG president and creative director, Brian Shafley, authored VMSD’s Field Report on designing for kids. For the full article, as it appeared in the April issue, please visit VMSD.com. Read on for a condensed version.
Designing for kids? You might be tempted to say “child’s play.” But at Chute Gerdeman Retail we know differently. While the customer may be pint-sized, the opportunity is not. Estimated to be upwards of $18 billion, kids’ buying power promises a big pay off for retailers who can attract and retain kids’ interest.
In the last few years we have helped five landmark enterprises dazzle and delight real kids (and the occasional kid-within!) working with Stride Rite, Disney, Limited Too, Club Libby Lu, Hamleys, and many more still waiting to make their debut.
The Chute Gerdeman approach, one anchored in the tradition of storytelling, is ideally suited to attracting the imaginative and highly visual shoppers aged 10 and under. At the heart of every brand is a story; helping it unfold through a series of subtle cues is where the magic begins. How colors, merchandise vignettes, décor and design interweave into the fantastic fable we call retail is just part of the formula. Disney, a company that has perfected storytelling, calls it the “Suspension of Disbelief.”
An example is our work developing Club Libby Lu. To design the store, we created a fictional character (Libby Lu) and built an entire store concept around her ideas and personality. It only makes sense that our creative design process began with the little girls who would eventually become “club members.” We organized a fun focus group and gave girls money to shop in the mall. We watched where they went, what attracted and excited them and how they shopped individually and as a group. Returning from the mall, we gathered materials in a creative space and asked them to design the most “awesome-est” store in the world. Their designs are what exist today, including their chosen logo and color (unanimously pink!).
Why do we listen to kids? Because we know that as much as we could intellectualize what kids want, it's much more emotional than that, and it’s why we always conduct extensive research when working with kids.
We’d never play favorites; but we must say we love working on kids’ projects. Whenever our strategists and designers get to be kids themselves, you know the results are going to be out of the box and maybe out of this world!
Since its first store opening in 1976, C&A Brazil has become a leading fashion retailer offering an assortment of private brands for different lifestyles and fashion needs, including apparel, accessories, and shoes for men, women, and children. In order to maintain their success, C&A Brazil needed to revolutionize and update their retail brand experience and its in-store presence in over 150 stores throughout the country. [More]
Denny Gerdeman, has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree by Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD).
CCAD President Dennison W. Griffith, in presenting the honor at the school's graduation ceremonies May 10, called Gerdeman "the embodiment of accomplishment, commitment, and passion for this field in which we are all committed." [More]
Katie is a proponent of using environmentally friendly design materials and products whenever possible. Here are her top ten green products for June 2008. [More]
It only makes sense that our creative design process began with the little girls who would eventually become “club members.” We organized a fun focus group and gave girls money to shop in the mall. We watched where they went, what attracted and excited them and how they shopped individually and as a group. Returning from the mall, we gathered materials in a creative space and asked them to design the most “awesome-est” store in the world. Their designs are what exist today, including their chosen logo and color (unanimously pink!).
