Signs of the Times - April 2020 - 40

PHOTO COURTESY OF NANOLUMENS

slated for openings through the second
quarter of this year. "The Innisfree
Lexington store in New York City
achieved the impossible, drawing
attention away from long-established
competitors that are located just
steps away - competitors with loyal
customer bases," said Beth Warren,
CRI's senior vice president of experience planning and design. "By using
large, bright LED displays to draw
in customers and create a center
of gravity for storytelling, shoppers
are experiencing the brand's naturalingredient theme in a way that encourages excitement and sharing on
social media."
The displays that CRI specified for
the work are from NanoLumens, with
Warren describing its products as "an
ideal fit for the Innisfree retail stores
because its LED displays are absolutely not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Each store has slightly different space
availability, and with these [displays],
we are able to specify exact sizes
and pixel-pitches unique to each
store to achieve a consistent aspect
ratio and pixel count that vastly sim40

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

APRIL 2020

plifies content creation and display."
She added that flexibility means the
displays blend with their environment,
and don't appear to be a bolt-on
afterthought, a crucial element in
consumer-facing environments.
The large-scale displays are used
to create an inviting environment by
depicting natural scenes and landscapes that evoke a calming effect
and relate to the brand's ingredient
sourcing on the remote South Korean
island of Jeju. Large windows at the
storefront make the signs visible to
passersby, which entice them into
the space.
Beyond such screens, the cosmetics
brand has integrated other high-tech
features, such as touchscreen stations
that instantly analyze a shopper's
skin tone to recommend products
for their specific needs, and smaller
digital displays that promote products
and identify different areas of the
retail space.
PIERCING INSIGHTS
Claire's (Hoffman Estates, IL), is a
fashion-accessories specialty retailer

catering mainly to tweens and teen
girls. But what it's probably best-known
for is ear-piercing - the international
chain estimates more than 100 million
such procedures have been performed
in its stores over the years.
Playing up that aspect of the business
took center stage in the latest prototype store layout by BHDP Architecture (Cincinnati). That firm, in turn,
brought in Triangle Sign Services
(Baltimore, MD), and products
from SparkleMasters, Perspectives
in Print and Testrite Visual Products
for various aspects of the signage,
which played a major role in the update. BHDP noted that the retailer
had been moving the store's earpiercing station from the back to
the front, just to the side of the main
entrance and behind the store's
floor-to-ceiling front windows.
"What we did for the prototype was
celebrate and elevate the ear-piercing
experience at the front of the store,"
said BHDP retail leader Andrew
McQuilkin. That included installing
faux neon signage by Triangle bearing
the words "ear piercing" on the inside
Signs of the Times - April 2020

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