Exactly what is it that gives a brand, a product or experience so much appeal that I can’t resist the urge to indulge? How can something not even remotely on my radar find its way into my heart and charm the dollars out of my wallet? Obviously, fulfilling a need is a basic driver to purchase, but I’m also convinced the drivers to many purchases are fueled by what I see as the three Laws of Attraction: appeal, attach and attain.

My first theoretical Law is that of appeal. If your brand wants to be noticed, it has to generate appeal. For me, appeal starts with the visual, something eye catching, which may be created through the use of an interesting color, a fun shape, or something aesthetically new and different. Disruption can play a role in appeal, something so startling, unique and outside your expectations that it pops off the curb, the screen, or the shelf. If your brand blends in, especially in a crowded segment, it is by definite devoid of appeal. In the consumer packaged goods world, Tide laundry detergent’s genius is the orange color, disruptive and unique in a sea of sameness. I have always admired retailers who leverage a color that other brands rejected. The pink and orange sign on a Dunkin’ Donuts is hard to miss. But that’s just the first law. Once you’ve attracted attention through a strong appeal, your brand needs to attach.

Attach, the second Law of Attraction, is about establishing a kinship, striking an emotional chord, or capturing the imagination. Once I walk in the front door or pick your appealing product from the shelf, that’s the cue for your product to attach itself to me. J. Crew’s Liquor Store in Tribeca had me at hello. The second I saw it from the curb, I was hooked. Such an innovative, offbeat approach! I had to go inside. Attachment manifests itself with the impression that, “Hey, this brand really gets me,” or “Wow, I want to be a part of this.” A storefront that easily communicates its proposition in a new and exciting way elicits these feelings from me, while a product with attributes that incorporate my individual sense of style can create attachment. Attachment can be a powerful force. It’s what puts a brand into a consumer’s consideration set, often times at the top.

When you ask an architect to envision the Store of the Future, their mind races with the opportunities of the clean sheet of paper, unlimited budgets and unlimited resources! The reality of the store of the future is altogether different.

The Great Recession has left us with smaller budgets, dwindling resources and consumers who shop less. And according to the 2007 Economic Census, there were 1,122,703 retail establishments in the United States and a total of 14.2 billion square feet of retail spaces. With such an abundance of existing shopping space, the question to solve is: How will the existing retail environment of today be transformed into the Store of the Future, enticing the shopper and energizing the store personnel to provide a greater return on investment for the retailer?

Building Information Modeling (BIM) offers an exciting platform for renovating retail space, when it is appropriately used by design, construction and executive teams. Building models are constructed from digital representations of parts and components used in construction, complete with quantities and physical properties of the materials used.

These information-rich models allow simulation of things like heating or cooling loads, or physical weight loads. They allow an owner to tap into a robust database of information for use in identifying maintenance needs or merchandising opportunities over the life cycle of a building. In the future, BIM will drive a shift in construction towards premanufacturing or panelization of building components, reducing construction time and waste to provide tighter and more accurate bids.

It’s a great time to be a consumer. We have more choices than ever and we wake up each morning to even more. Something tells me that the future, either near or far, will be no different. Endless choice, however, has become the Achilles’ heel of brick and motor retail.

Imagine if Amazon.com had a physical store carrying everything they had online. They would need a skyscraper to contain the stock, and they’d have to add a new floor every week or so, just to keep up. Some stores seem like they’ve actually tried this, and it hasn’t been working out so well. Border’s recent woes are a sign that their stores are just too big. They try to balance a merchandise mix that has the drawing power of new and urgent, yet satisfies a book-lover’s fondness for browsing and the rewarding sense of, “Hmmm, this looks interesting.”

But what percentage of that browsing space is effectively selling? I would wager the turn on some titles must be once a year, perhaps some less than that. Similarly, on a recent trip to Blockbuster I saw plenty of dusty niche titles that might never be rented again, if they ever had been. All taking up shelf space that wasn’t being productive. The store of the future has to change size and I think it has to be smaller.

A bit of a paradox, expanding choice and shrinking space to merchandise it.

Retailers and manufacturers are constantly on the lookout for new ideas and strategies to spur growth. And while smart companies are giving digital serious consideration, they’re not doing it at the expense of the store experience. Likewise, in our excitement around mobile shopping, let’s not overlook our physical spaces and the tactile experiences they offer. Yes, stores have been our retail workhorses for centuries, but don’t make the mistake of assuming we’ve wrung every bit of growth to be had from them. What can be done to spur growth from the fleet of branded spaces that currently exist? Plenty.

When I look across most categories, I see great similarities between competing brands. Brands get stagnant and complacent. All it takes is a little courage to get beyond the safety of sameness. I believe innovative thinking can only happen when you take a long hard look at your brand and ask, “What if?” What if we look at things from a different perspective? What if we do things a new way?

Customers get excited by new. We see this time after time when we open a store, especially if the exterior has had a makeover. Inevitably, customers who have forgotten about you will try you again. “New” attracts attention.

Do you remember your first iPod? I bet you do. I bet you remember the feel of the box in your hand. How it looked. I bet you remember cracking it open Like a book! I bet the minimalist feel, crisp white look, and flawless shiny iPod was an experience burnt into your brain. That is power of delivering big in the opening ceremony. In fact if you had trouble connecting it to your computer I bet you never think about that. You only remember that first moment of joy.

The opening ceremony is one of the most under-utilized opportunities to delight your customer. Whether you’re talking about packaging, retail, or online, brands that make a memorable impact in the up-front can disproportionately win emotional attachment from their customers.

Target is a great example of how simple things executed well can create an exciting “opening ceremony” experience. Who doesn’t look forward to walking into Target to see what the new promotional theme is? It’s never just a sign hanging. It’s a fleet of visual eye-candy that tells a story and creates a sense of energy and change.

When asked for my favorite brand, I am always quick to respond with Nordstrom. In my mind they achieve highest honors on my list of favorite shopping venues. I have several reasons for loving them so much (and driving over an hour to get to the nearest one).

The sales associates are not only helpful in locating items, and friendly when checking out, but they are thoughtful – they provide new ideas and bring items you haven’t seen to your attention. The stores are well organized and easy to shop – fixtures are typically spaced well enough apart to allow for viewing of all the product, the product itself is organized into meaningful departments and sub-groupings, and the fixtures are not so overstuffed that you can easily pull out and replace items you are considering.

And unlike some of its luxury department store competitors, it’s not so elitist feeling that you’d be ashamed to walk in wearing jeans and a t-shirt on, a non-designer handbag on your arm. In general, the brand makes you feel like you deserve to shop this way, that you are a treasured customer and guest.

So given all this, imagine my shock and horror when the Nordstrom brand promise that is so clear and well articulated in their stores came crashing down when I entered a Nordstrom Rack. To be fair, I didn’t expect it to be the same level of polish, finish or service, but I did expect it to deliver against the familiar organization and level of quality that the products it sells deserves. Instead I was greeted by a flea market environment punctuated by product strewn all over the floor and on top of fixtures, barely enough room to walk between rounders, and an overwhelming desire to run from the space that felt like nothing better than a “last stop outlet where clothes go to die.”

There was little hope of finding a good deal unless you were willing to commit hours to the task of searching. Any warm and fuzzy feeling I had about Nordstrom itself and what it could offer me, was destroyed in the 95 seconds I could tolerate being in the place.

In the world of shopper sciences and retail design, we enjoy many in-depth discussions about strategic adjacencies, cross promotion opportunities, complimentarity studies and the like. We spend our time pouring through data and observing how shoppers are pairing items together in store. Our aim, of course, is to simplify the shopper’s experience–and drive sales, obviously!

Today, I saw the mother of all product pairings in one fixture. That’s right, Dove chocolates has paired up with Gallo wines to produce the ultimate in-store one-stop shop. I am salivating just looking at the picture! For those of you who have never experienced the glory of a good wine and chocolate pairing, you are in for a treat.

This program is a fantastic example of two brands coming together to compliment the other’s product portfolio. Knowing that today’s busy shopper is looking for solutions in-store, a program of this nature helps her quickly and easily supplement dinner (or after-dinner) plans.

So it’s that time of year again. Over the next three months, you can find me at my kid’s high school athletic field, watching his soccer team practice four nights a week. I rather enjoy those days. They’re a combination of fresh air and pride watching my kid trying to be the next great Springboro High goalkeeper.

As I sit here this evening, there is a slight wind that keeps the flag flying, pulling its cable against the flagpole, creating that hollow metal pinging sound. At the far end of the bleachers, a runner is doing some stair work. Her shoes make a sharp pop, I can feel the vibrations down my row as she hustles up and back down again. The evening sun is warm and the smell of freshly cut grass fills the stadium. Based on these sensations, you could blindfold me and I’d still know where I was.

A few retail brands stand out when I think of sensorial experiences. How many times have you smelled a Cinnabon before you saw it? You can smell and usually hear an Abercrombie before you come across one in the local mall. A similar volume of music (not to mention the genre) somehow seems very out of place in an Orvis store. Bath and Body Shop does a nice job of seasonal scents to grab your attention.

As retail designers, we rely a lot on the visual sense to communicate to consumers. But let’s not forget that those brands that engage all of the senses create the most memorable experiences.

A: When I’m shopping at my local Kroger.

No, not the “Post” as in Raisin Bran; I’m referring to the physical post, or column, that is in the cereal aisle at my store.

The scene is this: my wife asks me to go get the Multi-Grain Cheerios so she can shop in peace for 10 minutes. She says, “Get the big box, unless the smaller box is on sale,” adding, “The Cheerios are close to the post about half-way down the aisle.”

If she wouldn’t have given me that navigational pointer, she probably would have bought herself 15 minutes of peace. The merchandise presentation in the cereal aisle is such a mess, so lacking in organization, I could easily have squandered more time, forced to scan every package, not finding what I was looking for. But since she gave me the post as my pole star, I managed to navigate past the lions and tigers and bears to the Cheerios. After a moment of anxiety while I scan the shelf for validation—Ta-dah!—I find the Mutli-Grain big box not on sale!

Contrast this with my second mission, during which my wife gets only a few minutes of peace.

Stay ahead of rapid expansion
Singapore, Seoul, and Mumbai are cutting edge markets and this means high expectations. Going into a project as a designer in these cities is intimidating. Shoppers live in aesthetic cultures where every imaginable design has been popularized. These cities are changing organically. It almost seems instantaneous. Within 3 months of being away from Singapore three new malls have opened. It’s all about knowing past/ present memes and looking toward ways of either (1) creating a new twist or (2) breaking the boundaries all together.

Stand out
In most cases Western design tends to fit in with its surroundings. Success in Asia is all about being bold. Whether it be a silly chewing gum commercial or neon signage that puts Times Square to shame, there is always something screaming for your attention. When you consider how busy people are in cities like Beijing and Tokyo, getting someone’s attention takes a strong effort. In my opinion, the solution to this is a simple design that allows for a detox from all the noise.

While I was listening to WNYC Radiolab the other day I came across an interesting episode centered on choice and decision making influencers. Being a designer, I am always searching for new ideas and concepts to weave into my work, so I clicked on the link. In an hour the host took me through a whirlwind of studies examining the variations of why we choose the way we do and what factors can influence our decisions. And what does it all boil down too?

Stress has a tremendous affect on our ability to make appropriate selection.

To quote my mother, this over-simplified answer is an “astute observation of the obvious.” However, when broken apart, the program’s individual experiments struck me as simple learning blocks that could easily be applied to a retail environment.

Basically, if a person is over-stimulated in an environment a simple decision of what apple to buy can become ridiculously hard because there is too much information for them to just make a choice. They start to tune out their fast moving intuition to make a more educated selection on an item that they could really care less about. In the end, those who were over-stimulated tend to be disappointed.

So I’m sitting in a Starbucks in Sacramento CA waiting to meet with the city planner regarding a new building design and notice the building across the street has an HVAC unit mounted at the peak of a bowstring truss roof. You’ve got to be kidding me! As they say on “Modern Family,” What the face! Where is the enforcement?

You would think they were trying to make a mechanical engineering cupola statement as part of the design concept or something. Wow, who does that and what city planner or inspector approved that?

As design professionals, we go through great pains to design buildings that screen ugly mechanical equipment to improve the look of the street scape at every juncture.

There wasn’t an Evolutionary War for a reason. In the pre-dawn of U.S. history, the new settlers wanted more than to just evolve the British rule, it had to be overthrown. A new start, a clean slate. Imagine the pressure that those founding fathers must have felt when deciding that enough was enough, let’s try something new. Today, many brands find themselves in the same place. The status quo isn’t working. It’s time to differentiate. But I wonder if the ideas of “revolution” and “evolution” aren’t being confused.

Carpenter to focus on Interbrand North America

Design Forum has changed its name… sort of.
When we became part of Interbrand in 2002, we kept the name of the company that I founded in 1978. Since then, we’ve evolved from a pure design entity into a multi-disciplined consultancy with a deep pool of talent, including a lot of brand expertise.
“Design Forum” contains valuable

Consumer insights key to creating prototype with smart space allocation to maximize brand and ROI