Five Tips for Designing an Appealing Display Case

Photo by Elisha Terada on Unsplash

If you want your products to get the attention (and the sales) they deserve, it’s essential to design an appealing display case.  Here are five tips, courtesy of the Jahabow team in Owensville, MO USA.

Pick a Theme

Though all of your display cases needn’t look exactly the same, pick a theme or look that ties them all together. The product(s) you sell and your target audience will determine what themes work best. For example, if you’re selling toys, keep your theme lighthearted. If you’re selling high-end watches, a more formal approach is best. The contents of each case can be arranged differently, and your cases don’t all have to be the same size, but an all-encompassing theme eliminates the possibility of your store looking too “random”, which can be a turnoff to customers.

Choose Between Permanent or Mobile

The question of whether to invest in permanent or movable display cases is another that’s dependent on your product and clientele. For products that skew more “creative” and appeal to a more eclectic audience, movable display cases allow you to rearrange your layout. Many customers appreciate an environment that changes periodically. However, if your customer base is well-established and wants the familiarity that comes with a static environment, i.e. in a jewelry store, then permanent display cases are probably your best bet.

P.A.R.C.

P.A.R.C. stands for “proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast”. It’s an oft-used acronym in the visual display industry, and sticking to its tenets can be a big boon for your business. For example:

Proximity

Proximity means grouping similar products together while allowing display cases containing dissimilar products, i.e. cases with “new” items or “sale” items, their own space so that the customer can easily see there’s something different about them. Remember though that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, so be sure that all of your cases still retain a common theme.

Alignment

Similar to proximity and the idea of a cohesive theme, alignment favors organization and clarity over randomness. The customer would much rather walk into a well-aligned store, one in which the layout makes sense, rather than one in which the display cases seem randomly placed.

Repetition

If your products or branding use common colors, make sure this is conveyed in the color of the graphics and other supporting visuals for your display cases.

Contrast

Contrast is just as important as repetition. Though all of your cases might integrate the same color(s), you can still embrace contrast by varying the size of your cases, how much product is in one as opposed to another (and how the product is arranged), and changing your lighting approach between display cases.

Leave Something to the Imagination

Don’t “overload” your front-of-store display cases with your best products. Instead, spread these out and entice the customer to proceed further into your store to see what other gems await.

Maximize Your Space

Some stores are large. Some are small. Some have angled walls and low ceilings. Use your store’s uniqueness to your advantage by designing display cases that mesh perfectly with your available space.
If you’re a business seeking first-rate visual merchandising solutions, contact the pros at Jahabow today.