Welcome to all the new subscribers we met at the Retail Show and the Gaming Expo, both held in Sydney. Providing creative graphic solutions, displays and in-store promotion is our passion and we hope you will find this e-newsletter both resourceful and inspiring.

This month we bring you some new product ideas and several examples of large-scale in-store design themes. Plus, be sure not to miss out on the chance to win $5000 in cash! See Retail Display Award for more details.

Regards,
Cassandra Chapman

The new store design for OPSM is a part of a major repositioning for the brand here in Australia. Public Design Group, Sydney (previously Futurebrand) created the look and feel in conjunction with OPSM marketing and Landplan. The first new-look store has now opened in Penrith as well as 3 locations across Melbourne. The OPSM brand is transformed from its old position of being seen as trustworthy, into a contemporary brand closer and more relevant to its customers.

Retail is no longer just about selling product, it’s about immersing customers in your brand’s story and that’s exactly what the new OPSM store environment achieves. It includes images of real people doing real things, capturing a moment in time that any customer can relate to.

Graphic designer and brand strategist Rob Bryant adds; “Rather than communicate at people, we have initiated a dialogue with them. We ask them questions like ‘Have you had your eyes tested lately?’ this provokes a response and makes people think”.

The store hosts a variety of graphic applications from the large beach scene covering the back wall (achieved through using Digital Wallpaper), through to large photographic die cut prints. The steps involved in having an eye test and buying glasses are clearly explained by well defined vinyl cut lettering. Bryant adds; “Optometry is a complex and potentially scary process. The written explanation is a great example of how the new OPSM brand has become closer to its customers in reassuring them and demystifying the process”.

OPSM won the "Retailer of the Year Award” for their new stores; the award was presented by Lend Lease, who were impressed with the change in attitude and use of retail space achieved by changing the emphasis from selling products and services to selling a brand.

For any further information please contact rob@publicdesigngroup.com

The Koori Heritage Trust is a permanent home and focal point for Koori culture in Melbourne. It celebrates the survival of indigenous communities and acquires, protects and preserves cultural icons, works of art and artifacts. Therefore, when Acumen Design was asked to create the designs and displays for the recently opened Museum their focus rested on these ideas and themes.

Natasha Kennedy, Project Co-ordinator for Acumen Design, explains that Acumen’s overall design objective was to explain Koori Culture from pre-European times to the present. With the use of Aboriginal art and cultural themes to capture the imagination, visitors are provided with an intense experience throughout the museum.

The exhibit uses several varieties of media, graphics, historic artifacts, touchscreens, descriptive and ambient sounds – with a strong emphasis on tactility and interactivity. Flash Photobition worked in collaboration with Acumen Design on several areas of print and display. Specifically, large Polycotton banners were used to display the designs and provide an experiential and impressive environment.

Polycotton banners were chosen by Acumen for their ability to print large, continuous graphics. This was vital in contributing to the intensity of the space and the 3 metre banners have become an important visual focal point in the story telling and communication of the museum. Polycotton is low sheen and conveys a textured, more natural appearance. The display also included labels and images produced from inkjet and photographic printing.

The Koori Heritage Trust Museum is located on the corner of Little Lonsdale and King Street, in Melbourne’s CBD. It is open to the public from 10am-4pm everyday.

For more information please contact ken.williams@flash.com.au

At this year’s Retail Show we displayed a variety of innovative materials and print methods for specific retail purposes. There was extraordinary interest in our Tuffline™ system and we received a number of large orders at the show. Based on a theme of "Orange and Green" our stand won the award for the "Best Use of Exhibition Medium” – which we were very happy to receive.

Overall, it was a great show, we recommend it to any retailer and we will definitely be back next year! For more information on the above products, or anything else you spotted at the show, please contact peter.maddison@flash.com.au.

For more detail on the Retail Exhibition click here.

Telstra recently engaged Saunders Creative to design and develop a new retail concept. The focus was to lift Telstra out of the traditional mould of providing price driven commodities, into the leading edge position for consumer marketing. A unique solution was the only way to satisfy Telstra’s retail needs, with the challenge for Saunders Creative being to show Telstra as the gateway to a new world of telephone-based communications and cutting edge technology.

The solution was found in a visual and audio-rich multimedia environment that clearly demonstrated Telstra’s place at the forefront of service provision.

Saunders Creative needed to deliver large scale graphics on many different types of media while still maintaining the important and vital public image of such a well known brand like Telstra. Within the market place, Telstra has strongly established itself in consumer’s minds, with a recognisable logo and distinct colours. The new method of retail display had to run consistently within that.

Mixed with the creative needs of Telstra’s retail fit-out were the print and installation requirements, which had to meet stringent quality control and cost effective guidelines. Flash Photobition was part of a broad team of professionals who developed the environmental graphics and touch screen based solutions that work so effectively.

Flash worked with Saunders to produce images on a wide range of materials both frontlit & backlit. The goal was to colour match backlit Lightwalls with digital Wallpaper and a Lamda Duratran backlit counter. This was achieved after much colour proofing and customer liaison. The results can be seen at Telstra’s exciting new retail concept at Warringah Mall.

Overall, Telstra is delighted with the result and have seen encouraging initial sale increases from the new concept environment.

Q: Why can I see the tubes through the images in my lightbox?

A: The main reason is that there is not enough space between the fluorescent tubes and the image for the light to properly diffuse. This can be helped by working with various diffusion methods in front of the light source plus also increasing the light reflectivity from the back of the box. Common solutions include opal acrylic or light enhancement film.

The quality of your imaging material also impacts on the result. A thicker diffuser base, for example Duratran material, will help - as opposed to a thinner inkjet stock. If you need advise on how to improve the performance of your lighbox please give us a call on 1800 606 682.

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