Are you paying attention

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12
A Crash Course on Creativity
Professor Tina Seelig
ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?
I went on a Thursday afternoon to a local mall. The weather was poor as it soon started drizzling as I started the
observation.
The first store I observed in was JC Penny.

As with several mall store there are many outside entrances. This one is considered the main entrance.
As one could see the entrance is rather plan and looks rather dated.

As one could see mannequin are in professional poses, by which I mean if one could picture a business
person in a pose these would be similar. Clear brand advertising is also visible alone with some prices. Though
the only prices shown are the lowest, most likely to draw in customers.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The main accent of the entrance area was this line of colorful mannequins. They are lit from above and
steep angle. The color temperature of the lights on them is cooler to make them “pop” more. The ceilings are
over 10ft tall. The lighting in the store was basic florescent, with some track lights added to highlight new focal.

This being an indoor mall a few of the store have multiple levels. The bottom level was completely
abandoned. No customers and no employees. The colorful display of towels was the main thing that drew my
eye in addition to the bed linen display. Clearly people do not often shop for towels at JC Penny.
Other observations would be the distinctive scent of perfume on the first floor mainly near the
jewelry/cosmetic counter located on the first floor. The jewelry being bright and shinny was the first thing I
noticed when I walked around the store. The only pricing I noticed were the sale signs. No other signs were
present. Employees were dressed in apparel that seemed to be purchased from the store. On two occasions did
an employee acknowledge me but, only through a smile or head nod. The main customer demographic was
middle aged women age 30-50’s. Most of them were in pairs but a few were alone.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The next store I observed was Sports Authority.

The outside entrance was clearly marked and its advertising of sports memorabilia was ever present. The
entrance seems updated and at night is clearly lit.

This store went for a basic looking ceiling. Open fluorescents add more height and some might relate the lack of
tiles with cost saving. As in the Wal-Mart philosophy where a basic interior design is related to cost savings.
Displays are colorful and always show some sort of movement.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

Mannequins in this store show some sort of athletic pose. The color of the skin makes the clothing color pop
more as well as looking sleeker. The lighting of the poster displays adds some interesting to the window
display.

Advertising for store discounts was ever present. The floor plan seemed rather open. The employees wore red
polo’s with company logos on them and kaki pants.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

Prices were clearly labels along with sale prices, to which almost everything was on sale.
Other observations: The store smelled like rubber/plastic. Probably due to the products inside and it was
not overpowering however I did notice it. I seemed to be the only person in the store and in my time in the store
one employee said hello but did not say anything else.
The next store I observed was Von Maur

The entrance seemed very grand and over scaled. The signing was small and seemed more like a plaque
then a sign labeling the business. This all gave the feel of a high end building.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The clothing was highly organized by color, size and to a point price. The prices are not advertised at all.
The carpet was clean and the floors looked like granite.

There are cozy seating areas with individual lighting to add more of a comfort feel. The furniture gives an
antique look and adds to the high end feel of the store.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The main focus on the entrance was this display. Though I feel it could have been accented more via lighting
the display did draw some focus. It holds watches and next to it is the store credit card that advertised better
prices and deals. The lighting of this store seemed a dim compared to other stores in the mall.

The aisle in the store and product were also spread out more. The store as a whole had a grade feel to it also
adding to its expensive feel.
Other observations: The employees were all older my guess was 40’s old at least. Each department was staffed
according to stereotypes. The men’s dressware was an older male. The female sections ranged from older to
middle aged females. The semi athletic section had bit younger employees. The customers were all individually
there and seemed to be 50 years old and were a mix of male and females.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The next store I observed at was Carson Pirie Scott. The entrance outside was clearly labeled and even had an
overhead roof to allow for door to door service.

The enterance in the mall side top floor mainly lead people through to cosmetics departments. The clothing was
to the sides and on the lower floor.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The smell of perfume was overwhelming. The employees also seemed very attentive, which to me seemed
overbearing. This level seemed very cluttered and forced together. As one can see the customers are forced into
a narrow aisle.

The high end clothing was on display and advertised. The mannequins were also in the professional
poses I day from JC Penny’s.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The clothing section was a bit more spread out on the bottom floor.
Other Observations: This store had a good mix of ages/sex and even single to group diversity. I found
this store to be a median between the lower end and over crowed JC Penny and the up scale Von Maur. That
also was with respect with the employees and the customers. Some prices were noticed but again these were
only discount prices or sales. The employees were overbearing on the top floor however I did not see any on the
bottom floor beside the cashiers.

The next store I observed at was Forever 21

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The entrance was clearly marked from the outside. There were even fancy window displays.

The window displays are highly attractive when it is dark out. The mannequins in this display look a bit like
zombies.

The mannequins did seem to be in aggressive fashion poses, maybe something similar to what one could see on
TV.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

Even more attractive displays to draw in a crowd including several layers of lighting.

The floor plan seemed a bit more open though there were many walls creating sections that seemed a bit too full
of product. I only saw one employee and she did not acknowledge my presence and seemed to not even be
wearing clothing from the store.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

There were only some minor displays in the store. The ceilings were high and the lighting was mixed between
florescent and track lighting. There was a lot of accent lighting on the walls and on some other random displays.

There was a lot of coloration in the store and several color temperatures of lighting displays.
Other observation: There were very few customers in the store but the ones that were seemed to be in
the mid 20’s to late 30’s and all female. Additionally the music in the store was a bit loud and was an industrial
or dance type.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The last store I observed was Marshalls. Recently remodeled the outside entrance looks nice.

On the homegoods side the store seems to be thrown together. Candles mixed with picture frames. Lots of
textures and colors though no reason to it.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

The clothing section was even worse in terms of organization. The lighting seemed a bit chaotic as well. The
base lighting was fluorescents however the accents were these odd chandeliers. Lots of signing and pricing was
available how ever when looking at some products the prices label on signs were not the same as the ones on
the product.

The renovations to attempt to make this store more high-end just seem cheap. The linoleum floor was
already bubbling and just seemed to be lacking the quality that one would expect with a multi thousand dollar
renovation.
Other Observation: The employees were all working the register so I did no notice anyone on the floor.
They seemed to be wearing anything and did not match. The organization on the clothing side was even worse
then the homegoods side. The products were generally labeled as to sex and style but beyond shirt good luck

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12
finding anything specific. Also the customers were by far the most ethnically diverse crowd. Every nationality
and age was representative and many people were alone but most were in groups.

The last place I went to was the Food Court! I figured this would be the busiest place since the weather
seemed to be slowing down the shopping.

This place seemed to have the most community support as it is selling donation cards and has them covering
everything.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

Surprisingly the only place that had a line was Sabarro’s .

With a clearly displayed food option and many employees on hand this place gave the best customer attraction.

Nathan Szewczyk
10/25/12

This was especially important since these poor women at subway had waited for over 4min till a employee
came out from back and asked what she wanted. Clearly there was more diversity in the food court in terms of
people. There was also several different architectural styles going on to attract attention.

And just in case people think we are the smartest students around we are put in out humble places by these labs.
(As indicated from a car in the parking lot)

Are you paying attention

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