Big Box Improvement Boutique - Creative Exercise 34

-

Introduction

    Normally, hardware store demographics are predominantly made up of the male population. Many of these large corporations are designed to be marketed specifically for this demographic due to the concoction of pipes, wood, power tools, appliances, and even plants. These objects smells, and masculine projects would all happen because of the accessibility to these stores. What if this all changed? What if the roles between women and men were flipped? What if these stores were all of a sudden changing their marketing and branding to women?  Today, all of that is going to change.

    Back once again with the book, “CREATIVE BOOT CAMP-GENERATE IDEAS IN GREATER QUANTITY & QUALITY IN 30 DAYS”, written by Stefan Mumaw, this creative exercise is called "Big Box Improvement Boutique”.

    This exercise is asking that we flip the conventional male-dominated stereotype and design and market these stores to the ladies. There are no restrictions to what can be modified. Everything is on the table including design, products, etc. What would make a lady want to walk into a hardware store and purchase the items that they are looking for?

Big Box Improvement Boutique:

Softer/brighter colors/ “feminine colors”

Coffee in the store

Kid-friendly things in the store for women

Different typefaces/readable legible

More women in advertisements/workshops/pictures

Focus more on the elements of beauty

Decorative hardware/advertisements/interior

Friendly/welcoming environment

Add more diversity/inclusion

Focus on LGBTQIA community more

Conclusion

    There are many things that ladies can do that the consensus thinks that we can’t; however, most of these are stereotypes. Where there is a will there is a way, and there is a solution for most things. It would be interesting to see how things would turn out if these roles were reversed. How would the sales be? Would they rise, stay the same, or plummet? There is always a need for tools so, how do you think things would turn out, and how would you change the branding and marketing of hardware stores to market to the ladies? Would you be willing and open-minded to change the stores to market towards the ladies? Would changing the marketing and design of these stores, in reality, today to be more neutral or more balanced between genders be more beneficial or successful? There are a lot more women working in these so-called masculine industries today, so I believe that it would be a legitimate idea to think about.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian Street Buka's Logo - Project 25 Final

-
Image
     Nigerian clothing and street restaurant signs are filled with vibrant and bold colors. Each region's colors vary, but many wear colorful attire at some point.      To begin my logo process, I came up with the name Nigerian Street Buka. I wanted Nigerian and street in the name so that people knew what kind of food it was, but I also wanted it to be unique so I named it Nigerian Street Buka. Buka refers to small local shops in Nigeria, and that is what my restaurant represents. I also knew that I wanted to represent music and food.      Then, I sketched 30 thumbnails, and from the 30 that I sketched, I chose 3 thumbnails. I then created 3 roughs from these thumbnails, adding more detail. I again chose 1 rough for my final design.      I uploaded a photo of my rough to Adobe Illustrator, and I began drawing everything out with the pen tool. As I came to the final logo, I realized that there were some details that I did ...
Read more

Nigerian Street Buka's Brand Identity - Project 26

-
Image
     Now that a Logo had been established for Nigerian Street Buka , it was time to create a Brand Identity. For this part of the assignment, we were supposed to create a Business Card , Letterhead , Envelope , and a Website Mock-up (For a cell phone screen.) for our restaurant.      I began this project by researching various brand identities and business cards. I wanted to get a feel for what was out there in the world of the restaurant industry. Anyone can come up with a generic design for their brand identity, but if you want your brand identity to speak to your customers visually and emotionally, there needs to be a great portion of brainstorming and planning: colors, shapes, typography, and more need to be taken into careful consideration.      After completing my research, I drew my artboards out for each project piece and began contemplating a few designs. I knew my colors would be a combination of two or three colors that I pick...
Read more

Nigerian Street Buka's Touchpoints - Project 27

-
Image
Introduction      To continue with learning about what makes a successful brand identity and how to create one, this week we are to design three more touchpoints that we would consider using for our restaurant.      Now that we are in week three of Intro to Marketing and Self-Promotion , I am beginning to really understand branding and what it takes to have a successful brand. I know I still have a lot to learn, but designing a business from scratch helps teach someone how to go through the process themselves. It gives you a little taste of what it's like. Through-out my travels, I notice that I am zoning in on the brands that are in my environment.      One brand that I was focusing in on was Starbucks . Their name and symbol are everywhere. When you order Starbucks, you have a little piece of their brand in every step of the process. This includes their napkins, straws, coffee sleeves, bags, merchandise, stickers, etc. When you walk ...
Read more