Over the past few months we’ve been getting up with the roosters to tend to the farm. Well, OK, not really, but sort of. We’ve had the privilege to get to update the interior of an IFA (Intermountain Farmers Association) store based in Utah, who to date, used only customer service or hand written signs to guide a customer within their stores.

Our first step was deciding on the floor fixture layout to group like inventory within areas, as well as to consider challenges such as forklift maneuverability in restocking, and important items in prominent areas. Then came designing a wayfinding system for the store that was both interchangeable to the shifting floor inventory, as well as being visitor friendly but held visual appeal.

In the above image, you see our original conceptual as provided to the client. Our thinking: IFA has had a long history, adapting and growing each era with the changing times. In a new period of growth, now seemed like an appropriate time to celebrate, honor and embrace their heritage by using visual cues of nostalgic period typefaces, color stories and natural materials to evoke an air of nostalgia for reminding their visitors of both IFA’s authentic roots that began in 1923, and a throwback to simpler times. In an impersonal digital age, this nod to years gone by will set them apart from competition yet welcome their guests to take part in their history

This is how the main aisle signs turned out. The white lines are actually slots for category cards to be slid into, for identifying inventory down an aisle. Below the word Aisle, is another slot for the numbers in case entire inventory moves location within the store, saving money in the long run from costly reprints being needed. We also got clever & efficient in the construction. The design is such that it was adjusted “front” to “back” art-wise so that the printer could use the same cut file on all pieces & simplify construction. Meaning, front & back are mirrored, so what you see now is the back of the sign, but on the front, the gray is on the left, and Aisle flips to the right. (I’ll admit, this one was a pickle for my brain to figure out at first & I needed to do a mock-up.)

Outside in their Garden Center is where these signs will hang. It was decided no numbers were needed since the area was small & all signs would be visible from any point in the area, therefore it cut down the cost on having to have another series of signs needing to be constructed.

And the final teaser for now…this is part of a single 8 foot banner (dozen total) that will hang off of the warehouse fixtures around the parameter of the store, both hiding the backstock inventory, guiding the visitors to the areas they need (such as Horse & Tack or Cattle Feed) as well as providing personality to the store.

Once we get everything done & hanging in the store, we’ll be certain to post images to show the completion of this project. I for one am quite proud of this labor of love and can’t wait to see it in it’s full glory. Much thanks to our team, from Crystal & Kari on the client relations end, to Luke and Randy in the 3D department, Styk, Kaleena & OK, myself, on the 2D end of things, and last but not least, our rock star printer Stella Color, for making this come together!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 3:09 pm and is filed under design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.