Display & Design Ideas - April 2009 - (Page 44)

44 | Product Spotlight Signage & Graphics Making waves Sea-inspired colors and abstract underwater graphics bring Hiller’s upscale grocery market aground By Susie McManus, Contributing Editor I Photos: Lazslo Regos Photography n lake-spotted Commerce Township, Mich., Hiller’s 55,000-sq.-ft. grocery market lures in locals with a gourmet reputation and genuine attentiveness to the community’s lifestyle. Not only does Hiller’s have mouths watering thanks to its premier grocery selection, but it also visually delights with its underwater-inspired interior and abstract wayﬁnding signage. Hiller’s independent, family-owned Michigan chain is made up of eight upscale grocery markets, none alike in design, according to Tony Camilletti, vice president of strategic development for Madison Heights, Mich.-based Design Fabrications Inc. (D|fab), which designed the interior of this seventh location. Store owner and president Jim Hiller challenged D|fab to completely gut the empty space and bring facets of the community’s way of life into the store design. “The market is surrounded by lakes of all sizes, and Hiller really wanted the store to reﬂect that, but didn’t want to use a kitschy nautical theme,” Camilletti says. “He wanted it to be upscale and evoke a sense of ﬂuidity through an aquatic feel, [which we achieved] with abstract shapes, linear feels and a cool palette accented with mustard colors.” Through the use of cool-colored opaque imagery on TransImage (a semi-translucent frosted acrylic product), D|fab created an abstract presentation of water and sails around the perimeter of the store to establish the wavy, underwater feel, Camilletti explains. The aquatic theme was enhanced with stem-mounted paisley shapes to add dimension to the store’s perimeter walls. To further satisfy Hiller’s sophisticated vision, D|fab designed department signage using abstract, implied graphics. “He mandated that we not use any verbiage on the signage for various store departments,” Camilletti explains. Behind the bakery, seafood and meat areas, murals fea- turing graphics of wheat, rippling water and a grazing ﬁeld (correspondingly) “create the mood of the departments, rather than literally translating what they are,” Camilletti adds. D|fab applied these abstract images to ﬁberglass reinforced panels (FRP) via dye sublimation, which adheres to sanitation requirements. While some of the signage did include text, it was done creatively. “Instead of numbering each aisle, we named them after a different lake in the community,” Camilletti says. D|fab also used TransImage bafﬂes varying from 5 ft. wide to 28 ft. wide to direct shoppers to the ﬂoral, frozen food and dairy sections. “TransImage signage creates a cool and airy feel, as you can see beyond the graphics printed on it,” Camilletti explains. The ﬂoral area boasts petal-like signs, each printed with colorful ﬂower images, arranged around a white column to symbolize a blooming ﬂower. All of the market’s focal elements add to the charm and brand image Hiller’s comprises. “Supermarket and other food-related markets have been leaders with using signs to excite a product presentation and give a thematic brand message,” Camilletti explains. “Non-food retailers can really take a hint from them.” | April 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Display & Design Ideas - April 2009

Display & Design Ideas - April 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Newsworthy
Consumer Insights
Quick Tips
Greentailing
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot
Channel Focus: Jewelry
Harvey Nichols Jakarta
Historic Renovations
A.R.E. Design Awards
McDonald’s
Right Light
Product Spotlight
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Think Tank

Display & Design Ideas - April 2009