design:retail - January 2014 - (Page 8)
editor's note
008
Tailored
to Fit
ALISON EMBREY MEDINA
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
alison.medina@emeraldexpo.com
@dretaileditor
I
N DECEMBER 1988, a startup trade magazine named
Display & Design Ideas made
its debut to the retail industry
at the National Association
of Display Industries' winter
market. In its launch issue, then editor
Karen Benning wrote: "DDI was created to deliver innovative design ideas
in a fresh, new format. It is designed to
help visual merchandisers, store planners and designers at all types of retail
chains develop novel ways to attract
busy consumers to their stores and get
them to buy." The 60-page prototype
issue was chock-full of ads and blackand-white pages-and had product
reviews on the cover.
We've come a long way, baby.
While we have loved owning the
DDI moniker for the last 26 years, with
this January 2014 issue we are ushering
in a new era for our brand and a new
name-design:retail. So, why change
the name?
For one, "DDI" has never translated well outside
of North America. "What's a DDI?" is a question I
have been asked more times than I can count. For
two, "DDI" as an acronym is lost in a sea of sameness in the game of alphabet soup that currently
exists online. In one Google search for "DDI," you
may come up with any of the following: Delivery
Drivers Inc., Development Dimensions International, Dungeons & Dragons Insiders and-my
personal favorite-Dominatrix Directory Index (I
would not recommend visiting that site on your
company laptop).
We are immensely excited about the name
JANUARY 2014
DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM
design:retail, because it instantly and unequivocally announces exactly who we are and what we
do. It's a name tailor-made to fit us and the industry we serve.
When we started working on this redesign in
January 2013, this is the edict we set forth to conquer with our design agency:
The magazine should balance both design and
business. Facilitate pride of the audience seeing
their work within its pages. The design should feel
relatable. Be flexible. Sustainable. Most of all, it
should feel current.
As the saying goes, you should never judge a
book by its cover. I strongly disagree. The cover of
design:retail was altered to custom fit
exactly what we want to be: design oriented, retail focused and business savvy.
Our take on the story that happens between the blueprint and the bottom line.
Inside, you will find a transformed
front of book, delivering more of the
trend watching, product and project
highlights, and expert insights you have
asked us for over the years. Visuals have
been added to every column layout to
draw you in to the story and attract that
design eye. Our feature well has been
completely re-thought, from typography and headlines, to allowing the photography to play a larger role in each
story. That's not to say that our content
will suffer-in fact, this new template
allows us to get the same amount of
words we have traditionally run in a
typical feature, only now it looks cleaner and less daunting to read. And let's
not forget "backstory" on the last page
of the issue. Here, we leave you with one
final period (or exclamation point, depending on
your take!) to close out the issue.
For me and my staff, this debut issue of
design:retail feels like the exhale on a breath we
have been holding in for 26 years. We think our
future is limitless, and we want to take you on that
journey with us, starting now.
Whether you have been reading us for the
past three decades, or this is the first issue you've
ever seen-welcome. We are design:retail. Hope
you enjoy.
Illustration by JESSE LEFKOWITZ
http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - January 2014
design:retail - January 2014
Contents
Editor’s Note
Show Talk
On Trend
We Love This!
Designer Picks
Innovation
Postcard
Before & After
How’d They Do That?
Mingle
Have You Heard?
The Visual Eye
Searching for Steve Jobs
Inside Bergdorf Goodman
Winning Windows
RadioShack
Amouage
rue21
Products
Backstory
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