Design Methodology Reflection 10

Project Brief

I am a little behind on my Medium entries as I have been focusing on the final deliverables for this class, the Project Brief and the Visual Presentation. I have decided to use this entry as an update on my Project Brief and the changes I have made to my project constraints and outcomes.

Personal Statement:

Body positivity and body inclusivity has been a rising demand from the everyday consumer. It is very rare to walk into a retail store and see anything other than a size 0 barbie like mannequin wearing the clothes that I may want to buy. How discouraging is it to know that the average customer will not look the same way that the tall, slender mannequin does. This is a serious problem because the way beauty is being represented in retail is not a realistic representation of all shapes and sizes. Media already provides us a distorted image of beauty. Something needs to change within the retail environment to create a more inclusive and positive experience for all women.

Project Statement:

One Size Fits Who is a environmental design proposal for active wear retail stores at Kenwood Mall to promote body diversity through the physical elements that reflect women of all body shapes and sizes.

Constraints:

Audience: The audience is athletic wear retail stores at Kenwood Mall, such as Athleta, Fabletics, and Lululemon and the staff within these stores.

Content: The content of the design proposal will focus on the main two topics of my research: mannequins and the store images. It will include a background of the topic and a history of the mannequin and how the purpose and intent of mannequins have evolved over time. The proposal will also go into detail on Case Studies of various companies who have integrated similar strategies into their marketing, and physical environment to promote body positivity/body diversity. In addition, an element in the design proposal will be a documentation of my primary research including walkthroughs, interviews, and surveys. The final element of the design proposal will include visual renderings of the storefronts to give an example what being more inclusive means in context.

Format: The design proposal will take place in the form of an oversized book, to avoid it being forgotten. The book will be a statement, a work of art itself, something that gets displayed on a shelf or on a coffee table in an office that draws people in to look through the pages.
Section 1: History, Section 2: Case Studies, Section 3: Primary Research, Section 4: Mannequins, Section 5: Store graphics, images, videos, Section 6: Renderings

Message: It is essential for active wear companies to represent a wide array of their customer base within the physical brick and mortar environment to portray a realistic representation of all women’s bodies in order to create a positive and empowering experience while shopping.

Outcomes:

Immediate Outcome: Athletic wear retail stores at Kenwood Mall recognize the problem within their stores and feel empowered to make a change in order to create a more inclusive, positive, and comfortable experience for their customers. These stores are persuaded to represent more of their customer base through diverse imagery and mannequin sizes.

Intermediate Outcome Statement: Encourage the athletic wear companies to change the way they are thinking about the retail environment in displaying an idealized version of the model. To challenge traditional retail environments with a one size fits all mannequin that dictates a “standard” image of beauty. To change the idea that the image that these tall, slender mannequins portrays to consumers is that fashion is a fantasy.

Ultimate Outcome Statement: Retail stores are more inclusive in their mannequins. The images, video, and photography around the stores are more inclusive of all shapes and sizes. The environment and experience is more inviting, welcoming, and positive to help customers feel comfortable and included. Staff are trained on body inclusivity in order to provide a customized shopping experience for each individual customer. Customers walk in to the stores and feel included, represented, and valued.