Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1222887
Overview Visual merchandising balances the artful presentation of aesthetically-pleasing product displays with astute product placement in order to effectively maximize potential sales revenue. With the focus on space planning, display management, signage, and revenue generation, it is no wonder practitioners are turning to 3D modeling to increase efficiency, and decrease capital costs. The highly visual nature of the industry has meant that many companies resort to building a physical real-size section and photoshoot of their proposed designs for internal review and approval. For many merchandisers, this means a lot of upfront effort, time and budget are expended to showcase a concept's merits before the design is approved. Another way merchandisers work to get store designs approved is through wireframes or 2D layouts. This has been a long-used method in the industry and can lead to expensive, late-stage changes due to poor visualization upfront. For example, some designers at Starbucks used black and white wireframes to communicate their designs internally. "Some folks brought me black and white wireframes or two-dimensional visuals [..for review]. This made me uncomfortable because it meant I would be putting my stamp of approval on a store, palette, or look that I had to try to construct in my head with no visual proof of how it would really go together." - David Daniels, Head of Starbucks' America East Design Team. Furthermore, retail spaces are created by large, collaborative teams. This means multiple internal and sometimes external stakeholders with their unique perspectives and approaches are contributing to the design. This is a prime opportunity for miscommunication and could lead to lost changes. / 3