Design Elements and Principles
Design elements help us assess a visual place in terms of aesthetic evaluation of a place. They are given as follows: Line, Color, Shape, Texture, Space, and Form. Addition to these elements, we need some principles showing how elements are applied to this place to assess aesthetic of a place: Unity, Balance, Hierarchy, Scale/Proportion, Dominance, and Similarity/Contrast.
Assessment of ALDO
In this paper, I will assess a store of ALD at Fifth Avenue in terms of design elements and principles one by one.
Design Elements
Line
ALDO store has many rectangle boxes in it next to each other. The rectangle shaped shelves on the wall have outside lines are bold. Inside the rectangle boxes shelves are also rectangle shaped and very parallel lines are used. In the middle, there are rectangle shelves for discounted products.
Color
Dominant color is white in the store and outlines of the rectangle shaped shelves on the wall have thin black borders. All the shelves are white. At the end of the store or the heart of the store there is a colorful picture. Thus, white dominant shelves with thin black parallel borders taking your eyes into the picture at the end. After seeing the colors in the picture, you realize colorful shoes on the shelves.
Shape
A geometrical shape, rectangle, is used to shape all the shelves and totally you feel this geometrical shape for the whole store. The picture at the end is also rectangle shaped.
Texture
Smooth colors are used everywhere. The ground is milky white, the shelves are smooth white. The texture is very soft and smooth. No embellishment, figure, or drawings are used.
Space
The store has a spacious design. When you step in it, you feel like that you have entered a different atmosphere. It is like entering a drawer taking you to the world of shoes. Lights are very well used. The product shelves and the picture at the end are more enlightened. Over the shelves, it is darker which cause no attraction for you. You first look at the picture and then the shoes.
Form
A geometric shape, rectangle, is the main theme of the store. It is supported by the smooth white colors and darker borders. It feels like a magical box, when you enter, firstly, the picture tells you something and then you feel like you need to look at the shoes on the shelves.
Design Principles
Unity
The same size rectangle shaped shelves are placed parallel next to each other on the wall like a railroad. Entering the store and looking at one shelf, then you start following to other ones and finally you finding your eyes looking at the picture at the end. The only thing disturbing thing is the discount products boxes in the middle. They are kind of breaking the unity. They could be put in an order giving you the rectangle shaped design and pushing your eyes to the picture at the end.
Balance
The store has a symmetric design. It is like railroad where your eyes start their journey with any shelf on the wall and you reach the picture at the end. After seeing the colors in the picture, you go back to the rectangle shaped shelves, because they have colorful shoes.
Scale
The same sized rectangles are used in the wall. The picture at the end is larger. The discount boxes are all the same also.
Dominance
The most dominant thing is the big picture at the end and than the shoes. It is like seeing a colorful flowers inside a large cup of milk.
Similarity
All the shelves are similar and a very soft contrast used in the store. Only the picture and the colorful shoes does not have similarity. Your eyes are seeing them as individuals in the store.
Conclusion
Even staring a pair of shoes on a shelf in the store is taking you to the big picture. After analyzing picture, you feel the woman and the man in the picture attractive and then you feel like at the colorful shoes on the shelves. There is a feeling you are having like you are in a movie theater and your seat is moving forward to the screen and then you feel that you are in the story of the movie and you start acting or living the movie. This feeling is making you comfortable to play with the colorful shoes on the shelves.
The only disturbing thing in the store is how the discount boxes are placed. While you are trying to reach the pictures, they are trapping your eyes. They are covering almost all the road to the picture and your travel has to be done in a very narrow path.
