DS 300 - Visual Merchandising

This course introduces students to the design elements and principles important for commercial display and the development of creative visual merchandising (VM), focusing on the history and evolution of visual merchandising, contemporary trends, and best practices in the field, and its relationship to the contemporary retail industry. We will explore the context that gave birth to visual merchandising as a marketing discipline that influences consumer behaviors, situating it in relation to the evolution of the retail industry worldwide. During the course, field studies will allow students to encounter some of the most interesting examples of Milanese retail in terms of visual merchandising and to visit the Italian companies operating in the field. This course will expose students to both the basic principles and best practices of visual merchandising for both windows and in-store displays. It will also give student the tools and skills necessary to analyze and evaluate retail types and visual promotion strategies. To complete the course, each student will be asked to apply the elements and principles learned in class by developing his/her own VM project, following the project from concept to production of a mock up.