Sony Style

Sony Style customers entered the retailer's three stores this past Christmas and were met by new, vibrant signage and colorful lightboxes. Iconic snowflake symbols danced on iridescent paper, while lightboxes splashed bright color washes around the store. Kodak Professional can be credited for helping Sony make this bold statement in graphics.

Every year, the Sony design team seeks different materials. Christine Belich, executive creative director, was looking for something rich and colorful to create visually appealing in-store graphics that would spice up the Christmas season. “Our graphics are used as a perimeter to the whole store and we try emphasizing them for the holidays,” says Belich. “We're always looking for something a little different than what the norm is doing.”

“Different” came across her desk in the form of a Kodak Professional Color Metallic Paper sample in the midst of her holiday planning. She was impressed by the paper's rich color and shine. She consulted with members of her design team, including Mark Fugarino, graphic designer, John McDonald, freelance designer, and Kelly Gunn, visual consultant for graphics supplier Photobition Group. All were equally impressed.

“I'd asked Photobition for ideas on new papers,” Fugarino says. “When I saw the Metallic, I thought it would do a great job jazzing up the displays. It had such an iridescent shimmer.”

The Metallic was employed for holiday symbols like snowflakes, and words such as “joy,” “give” and “hope,” which directly related to Sony's holiday windows theme, “Give a Little, Get a Lot.”

“One goal was to maintain continuity for shoppers entering the store, so we carried the theme inside, using related holiday catchwords,” says Belich. She chose a color scheme that included silver, gold, deep red and bright white to make a vibrant statement and to complement similar graphic elements mounted on dicrylic Plexiglas® material. “This made for a nice combination, because the two fed off each other to create an array of shimmering holiday signage,” she says.

The Metallic paper incorporates a five-layer, front-side laminate to deliver this brightness and color saturation. “Instead of having a white base when processed, the Metallic appears to have a pearlescent-like base,” says Howard Higgins, Kodak Professional marketing manager for Color Negative Papers. “When light strikes the product, it appears to have a glow.”

The layering of films also creates a dimensional strength that makes the product tear-resistant and durable in situations where an item is not going to be laminated or mounted onto support material. And the 3-D-quality appearance gives it some strength. “When you look at an image printed on Metallic and an image printed on traditional color paper, the Metallic appears to have some depth to it,” adds Higgins. “You end up with p-o-p images that have a certain energy and grab the customer's attention.”

Belich used the Metallic in all three Sony Style store locations: New York, San Francisco and Chicago. At the Madison Avenue (New York) store, an in-store renovation was underway, and lightboxes were added to the mix. So Kodak introduced Belich to Kodak Professional Day/Night Digital Display Material, a dual-application material with photographic emulsions on both sides that can be frontlit, acting like a traditional reflective print, or backlit when conditions call for it.

“During the day, display windows have ample light and don't need a backlighting,” says Higgins. “At night, with spots on, the material is visible and attention-grabbing from the outside.”

“We installed 10-foot-diameter light strips around our DVD and connectivity bars,” Belich explains. “A number of large lightboxes were installed throughout our store, some 40 by 60 inches and others 36 by 36 inches.” Belich knew she'd have to tie these new elements to the store's design visually. “I like simple, bold graphics that repeat throughout the store, but I also like to add interest by mixing and layering the right materials.”

Photobition printed some test images on the Day/Night material. “The vibrancy of the Day/Night complements the Metallic material,” says Fugarino. “It helped us carry the graphical intensity across all the design elements.” The lightboxes feature color washes of pinks, reds and yellows, with identifying words to denote different areas in the store. The result was as dramatic as the team had anticipated. “The lightbox images had a wonderful punch, and the Metallic balanced the plexi materials perfectly,” Fugarino adds. Belich agrees: “The materials complemented the design and reinforced the Sony brand – they were elegant and beautiful.”

The Metallic paper was used through the holidays, and Belich is considering it for future design purposes. Because the Day/Night gives a lot of contrast and good color, Belich says her team will likely continue using it as the primary material for the lightboxes.

“Our holiday shoppers got an in-store experience that expressed our innovation,” says Belich. “Our stores were colorful, festive and left the customers excited and wanting to come back. That's what good visual display is all about.”

Client Design Team: Sony Style, New York – Christine Belich, executive creative director; Mark Fugarino, graphic designer; Ilana Adams, creative coordinator; LeighAnn Tischler, visual events manager

Outside Consultant: John McDonald, New York (graphic designer)

Suppliers: Photobition, New York, Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. (signage/graphics); Ontario Store Fixtures, Toronto (lightboxes)