Indian Jeweller (IJ) Magazine August -September 2019

ExpErt column
Aftab
Bandukwala
Founder, Principal
Architect,
V-Design
Architectural
Solutions Pvt Ltd
He has been
involved in retail
design since the
early retail boom
in India in the
90s. He holds
multi-format
experience
from kiosks
to luxury retail
spaces. He has
designed stores
like Tanshiq,
Chintamanis, Gili,
etc.
DESIGN DIRECTIVE
FOR A PERFECT
STORE DESIGN….
In this column Aftab talks about how the
seamless blend of inspiration & the science of
retail can give birth to a stunning design
It’s hello again from me at V-Design
Architectural Solutions Pvt Ltd! In my last
article, I delved into how important it is to
keep the sparkle in your store as much as in
your ware. This time though I want to go a few
steps behind and discuss some generic basics
that make a good store from the perspective of
design thought.
Recently, I was privy to some of the coolest
stores you, my friends and some of you my
clients from this glittering fraternity have
established in the recent past. I was most
impressed to find a few such stores that had
a deep design thought behind their design
direction. From the root of the concept to the
use of materials, from the layout to the details
of the fit out, I found a seamless continuity and
structured adherence to the creative vision.
It’s all well to aspire to be a glamorous store
that dazzles the beholder, buyer and otherwise,
but to allow the design team to actually think
beyond just that and employ a design direction
that is more than just putting together a few
(and in some cases far too many) elements to
make your store look ‘swanky’ is I think a sign
of mature vision that eventually reflects deeply
on your brand.
I will now go into a few details to
substantiate my point. Some of us architects
are naturally inclined to give more meaning
to our design thought by seeking inspiration
from perhaps the local history of the location
or even a complete out-of-the-box radical
ideology based on works of masters from
the field of art and architecture. There are of
course an overwhelming mass of our fraternity
for whom ‘inspiration’ is nothing more than
flicking through pages of a magazine or
websites and lifting in toto, but for such of our
lot, I have little to say. To me, a store that has
been inspired by history or such thought, has
used materials to give further definition to the
inspiration, has played with forms throughout
the space that continue the story, yet, all along
A perfect store is
one that has an
original design
and has used this
homogeneously
throughout the
space in conjunction
with the science of
retailing jewellery
Harry Winston
has ensured the application of the science of
retailing, is a hands down winner when it
comes to the marriage of design and fulfilling
your aspirations and requirements that you
have of your space.
This, though, is impossible if we do not
have the buy-in of our client. Sometimes
a client is far too limited in vision or is too
cluttered of mind with bling and other such
tertiary embellishments to allow us a free
hand to create in the way I have mentioned.
As a result, we are forced to pack that state
of mind hopefully for later use and deliver
the mundane. Then, you have nothing more
than a putting together of fancy chandeliers,
expensive marble, gilded ceilings, voluptuous
pillars and wannabe Versace chairs. And,
that’s how design dies. The birth of what is
increasingly being considered ‘wow’.
I must emphasize here that it certainly
cannot all be about design and deep design
thought. We are here to create a space that
efficiently sells your merchandise and not
our skills. There is so much by the way of the
technical and the technology that is perhaps
more important than just design when it
comes to creating a jewellery store and it is
the other extreme to forget these being so
involved in creating a design marvel. Perfect
lighting, time and motion studies, customer
flow, staff convenience and ergonomics in
general, just to name a few.
So to summarise, for me a perfect store
is one that has an original design and has
used this homogeneously throughout the
space in conjunction with the science of
retailing jewellery and employing of correct
technology. This ensures your merchandise;
staff and customers are all in sync to the
business of selling and buying jewellery.
138 | august-september 2019 | INDIAN JEWELLER