All snow aside, WAM is ready for spring cleaning! Thanks to Professor Juanjuan Wu’s visual merchandising students, the WAM Shop has received a new window display makeover. For the majority of the spring semester, students have been working in collaboration with WAM Shop manager and buyer Marissa Onheiber to create a display inspired by both the museum and our exhibitions.
“This project challenges our students to exercise their creativity within the parameters of a real budget, space, the WAM image, as well as to a targeted audience,” Wu said.
Early in the semester, the class toured Baggage Claims, WAM’s current exhibition, and had multiple consultations with Onheiber. The students, the majority of whom are retail merchandising majors, performed final presentations of potential storyboards and prototypes, and the winning team installed their design Monday.
Gabrielle Przekurat, junior and retail merchandising major and management minor, was part of the team who created the winning design. She took Wu’s course because of her interest and aspirations of a future in visual merchandising.
“We first started with everyone in the group creating two designs, then from there we narrowed down our favorites. For our final option, the inspiration came from the nature surrounding the museum,” Przekurat said.
The WAM Shop window, which faces the east end of the Washington Avenue Bridge, receives wonderful natural light. Przekurat’s group’s design hangs from the ceiling like vines, consisting of large strands of tied fabric in multiple shades of green. The result calls to mind the lush green colors that are (hopefully) coming to the East Bank parkway where WAM is situated.
“We went through a few draft sketches before landing on the one we liked and changed the materials for the vines a few times as well,” Przekurat said. “From the feedback we received, our design was successful because we pulled together a full visual to show Marissa. I think another thing that makes it successful would be that it is simple.”
Make sure to take note of the newly installed display next time you pass by the WAM Shop, and thank you to all of Professor Wu’s students for your hard work and wonderful designs!
