Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com

The rains keep pouring on the retail parade. And yet--hope springs eternal for the creatives in our industry.

By Kristin D. Godsey

I think we can all agree that creativity is under serious pressure in our boardrooms. The problem is that, as much as we assert that an economic crisis is precisely the time to take creative risks to stand out, that argument doesn’t get very far when the cupboards are bare. Everyone nods their heads and agrees that, yes, this is what we should do. But not right now. We can’t afford to put money behind a bold idea that might fail.

It’s discouraging. And yet …

To some extent, we have a choice in whether or not design and creativity get pushed underground in these scenarios. And I don’t mean the generic, all-encompassing “we” here – I’m talking specifically to the designers, artists and writers whose job it is to make the message (the product, the brand) sing.

Creativity and good design are not dependent on cash flow. For creatives, the challenge to make more with less can be energizing. You have to – that is, you get to – call upon skills and talents you may not have flexed in years. You get to rethink everything. You get to collaborate with your peers or clients more closely, perhaps with everyone taking on slightly different roles. It’s grassroots, bootstrap stuff, and if you embrace it, you can be a significant part of something big and new and necessary. Some of retail’s best success stories (Apple, Target, Anthropologie) owe a significant debt to design and creative branding. Retail fortunes ebb and flow, and design is often what turns the tide.

It’s no secret that the media business has been hit hard by the economy, as well. And ST Media Group has made some difficult yet necessary adjustments, just as you all have. We’ve suspended print publication of VMSD’s sister magazine, Hospitality Style, until the market stabilizes (though we will continue to post new content on HospitalityStyle.com). Hospitality Style’s editor, Mary Scoviak, is joining the VMSD staff as senior editor beginning with this issue, bringing her decades of experience covering design to our pages. Matt Hall, former managing editor of VMSD and current managing editor of Hospitality Style, moves into an online editor role to oversee and grow both brands’ web presence. And VMSD editor Steve Kaufman is tackling a new role as editor at large for VMSD. Steve will continue to write regularly in our pages and online and will participate in our International Retail Design Conference, this year in Dallas, September 23-25.

New roles, new challenges, new opportunities. Retail design, and the media that cover it, will be redefined over the next few years. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and lead that charge.