Branding...

So here are a few ideas about my branding/logo. Since my concept is interlocking relationships, dealing with both the dog as well as the owner having to depend on each other. The name of my store reflects words that owners say and then the dog responds by obeying (or at else most of the time). This having to do both the dog and the owner, which is what the goal of my store is about. Having 3 S's in my store name, i tried to emphasize that as well as my concept of interlocking relationships. I am still working on my color scheme because i thought of my space to be black and white with one accent color. Dogs only see black, white and blue hues, by doing this the colors of the products will stand out more (but i am still considering this thought). Please help me narrow my designs, with your feedback...any favorites.

Charrette Four...Fixtures

Process Sketches....

Charrette Two...

Finally i have come up with a concept, Interlocking Relationships. It just hit me Wednesday night as Ashley and i were leaving the studio. After stressing over this for the past week, i finally feel comfortable to move forward in my design.

Schematic Design Process...

"My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am."
I love this quote and how it relates to the relationship a dog has with its owner and the bond that they share, it reminds me of my dog, Maggie, and how she is so excited to see me when i come home and still loving when we put ridiculous costumes on her for halloween. No matter what, she will always look up to me!


















































































































Process work from this past week. Having problems coming up with a concept that relates to dogs and humans as well as bakery and retail space. After talking to peers in and outside of this studio, i feel that downsizing my store will help me determine a concept. I need to figure out my target customer, whether it is the dog or its owner. These sketches are ideas, that came to my mind and also sketching my furry friends since they will be in my store shopping! I also thought about using a leash as my concept(as seen in last sketch page), since a leash is used by the owner and the dog and having the forms a leash makes throughout my store but having a concept of "a leash" sounds funny. So going back to the beginning of my process and writing down words that represent items, objects and dogs that deal with my store for my concept. Lots to do...but here's a start!!

...Inspiration...

Free your Mind...

Throughout this week I have…
-researched images that have similar aspects of what I would like to see in my boutique
-began branding
-came to a final decision as to what merchandise I am selling
-began sketching out my space

Since I am in the Buffalo Bridge group, I chose the middle glass block to be the dog boutique. I contemplated whether to use both floors of this store or the 1st floor only. I came to a decision to use both and to make one level be the bakery and the other to be the retail part of the store. Using a staircase, I will connect the two levels together. I thought of having the retail space on the top floor and having a curved staircase on one of the sidewalls to bring the customers to the bakery on the basement floor. By doing this, the 1st floor will have some sort of balcony where you can look downstairs and smell delicious treats. Branding and the name of my store has been stressing me out this week, only because I want it to be original as well as represent the bakery and the retail store together as one. There are so many different names of dog boutiques on the internet, so making it a one of a kind name is difficult. Also keeping the store unisex and not so girly is becoming a struggle for me. After doing the inspiration charrette, I found many images that expressed my thoughts for lighting, texture, customers, bakeries ideas, and store designs. That was a great beginning to my development process of my dog boutique.
Tying my work thus far to Revolution Mills has yet to be considered to be honest. Thinking about the history of the mills, relating dog merchandise and food, apposing ideas is difficult and with more development in my design, I will somehow relate it to the Revolution Mills eventually. Relating my store to Greensboro relates more to the high class that are willing to drive across town to buy items for their furry four legged animal as well as customized jeans and specialty chocolate.
From a customers point of view, they would preferably walk in on the first floor to the retail part of my store, selling apparel, food and water bowls, collars and leashes, beds, etc. Then walking down the staircase to the bakery floor that contains a “treat” bar, individual packaged items and a cooler filled with specialty items. The main focus I want to keep throughout my store is keeping a different experience for both dogs and owners.