Novelty Dollar Store Design – Commercial Interior Design News

Reframing public perception of a dollar store is not an easy task for designers but Karo took up the challenge and did a great job. Dollarworld of Calgary, Canada brought this challenge to Karo. How did they shift the ingrained notion of a dollar store?

The brand and interior designers began their reframing of perceptions by imagining a new two dimensional presence. Dollar store graphics have typically signified cheap quality with their chosen logos. Their logos have relied on a comical tone presented in a cartoonish image. This signals to shoppers a nod and a wink that they can expect to find cheap imitations instead of quality items. Karo developed a thoughtful and artful design that takes Dollarworld seriously as a shop. By tweaking the two dimensional presence of Dollarworld Kora, in turn, helped Dollarworld tell customers they are held in high esteem despite low prices.

Two more aspects of the dollar store we reimagined for Dollarworld by Kora. Customer service or interpersonal relations were made anew by forward thinking designers. Instead of workers with no sense of broader purpose or shared identity, they worked to create a culture of trust and loyalty affirmed within every transaction. Higher end retail knows it’s workers need a theory behind their interactions with customers. By bringing this concept to what is typically considered low end retail, they revolutionize what it means to be a representative of a dollar store.

The effect of Dollarworld’s reimagined graphics and customer relations would have fallen short of maximum impact if branding designer had neglected to transform the way a space of a dollar store is experienced. A standard interior design for a dollar store is characterized by a rigid and no-frills grid of cheap shelving and straight lines. Kora gave Dollarworld curves. Imagine a dollar store with elegant curved interior architecture? Kora did all of this within the confines of the small space typical of most dollar stores. It makes you wonder why no interior designer thought of elegance for dollar stores previously.

Photos by Gabe McClintock Photography.

Introduced to the world as a new retail experience, Dollarworld’s store design is now functioning at a high level while the store itself maintains bargain prices expected by their customers.

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Also, take a look at “Branding By Interior” e-book, the only book written on this subject at this time.  It brings insight on how you can turn your business into a market-dominating competitor by using human cognitive responses.