What you see is what you get.

Foam board prototype mock-up

Finished display done by gtc. ARTISTS WITH MACHINES

So, you need to evolve your retail space in some way. Maybe by adding a new dimensional display to promote a new brand offering. Or maybe you’re looking to create a new fixture that adds a more sophisticated feel to your brand’s experience. One of the biggest challenges, though, is getting everyone on your team to agree on what that new display or fixture needs to be and look like. You can work from renderings, but it’s difficult to get a true understanding of spatial relationships from renderings alone. So you need to get a prototype constructed. And quickly.

Creating a full-scale prototype is the most realistic way to understand how a new display or fixture will work in your retail environment. But prototypes often involve mill work, which means time and money. And if you and your team want to make any revisions or explore more options, that means even more time and money.

But there is a more efficient way to go about creating the prototype you’re looking for.

The Artists of gtc realize that time and money are precious commodities. And though we have extensive mill work capabilities, we often develop mock-ups of new displays and fixtures constructed from foam board prior to any mill work being done. In this way, prototype mock-ups can be constructed in full-scale and provide a true understanding of spatial relationships in the retail environment. Plus, if our clients want to explore other options or make alterations, it’s simply a matter of doing some cut and paste work. And what our clients really like about this approach is that a foam board mock-up is a fraction of the cost of a prototype created through mill work and can be constructed and delivered in a matter of days, all from quick hand sketches and a conference call.

Once you settle on a design direction, constructing a foam board mock-up allows you and your team to see exactly what you’re getting from a new display or fixture before making a substantial monetary investment. And that’s the part we get at gtc. ARTISTS WITH MACHINES.

Vince Faiella. Executive Director, Sales and Marketing

Get more value from “Value Engineering.”

Second surface printing by gtc. ARTISTS WITH MACHINES

Value engineering for retail environments is a term you hear a lot these days. In these cost-conscious times, every penny counts when creating your retail environment. And the brand experience portrayed through environmental décor can have a huge impact on sales and brand loyalty. So how do you create a more upscale retail experience that appeals to today’s savvy, discriminating consumer while getting a return on your investment? That’s where value engineering comes in.

The term “value engineering” was originally coined by General Electric in the 1940’s. It refers to the idea of driving out unnecessary costs while maintaining quality and performance. In the world of environmental branding, it means creating a more dynamic and appealing brand experience within the confines of tighter budget constraints. If you’re being asked to “do more with less” with your décor, here are a few solutions from The Artists of gtc:

1. Second surface printing in place of real tile and grout – In non-client contact areas of your environment, a second-surface, artistically enhanced scanned image of your tile and grout provides a visually appealing surface that meets health code approval requirements and saves material and labor costs.
2. Digitally direct-printed wall coverings – When you consider that digitally direct-printed wall coverings are easier to install, reduce installation time and give you the exact colors and patterns you want, you may realize a lower total cost of ownership and create the décor you desire.
3. Faux stone and brick – gtc’s nuSTONE line of faux stone and brick is easier and less messy to install than real stone and brick, has documented installation time savings, requires no structural upgrades, has zero breakage issues and is custom faux-finished with the exact colors and textures you desire. When you add it all up, nuSTONE delivers a lower total cost of ownership by as much as 20 percent.

gtc. ARTISTS WITH MACHINES provides integrated environmental branding services and architectural products, all from our facility in Columbus, Ohio. We refer to it as “Think. Build. Do.” And helping our clients create, build and install their unique retail environments within their original budget parameters is how The Artists of gtc “engineer value.”

Vince Faiella, Executive Director, Sales and Marketing

“Take a step back.”

When it comes to developing a brand personality for retail environments, sometimes it’s helpful to “take a step back” and think about the experience you’re offering customers.

Colorado Bag ‘n Baggage did just that when they created a retail environment that offers customers a shopping experience like they’ve never had before. And the proof of their success is in the results.

Colorado Bag ‘n Baggage offers just about everything a traveler would need to transport their belongings on an airplane or any other mode of travel. They offer the best brands of luggage and travel accessories at competitive prices and have a knowledgeable sales staff. All the necessary ingredients for a successful business. But, how could this brand really stand out and become more of a destination for travelers rather than just a provider of quality products at a price? The answer was to create a truly unique and relevant brand experience in the retail environment.

You have to put yourself in your customers’ frame of mind when striving to create a relevant retail experience. And gtc. ARTISTS WITH MACHINES worked with Colorado Bag ‘n Baggage to build a retail environment that is fun, visually appealing and, most of all, interactive for the customer. Colorado Bag ‘n Baggage placed real airplane seats, overhead bins and a luggage scale in their newly designed store in Southlake, Texas to engage the customer. Wall graphics and clocks around the cash wrap were produced and installed by The Artists of gtc to help portray the adventure and excitement of travel. The whole retail experience creates brand appeal based on emotions and feelings.

The result? The store where this new brand experience was launched is exceeding the original pro forma by 18 percent.

Take a step back and examine your brand experience. Does it really connect with your target audience at an emotional level? If not, you may be letting sales and potentially brand loyal customers fly out your doors. And if you find yourself in Texas, check out this new Colorado Bag ‘n Baggage concept store located at the Southlake Town Square, or visit http://www.coloradobagnbaggage.com for wherever your travels may take you.

Rich Witherspoon. President.

Get to know faux.

As retail environments continue to become simpler in design, the use of natural materials (i.e. stone, metal, brick) and color is growing as a design trend for adding a feeling of “warmth” to retail environments. People tend to gravitate towards warmer, natural textures. And in a retail environment, stone and brick help create an ambience that can improve the overall customer experience by warming up the space.

Using real stone and brick is obviously the most realistic you can get with texture. But real stone and brick is heavy, difficult and messy to install and may require increased structure to a building’s shell. Recently, faux stone and brick products have grown in popularity as a cost-effective alternative to the real thing. Faux stone and brick products are lightweight, much easier to install and can go up literally overnight if you need to do a quick remodel to the interior or exterior of a retail space.

The word “faux” is derived from the French language and means “fake.” And though faux stone offers many benefits, it’s often a challenge to find a faux alternative to real stone that looks and feels truly realistic. That’s because many faux stone and brick products are mass produced and manufactured for quantity rather than true quality of appearance and texture.

The “Artists” of gtc take a different approach with our faux stone and brick offerings. We combine the cost of ownership qualities of faux stone and brick with our artistry and custom-paint our faux stacked stone and brick products to precisely match the color specifications our clients want in their retail environments. The nuSTONE line of faux stacked stone and brick from gtc provides a sharply defined, naturally realistic texture with unlimited color choices.

When it comes to your retail environment, atmosphere and customer experience are priceless assets that translate into repeat business and more sales. Doesn’t your brand deserve the most realistic-looking and cost-efficient environment you can create rather than something that looks “faux?”

Vince Faiella. Executive Director, Sales and Marketing

“Figure this out.”

I’m relatively new with gtc.ARTISTS WITH MACHINES. On about my third day here, I got to visit a client with one of our account managers. Our client needed something “new” and needed us to visit him right away. I was excited and not quite sure what to expect from our meeting.

We arrived at the headquarters location of a major retailer right on time and checked in at the lobby. Our client contact came downstairs to greet us. The first words he spoke after a cordial “hello” were, “We need you guys to figure this out.” He was referring to a new retail display that needed to be created for a prototype retail location. And, typical of the retail world, it had to be created fast!

In the first few seconds of our meeting, it dawned on me exactly what we do for our clients. We do more than just “make” custom, at retail displays and environments. What we really do for our clients is understand their brand and their customers. And with that understanding of at retail branding and our clients’ customers, we can quickly create a new prototype display, meet our clients’ deadlines, and deliver the brand experience our clients’ customers are seeking.

“We need you guys to figure this out.” Our client wasn’t just asking us to create something fast. He wasn’t even asking us to source the “cheapest” materials we could find. Anyone can source ”cheap” materials for at retail displays and environments. It’s often possible to find someone out there who can build something “cheaper,” too, if you have enough time to look. Our client was asking us to create and build something new that delivered a specific brand experience. In the long-run, if you don’t deliver the right kind of brand experience customers are seeking, does it really matter how much you saved by sourcing the cheapest materials you could find?

Steve Fodor. Director of Marketing.

The cost of at retail branding.

Your at retail environment is perhaps the most meaningful brand expression your customers are exposed to. After all, what happens in your retail environment pretty much defines the customer experience. And the monetary investment leading brands make in their retail environments can be huge!

But think about the real cost of branding your retail environment? If you’re just looking at the money spent on at retail branding elements, you’re only seeing a small part of the picture. You see, the costs associated with branding your retail environment are, in a way, like an iceberg. Only the top 10 or 20 percent of an iceberg is visible above water. You can’t see the rest of the iceberg under water…but you sure know it’s there. And the costs associated with creating unique retail environments goes beyond what you can only see, too. It’s all the costs and inconveniences associated with branding elements that are difficult to assemble and install, shipping costs and delays associated with overseas suppliers, having to deal with poor customer service from multiple suppliers, and all the time and effort put forth by you to take care of these costly and time-consuming “headaches” that you didn’t see coming.

At gtc.ARTISTS WITH MACHINES, we have at retail branding artists, engineers, fabricators, installers and account managers working together under one roof at our facility in Columbus, Ohio. We can take your retail environment vision and design it, build it, ship it and even install it at just one or all of your locations. Best of all, you have the convenience of working with one source for everything. We like to refer to it as “Think. Build. Do.” They’re the three things we do best.

Vince Faiella. Executive Director, Sales and Marketing

EVOLUTION

When I started at gtc 14 years ago, we only had one computer and a coffee can filled with paint brushes. Now we have state of the art, multi-media studios containing the very latest in technology. The development of our Think, Build, Do abilities has truly transformed us.

After nearly two decades, I’ve seen us evolve into a company that fuses three seemingly incompatible disciplines – design, fabrication, and installation – to produce engaging visual communications, branded elements, and environments that help our clients dramatize their brands, win new customers, and stand out in a muddled marketplace.

And it’s all in-house, under one roof. Our roof.

But that’s not what makes this company great. It’s our ability to listen and serve. As we often say, “We can create anything, but service is our best product.” It’s become a cliché, but that’s because it’s true.
And oh by the way, we still have that coffee can filled with paint brushes.

Rich Witherspoon, President