Kmart New York Stores

DESIGN

Throughout 2017 and 2018 the New York Penn Station, Astor Place and Brooklyn Sears stores received makeovers. I was responsible for creating one-of-a-kind Kmarts with a New York vibe. The look and feel was strongly rooted in the updated brand style that was established in 2016. Kmart was dedicated to "Making Shopping Fun Again". This theme was infused throughout the store refreshes through bright bold colors, bold in-your-face photography, quirky headlines, and customer-friendly navigation solutions. Each of the stores had their own way to stand out from the next by customizing certain elements to its geographic locations.
My work did not just end at the computer – my role was heavily involved from the ground up with each of these stores. I was involved in material selections, graphic applications, fixture signing, photography selection and retouching direction.

TEAM

Concept, Design & Direction – Jenna West
Copy – Nancy Ahnell
Project Director – Heather Kennedy
Project Manager – Brittany Kelley
Signing Manager – Irene Chernyakovsky
3D Render Specialist – Angie Bertlesman
Production – Matt Goodman

Kmart New York Stores

DESIGN

Throughout 2017 and 2018 the New York Penn Station, Astor Place and Brooklyn Sears stores received makeovers. I was responsible for creating one-of-a-kind Kmarts with a New York vibe. [ READ MORE ]

The look and feel was strongly rooted in the updated brand style that was established in 2016. Kmart was dedicated to “Making Shopping Fun Again”. This theme was infused throughout the store refreshes through bright bold colors, bold in-your-face photography, quirky headlines, and customer-friendly navigation solutions. Each of the stores had their own way to stand out from the next by customizing certain elements to its geographic locations.
My work did not just end at the computer – my role was heavily involved from the ground up with each of these stores. I was involved in material selections, graphic applications, fixture signing, photography selection and retouching direction.

TEAM

The New York City stores had ample window space to tell the Kmart brand story. Everyone remembers the phrase "Attention Kmart Shoppers" and you still can be reminded of it to this day when you watch Beetlejuice. With the launch of the new Kmart branding, there was a focus to bring back the nostalgia of the iconic company.

Kmart brought their iconic Bluelight Specials back with the rebranding. To make sure everyone was well-aware of how incredibly awesome this was, the message was bright, loud and displayed prominently in the New York City stores' windows. The Astor Place window display is featured below. The message was framed with the Kmart burst pattern as a vinyl cling applied to the inside of the window. The Bluelight message hung from the interior of the window on a banner creating a shadow box effect.

The New York City stores had ample window space to tell the Kmart brand story. Everyone remembers the phrase "Attention Kmart Shoppers" and you still can be reminded of it to this day when you watch Beetlejuice. With the launch of the new Kmart branding, there was a focus to bring back the nostalgia of the iconic company.

Kmart brought their iconic Bluelight Specials back with the rebranding. To make sure everyone was well-aware of how incredibly awesome this was, the message was bright, loud and displayed prominently in the New York City stores' windows. The Astor Place window display is featured below. The message was framed with the Kmart burst pattern as a vinyl cling applied to the inside of the window. The Bluelight message hung from the interior of the window on a banner creating a shadow box effect.

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Kmart NYC Astor Place Window Display

Kmart brand color burst vinyl cling frames the window with bright fun imagery complimenting a bold coupon message on a hanging banner inside.

Kmart NYC Astor Place Window Display

Kmart brand color burst vinyl cling frames the window with a little girl superhero layaway message is hanging from the inside ceiling.

Penn Station Kmart Window Display

Exterior window display along the outside of the Penn Station Kmart building. Three brand messages set on bold colorful photography hang on interior banners, while the Kmart brand color burst vinyl cling frames the whole window.

Penn Station Kmart Window Display

In the window beside the brand statements, showcases three fun bright lifestyle images to reinforce that Kmart is making life ridiculously awesome!

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Penn Station Phase 2 Window Display – Dog Treats

The original idea for this banner was to have a physical large dog bone made as a 3D element suspended to create another layer of dimension, but the idea still works well as a flat banner also.

Penn Station Phase 2 Window Display – Pizza

Making shopping fun again by bringing a bit of humor into the everyday items sold.

Penn Station Phase 2 Window Display – Rubber Duckie

Penn Station Phase 2 Window Display – Biker

Irony can definitely bring a sense of humor to a simple little kids bike.

Before

After

Before

After

Updating the storewide navigation was more than color and font choices. The current store navigation required functionality challenges that needed to be solved for better a customer experience. With the redesign, signing established a stronger sense of hierarchy ensuring that it was noticeable which floor you were currently shopping within the store and what departments were available to shop within that level.

Before

After

Before

After

The challenge with the overhead navigation was to create a consistent system throughout all floor of the store. Originally the 4-way directional signs were only able to be used on the street level, as the lower levels had reduced ceiling heights. By making the navigation horizontal, the height of the sign remained static, allowing the signs to be used on all levels.

Updating the storewide navigation was more than color and font choices. The current store navigation required functionality challenges that needed to be solved for better a customer experience. With the redesign, signing established a stronger sense of hierarchy ensuring that it was noticeable which floor you were currently shopping within the store and what departments were available to shop within that level.

Before

After

The challenge with the overhead navigation was to create a consistent system throughout all floor of the store. Originally the 4-way directional signs were only able to be used on the street level, as the lower levels had reduced ceiling heights. By making the navigation horizontal, the height of the sign remained static, allowing the signs to be used on all levels.

Before

After

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Department Navigation Ring Penn Station / Astor

Departments were called out with a large hanging ring from the ceiling. These were easily visible and stood out from white store walls and ceiling.

Dimensional Elevator Navagational Signage

Dimensional acrylic faced foam letters were used for navigation signs against walls within the New York Kmart stores. This treatment was also used for fitting room navigation.

Happy to Help Customer Service Navigation Signage

For the updated customer service desk within the New York stores, a large blue acrylic suspended header with white acrylic-faced foam letters, defined the area while making it easy to locate from a navigation standpoint.

Lower Level Overhead Department Navigation Signage

The ceiling height was significantly shorter for the lower levels within the New York stores and the large department ring signs could not be used. A foam rectangular sign was used to call out the departments instead for the lower levels.

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Astor Place Jewelry Back Wall Imagery

These images were a custom photoshoot I was able to art direct. We highlighted actual Kmart jewelry merchandise in a fun bold ridiculously awesome way.

Penn Station Fitness Back Wall Imagery

Replacing bland white walls with bright imagery was a huge improvement when updating the New York stores. A mixture o f lifestyle and up-close products helped to define each department and made them recognizable from a distance. The images were curated from stock photography but were retouched to fit within the Kmart brand colors.

Penn Station Footwear Back Wall Imagery

Timing and budgets were tight therefore I had to curate these images from stock photography and retouch them to fit within the Kmart brand.

Penn Station Intimates Back Wall Imagery

The defining look I established for the Brooklyn store was a colorful pattern made up of icons that define Brooklyn and New York. The colors used were pulled from the Kmart brand burst graphic. The "K" in the Kmart logo took on this pattern to create a unique look for the store signage.