Here in Chicago, Spring can’t come quickly enough. . .I stare at the yard as if able to summon crocuses and daffodils by sheer force of will. I’m not alone. Fellow Midwesterners are flocking to Flower Shows around town, longing for the sights and smells of a garden in bloom.
Eager for a change of season, last week’s Garden Club lecture couldn’t have come at a better time–an opportunity to study the use of flowers and floral motifs in Window Display. As I prepared the presentation, I looked for design parallels between Nat’l Council of Garden Club guidelines (very specific, widely published) and retail design (largely unwritten but widely acknowledged). If “a rose is a rose is a rose” then good design is good design, yes? Do the same rules apply and are the outcomes consistent?
Yes and yes. Balance, dominance, contrast, rhythm, proportion and scale play a role in well-designed garden/floral projects as well as in effective window displays. The evening’s lecture touched upon each of these principles and looked for non-traditional interpretations.
Flowers in test tubes and beakers instead of vases.
Gesso-dipped bridal bouquets? Oversized paper blooms? Have fun! Apply the design guidelines and bring Spring to your store. . .with or without Mother Nature.
I can’t wait for spring to arrive! And I can’t wait to see some amazing window displays.