Week 1 at The New School, Parsons

Orientation lasted an hour after which we had an hours lunch break, I decided to eat salad. Lost track of time...rushed to class. Luckily for me I reached on time. Didnt want to be late on my very first day. There are about 17 people in class...people from all over the country. We managed a round of introduction. Laura described the course to us, gave us our syllabus and then in the afternoon we decided to get out of class and go to the Cooper Hewitt,National Design Museum. We were asked to choose one piece that was most inspirational. I decided on 'Speak up'-the concept of a blog...that would probably explain why I initiated a class blog.
'The Design of Everyday Things' by Donald A. Norman is what we are reading in class. It essentially talks about the psychology of everyday things and how people interact with them.
Whats interesting about class is that through the observation studies assignments we get to see a lot of New York. Infact its amazing how much of the city we have covered and there is still so much to see. ( South Street, Wall Street, 57th Street 5 th Avenue, Columbai University, China Town ) Thats quite a lot for a week.
Saks 5th Avenue is a store that was a part of my observation paper.
"The demand for retail spaces is growing and it is only now that the designer is getting familiar with consumer emotions, lifestyle and behavior. Retail stores have gradually begun to spring up in all parts of the city and this makes it difficult for designers to conceptualize a store which is better than the previous store they designed. The challenge for the designer now is how they could design a retail space that would conjure up inviting environments where shoppers enjoy the experience of shopping.

The form and function of the store/mall has extended to a space where everything falls under one roof, where the consumer need not go to any other store barring the one he/she is in.
The scale and variety within a particular store is what surprises the consumer time after time. Consumer behaviour attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.

Stores need to be easily accessible and not someplace where the consumer needs to travel miles to get to the shopping area. The concept of a shop-in-shop brings the consumer to a space where all brands are under one roof, thus making it convenient for the consumer to shop and at the same time giving him/her enough to choose from. "- Shahana Mehta

Will try and posting my paper online.

Well its been a good week and I enjoy my class...more later