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Beyond the Screen: Embedded Interfaces as Retail Wayfinding Tools

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2017, MFA, Kent State University, College of Communication and Information / School of Visual Communication Design.
This paper aims to widen the discourse on experience as an economic entity, which exists within retail settings that are deliberately designed and carefully controlled by service providers to elicit desired consumer behaviors. This body of research aims to underscore the importance of in-store wayfinding within the specific context of grocery shopping in large supermarkets by investigating the current state of affairs in the art of consumer experience design and the differentiation of consumer experience through wayfinding in retail spaces. To design retail experiences, we must first understand the elements that comprise and produce them; however, the subject of experience is complex and extensive. In an effort to expand the discussion surrounding the careful creation of consumer experiences, this paper aims to deconstruct the underlying components that contribute to our formation of experiences; examine the ways in which retail experiences are differentiated through wayfinding; and assess the overall effect of wayfinding on consumers’ perception of grocery shopping experiences, as well as their subsequent choices and behaviors. Technology has become a ubiquitous presence in the space we occupy and pervasive force throughout our lives. We exist as part of a complex global society in which we are dynamically interconnected in a continuous exchange of information and experience. This paper suggests ways in which cutting edge and emerging technologies can be embedded into the underlying physical structure of retail environments—effectively infusing the store environment with highly targeted, personalized and anticipatory communication, with specific regard to the improvement of wayfinding in large grocery retail stores. Additionally, this paper aims to advance the discussion surrounding the use of emerging technologies not only as tools in the production of final artifacts destined three-dimensional environments; but also, as moldable media that can reorient our way of thinking and improve problem solving within existing modes of interaction, communication, cognition and representation. The potential of computing has not yet been fully realized and may always exist as an evolving entity within our lives. Despite its ambiguity and uncertainty, our current technological landscape demonstrates great potential in the generation of new conceptual and practical approaches, theory and methodologies, which transcend the current understanding and purpose of computing and foster the development of intuitive, relevant experiences in interacting with digital media.
Jessica Barness, M.F.A. (Advisor)
Ken Visocky O'Grady, M.F.A. (Committee Member)
David Robins, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
130 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Barnes Evans, K. (2017). Beyond the Screen: Embedded Interfaces as Retail Wayfinding Tools [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1493251709396537

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Barnes Evans, Katie. Beyond the Screen: Embedded Interfaces as Retail Wayfinding Tools. 2017. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1493251709396537.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Barnes Evans, Katie. "Beyond the Screen: Embedded Interfaces as Retail Wayfinding Tools." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1493251709396537

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)