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| This is a picture of the front Crossgates mall |
Crossgates mall is one of the biggest malls in the Capital Region of NY and very popular for the area. There is other malls in the Area such as Latham Square, Colonie Center and Clifton Park Center but Crossgates seems to the centralized being that it is in Albany.
The above link can actually tell you what the reference codes are on the floor plan above
Crossgates' basic setup is simple yet elegant. It is design to be open to allow for visual stimulation when looking around to decide where to shop or just take the guided tour that besets you. Like all malls there are a plethora of shops to navigate to. The mall itself has 2 floors and is setup in an east to west type fashion. The top of the 2 images above is located near the movie theater. The graphic design that particular wing is to allow for gazing over the railing and seeing what is playing in the movies along with the times also to help draw focus to the tiling on the floor. The area above the ticket booths is very large and open to allow all of that to happen.
Located throughout the mall located with the busy walking areas are directories that can provider an information map for people that need to find out where they need to go. It also can create a mental map for individuals that are familiar with the mall itself. very helpful
Lastly, throughout the mall are advertisements posted on the back of the above directories, hanging in the middle area suspended for everyone including both floors. The signage is big enough to catch the eye of anyone scanning the area for pleasantries. The store signage is all flashy and eye catching but still sticks to the orientation of the brand label of that particular store IE Old Navy as seen in this picture. There are signs throughout the whole mall indicating where to go if you are lost, have issues, need to report something stolen, etc. In most cases the mall itself has almost everything covered. As far as what could be done differently design wise is the middle booths on the bottom floor. Sometimes there are multiples of the same booth throughout the mall and can be a bit obnoxious when passing them. There can be so many center booths that it can almost make the customers feel overwhelmed and feel pressed to buy something. When a customer goes to the mall they are there for an experience whether it's just to walk about and take in the surroundings or just to get to a store and get out. They do not need to be overwhelm with all the information available. The point of information design is to make it very plausible for a customer to enjoy their experience at Crossgates mall.
Hi Zack, I especially liked your comment about there being "so many center booths that it can almost make the customers feel overwhelmed and feel pressed to buy something".
ReplyDeleteI guess the design is woking whe you compelled to buy a product from them. They are my pet peeve too, especially when there is no information booth, you are compelled to ask the vendors from the kiosks. If they are selling toys my son always asks me to buy one, so they effectively get his attention too, with merchandised placed at several levels.
I wonder if they're located in the
Hi Zack -
ReplyDeleteGreat post! The mall is a difficult place to organize your thoughts about Information Design because there tends to be so much of it and it's not usually organized - but you did very well explaining how each part of the mall leads to Information Design. The inclusion of the advertisements was a great point. I tend to forget that ads are also information, just information someone is trying to sell!
Julie Mazza
Yea, the ad's in that mall are moreso businesses trying to sell their product. I do not believe any of the products offered via the advertisements can be purchased at the mall.
DeleteThe only other piece of information I would have liked to see you address is bathrooms signage. That's my biggest pet peeve ina mall since I have an 11 yr old and a 5 yr old. (not that you would know that's what I would look for in a post about a mall)I never feel like they are displayed as promentently as I think they should be. I always have to ask someone since the directories are sometimes too far apart for our immediate need for one. I did like your addition of the advertisements- just one more piece of information that is always jammed down our throats! But I would have never thought to add those in. great post!
ReplyDeleteKim Miller