Marketing with a Human Touch

Brand agency Dalziel & Pow (D&P) provided a glimpse of what may be the future of in-store marketing at the London Retail Design Expo earlier this year.

Brand agency Dalziel & Pow (D&P) provided a glimpse of what may be the future of in-store marketing at the London Retail Design Expo earlier this year. Inspired by their interactive work for children’s clothing retailer Zippy, the firm’s tactile exhibit employed screen-printed conductive ink across its 90 square feet of media to create user-initiated animations.

“We liked the idea of a printed element lending digital a warmer, un-intimidating,  more human feel,” says Helen Cupit, marketing manager at D&P. “You just have to look at the way people were instantly hooked at the first touch to see it has rich potential for brands wanting to create more engaging store experiences.”

Using water-based, black conductive ink from Bare Conductive, partnering screen-printing studio K2 printed the designs onto timber panels; a layer of white ink was then applied over the black to enable animated projections. The prints were then wired to an Ototo capacitive touch-board; the content was controlled by VJ software Resolume. A team of six spent two days installing the 140-square-foot paneling.

“Print, with its inherently tactile, hands-on nature, offers a unique value in a digitized age – a ‘keepsake’ quality,”  Cupit says of what’s to come for retail design. “For us, it’s all about integration. This is where we see things heading.”