AINHOA PHARMACY, Light & Colour = Health & Emotion.

Year: 2017. Sales Area: 80m2. Location: Orihuela, Murcia. Spain.

Strategy & Creativity

Light & Colour = Health & Emotion: this is the idea that underpins the new conceptual design of Farmacia Ainhoa. It is the common thread that runs through the product presentation, the shopping experience and the clarity of image as a unique sales proposition of the brand of this pharmacy. 

The pharmacy is located in an open Shopping Centre in a well-known summer resort on the Spanish coast. Senior citizens from northern Europe come to enjoy long periods of their retirement here. Spain is their paradise. The use of colour in the sign and store front surprises and excites, it welcomes us to a pharmacy that is special, cheerful and international. 

The layout is designed to create a clear, easy and highly professional shopping experience, that integrates natural medicine with pharmacological medicine in the same business outlet. A pharmacy that pays special attention to new products, medicines, technology and retired people.

As we enter the first thing we see is the new items wall, and next to it the natural remedies wall. The combination of new with natural creates a very contemporary image and shopping experience.

In the centre, the two large islands organize the customers' movements while at the same time highlighting promotions and special offers.

The main wall is devoted to presenting medicines, which are the core drivers of the business. To the left of this wall, and thinking about senior citizen clientèle, we have fitted the orthopaedic wall and items for mobility assistance.  And, very close to hand, a counter for wheelchair-bound customers and a waiting bench.  On the right hand side of the natural products wall is the cosmetics wall, thereby reinforcing the importance of beauty as part of wellness.  Next to this area for personalized dispensing of medication and in full view is a small area for optics as a finishing touch.

Overall Lighting

The star of this project is Light. We designed a system of product presentation and communication based on an LED lighting rail. An original design that was custom-made for this project. Light is literally what sustains the product presentation, the conveying of the categories and the positioning of the testers. 

In addition, LED lighting strips are used to frame the architecture of the arches and other volumes, thereby creating a unity in the image created by the light.

We have added an illumination feature to the front of the products by fitting swivelling LED projectors situated at the front of each of the walls where products are displayed.

Outside, on the store front, we have designed lamps based on multi-coloured methacrylate silhouettes inspired by traditional albarelli. A breath of joy and visual arousal that says "Here they want to take care of me!".

Finishes

We have selected our materials to create the impression of being in a pharmacy that is at once “professional, natural, economical, modern and sophisticated."

Large imitation marble porcelain floor tiles contribute a renovated experience with a classical and professional touch.  Melamine walls with a white sycamore finish provide a natural texture and elegance to the overall impression.  Minimalist designed 1 cm thick shelves with various finishes made of MDF provide lightness, warmth and the perception of frugality in the product presentation. The use of materials such as Corian® for counters and methacrylate in signboards provide modernity and professionalism. The metal coated finishes on the chipboard units for skincare and orthopaedic products add an air of sophistication to the products.

Visual Merchandising (the display and presentation story/concept).

Based on the concept "Light & Colour = Health & Feeling", targeting the older customer who is looking for clarity and simplicity, varying the materials, the composition and the graphic design, we have differentiated the following product presentations:

1) What';s New : How to present the dozen or so promotions that the laboratories that co-exist in the pharmacy launch at the same time? To do this we created the “What´s new” wall, where digital communication is displayed alongside the physical presentation of the new product. In addition, the digital screen is touch-sensitive and enables one to access various treatments where health products and services are combined.

2) Nature: Silhouettes of 40cm-tall albarelli (earthenware medicinal jars) covered in natural preserved flowers in green and multi-coloured motifs with the word "Nature" inserted alternately create a fresh and memorable image. The unveneered MDF shelves add a warm and "bio" touch to the product presentation.  20 cm - tall silhouettes of albarelli made from uncoated MDF with the product categories in three languages connect with the international clientele, providing precision and facilitating the purchase via self-service.

3) Skincare: Sophistication in the shelf finishing, based on a metal veneered chipboard in a champagne shade and circular brackets with artistic illustrations of middle-aged ladies and gentlemen create the atmosphere for this sales area. The testers with the name of the brand serve as a reminder of the specialized skin product range.

4) The SPD: The tablets for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We took our inspiration from the blister pack of a brand of medication dispensing to illustrate the personalized dosage system that the pharmacy offers.

5) The Medicine Wall: The most important wall in the pharmacy, one of the key elements of this project in the professionalization of the image and the shopping experience. With the idea that the pharmacist can devote more time and give more quality attention to the customer, and that we can convey in the clearest possible way that the strength of this pharmacy is medicine, we have taken the robotics out of the commercial space, so that prescription medicines and advertized medicines are displayed side by side on the same wall. Three large arches dominated by the logo create the appropriate stage to present the products by means of a professional drawer unit and shelves that run horizontally along the full length of the visual. Also, and with the aim of informing the public about the latest treatments available, we arranged two LED screens below two of the three arches.

6) The Orthopaedics Unit: Presenting orthopaedics products is always complicated. It is a category that covers a multitude of very diverse products, from a wheelchair to a wrist brace. We designed a piece of furniture that allows one to display all of the orthopaedic product range clearly, with the aim of emphasising to our customers that age need not be a hindrance to leading an active life.

7) Eye products: Two vertical bars with a retro oval-shaped mirror that is lit up in the centre invite one to choose from a selection of glasses for eye fatigue.

8) Promotion islands with waiting bench.

The promotion islands are designed to channel the flow of customers from the pharmacy entrance to the walls and allow a movement that is at once fluid and harmonious of queues to the tills. Another design detail of these islands is the inclusion of a waiting bench, with which we are able to enhance the shopping experience and put the space to maximum use.

9) Tills and impulse buying.

We have arrived at the right size so that the counter is sufficiently large to create a space of intimacy between the pharmacist and the customer, but not too large that that it would be a barrier. In this way, it encourages both closeness and mobility. It is made from Corian® and with a modern, upbeat and colourful design that integrates the brand image with impulse buying.

Carlos Aires: Strategy, creativity, design and overall direction. Elena de Andrés: Artistics Illustrations and sketches. Natalia Aires: Branding. Mercedes Robles: Project Management . Beatriz Alonso: Technical Design. Visual Merchandising: Carlos Aires y Mercedes Robles. Photograpy: Luis Sanchez de Pedro Aires.