Time limit – 9  min

Traditionally, hardware store customer demographics have been largely male. Most big box home improvement stores are designed for this demographic with pvp pipes, wood smells and power tools. The oldest operating hardware store in the U.S.  has been selling to this portion of the population since 1782. Offering over 200 years of man shopping and fix-it pedaling. It’s time that conventional hardware stores reach out to the ladies.

Your task is to reimagine the common, big box hardware store for women. From the product offering to the design of the store, list the changes you would recommend to transform the typical hardware store from a man center to a lady complex. Anything and everything is negotiable.

MY IDEA LIST FOR BIG BOX HARDWARE

1. Easier access to paint and chips
2. Move lighting and fixtures closure to the front
3. Easy check with mobile app to by pass lines
4. More knowledgable people in the the isles answer questions
5. Easier parking load in wood, pipes and or grills – aka IKEA load area
6. Better display for screws, lightbulbs – to check against 
7. Create an era to make aprons, shirts, hats with custom graphics 
8. Better measuring area and cutting for wood, plexiglass, glass, metal, etc
9. More space between check out and isles – gets to crowded and cramped
10. Clean, spacious and plenty of space with bright colors

Well, after reading this task I felt a bit presumptive (which later after finishing and reading this task is answered); as the idea should be for a better, easier shopping experience besides ones gender. So my list is really about few ideas of reorganizing a store to better serve the needs of new and seasoned hardware shoppers. 

It’s a store to buy tools, materials and get information; form follows function in this vain. Marketing should and would dictate the layout of the store as the most popular items are up front for easier access. Although large pieces would require a larger area in the back.

I just viewed this task and thinking a hardware store is a place where male and female both go to get the before mentioned tools, materials and information.

 I’m enjoying these tasks as I get to use critical thinking as well my opinion. Even when I want to argue a questions validity; it single handedly reflects my assumptions about an audience and a task. 

AFTERWARD BY MUMAW

THE MORAL

Stereotypes are often regarded as a combination of truth and exaggeration. You use stereotypes as an organizational method, a way of defining large groups of diverse people  so you can better comprehend them. This common when you address audiences in your creative work. You’ll use terms like “target audience” and “intended market” to group consumers into buckets you can segregate and to which can provide “individualized” messages. The great advantage of audience assumptions is that they are typically born from some sort of truth, so you can speak that to that truth, you can reach that audience. The disadvantage of audience assumptions is that not all the people adhere to the assumption.

As you completed this exercise, it is natural for you to stereotype women to find relatable, creative, solutions. Stereotyping, despite the negative connotation, is not always negative. Some of these stereotypes are real, but some are not. As you should take the time to define what is true and what is false with the assumptions you make about your audiences so your ideas are met with attention, not apathy. Authenticity is required for an idea to be relevant.