Creative Queuing
the problem
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Salem, Massachusetts faced a challenge of welcoming throngs of tourists while keeping them safely distanced. While public spaces could be regulated, the city's many cafes, restaurants, bars, museums, souvenir shops, novelty stores, and everyday retail were responsible for implementing their own systems. Early solutions took the form of lines or X's in painters tape, but these systems were easily ignored and quickly damaged.
The Project
This project was conceived and executed by Creative Blocks, an experiential design studio founded by me and creative partner Lauren Smedley, as part of a year-long artist residency with the City of Salem. Working closely with local business owners, custom queuing markers were installed that were durable, clear, and obvious.
Responsibilities
- Met with local business owners to brainstorm graphic ideas
- Observed customer activity to suggest optimal queuing locations
- Designed concepts and gained approval from business owners
- Fabricated stencils using a Cricut and laser cutter
- Installed queuing graphics with spray chalk and spray fixative
- Observed customer usage to assess efficacy
the solution
Each instance of creative queuing was as unique as the business it was meant for, but standardized through the design process. Some iterations were direct graphic representations of the type of merchandise or service provided by the business, such as monstera leaves at a plant store or coffee beans at a coffee shop. Others were more interpretative and revealed experiences over objects; small white houses that invited customization through street art were installed outside a home goods store; a sequence of moon phases lead you to Halloween themed gift shop.
the results
Through word of mouth and simple visual awareness, more and more businesses requested our approach to creative queuing. Every business owner was extremely happy with the results, often tweeting about it once installed. How often do businesses market how they ask customers to wait in line? One business in particular—who's queuing graphics were phases of the moon—has since changed the name of their business from "Coon's" to "Moon's". Coincidence?