This is an example of a User Interface and website revamp project for a large community centre based in King’s Cross London.
My role in the project involved brainstorming ideas, drawing the new content and banners, considering the user experience and seeking ways in which to make the website design more user friendly, functional and useful for users of the Living Centre.
The brief
After a couple of conversations and a Zoom call with the team at the Living Centre, I was commissioned to design and revamp the website to ‘look less boring’, represent the institution and add some more practical functionality.
I took this a step further. Although digital design is a faucet of my skills like many designers of 2020’s. I wanted to add more than just a simple “yes man” approach to this project. With my commercial experience and creative direction skills. I didn’t want to just say ‘bam’ take their money and go. There is a website and leave. I wanted this website to work not only as part of the brand but as a website and tool for their business.
Without barraging my client saying ‘do this better, because I think so.’ I wanted to know what needed to work. What questions do customers ask – I wanted to do my homework.
These were the starting blocks, and – it should be noted that these were not all of the questions and rounds of discussions.
The home page needed a lot of TLC
After communicating and carrying out research, I had both inspiration and the key criteria in order to create a new look and feel for the website.
I started exploring the ideas with the homepage first.
The home page, as is the case with most websites, was one of the busiest pages in regards to content and information. The Living Centre’s page was loaded with information but in no particular order and without many calls to action either. I tried to turn the home page into a lobby with well-labelled doors and opportunities to funnel users into either making contact or leading to a making money lead enquiry.
I tried my best to capitalize on this page while trying to keep it to the client’s brief. Very accessible, on-brand, interesting, informative and structured. Some of these changes and updates would appear subtle to the outside reader. But many, even the smallest changes were generally very deliberate and considered.
When recreating this page, I tried to break it down into structured manageable and relevant chunks for the web user.
Design The Hire Page
This page actually was a follow-up project after I have revamped the core look of the website and rebuilt it with Divi. Their website and this page had a lot of untapped value.
Upon spotting the hire section needed some more content and juice, and I got to it.
This page covered both coming up with additional UI designs ( although the guides were now already set due to the first project ) and creating more content too.
Website Design mock ups
Some examples of this are illustrating a top-down view of a floorplan for all the rooms to hire, prices, 3D drawings / oblique drawings of the areas, bolder use of area photography amount other various things.
I tried to make this page a silent ‘Hire Space!’ salesman for the Living Centre.
The illustration I created was used on the website
Experimentation & Design
The brief from Living Centre was nothing quite like what I have worked on before. Creating websites and UI’s, I have worked on plenty of these. Creating plan drawings and landing pages. I have worked on these too. But having all these combined into one single project was an interesting challenge.
Below are some samples of the design, such as the banners and some f the early works in progress.
Website Design | Putting the website together
The website was already made using WordPress and Divi. After working on the design stage for the project I was also commissioned put it all together based on my visuals.
Being an existing licence holder of Divi it was not too much of a stretch for me to build these new pages and add the content I had illustrated and designed. I worked in a non-destructive way for the home page. Behind the scenes, I created a ‘master template’ which I switched with the existing home page when it was ready to go!
Testimonial From the Living Centre
“We worked with Jimm to redesign our website. The brief was simple to bring our website, which was static, had little character and was boring alive, fun and informative. We were not disappointed with the outcome.
From start to finish, my interaction with Jimm was professional, stress-free and I had complete trust in his ability to deliver. Jimm took the time to listen to what I wanted but also brought his own ideas, experience and creativity so that the end design was more rounded. He understood that I needed to see things in a visual context and have some flexibility to ‘play’ around with a few ideas. The challenge was we had to do all this via zoom but Jimm made it very easy; being patient when I had technical difficulties making the whole process enjoyable, stress-free and highly personal. “
This post has been put together to offer guidance on how much it will cost to mockup/prototype / “graphic design” a board or card game.
Answering “how much does it cost to design a board game” is a very broad question that I will endeavour to break down and answer in smaller bite-sized steps.
There are many factors that can influence the ‘design’ ( graphic design look and feel ) stage of the game.
It should be noted that the combined cost of prototyping and designing a game is not a small undertaking.
“It depends on what is required to bring your board game to life! That will be what determines the budget.”
How much will it cost to have your board game ‘designed’? ( Graphic design )
It is difficult to answer without knowing the scope and size of a project.
For the services that I can offer, and it should be noted prices and tariffs are worked out on a case-by-case basis. This is a rough example of pricing.
– Projects scales can range between £5200 – £1200 spread out over the course of 4 or 5 months. This is a rough number and total budgets can influence the size and how a project is broken down.
If when you refer to ‘how much does it cost to design a board game?’ you are also referring to making and manufacture, this can push the budget well into to around the £10,000 mark. If not more.
It should be noted that I don’t manufacture games. But I do work with prototype makers.
Typically speaking if you are looking for a graphic designer to work on a large board game from scratch – depending on the designer skills, knowledge, and services you may be looking around the £5000+.
But this all depends on what is to be done. Written below are circumstances that will influence the cost of designing a board game.
Boardgame design prices
It should also be noted that these numbers are not formal quotations. They are a rough price guide on what to expect when undertaking to design a board game prototype.
The pricing mentioned above that a game ‘may’ cost £5200 to design is a simplification of what it is that affects the cost and ultimately the outcome of creating a board game prototype.
Factors that will influence the cost of the game:-
Has the look and the feel for the game already been established?
Is this a design from scratch?
Have you already created a very rough paper mock-up?
Has the content already been written?
Are there many different cards and desks?
Is there a rule book? Or is it just a sheet?
Does your board game come with a board and box or is a small card box?
Do you have a logo?
Are there characters in the board game?
Does the game require some interesting typography?
Will the game require illustrations or cover artwork?
Using some of the questions above may now give you an idea of how games can become costly to design by professional designers & artists.
Some cover illustrators alone can charge £1000’s for their services and that’s before using the graphic designer to put all the artwork together and create the visual look and feel of cards and boxes.
Developing the look and feel for your game
One of the main areas that I personally cover is the early design and concept design for the game’s look and feel. The concept and Creative Direction to be precise. This important and early stage if you have aspirations of making a retail-ready game.
This stage can require less attention if you making a game for private use. This design and development stage can occupy 70% of the project. And when you spread this across numerous components, cards, pages of a rule book it quickly becomes evident where the budget can be spent.
Vector character design for your game
A board game design project can encompass multiple disciplines into one. And character design and vector illustration are just one of those disciplines. Character design alone is a field in itself, that requires planning, research, and drawing to make the best characters possible for your board game.
My services cover both the early sketch and concept art to fully copyrighted and licensed game-ready character artwork!
Creating the visual look and feel for a card game vs creating a top and bottom box board game can have a large influence on design cost. More often than not, designing 2 or 3 decks of cards can be a smaller budget project than say designing a full board game with cards, rule books, leaflets, tokens, etc.
*It should be noted, if you have 1000’s or cards with 10 different faces, that may expand the “board game budget”. That’s a lot of cards!
Rulesheet vs Rulebook | How this can quietly affect the board game budget
I have come to find that a ‘rulesheet’ for a board game can often evolve into becoming a booklet.
And, designing a single A5 page compared to designing a small booklet for a board game requires more time, more focus, more work, and… typically – more editing and tweaking.
Why does this stage often expand to what was initially discussed?
When in the very early stages of the game project, a client may have written a rough set of rules to play from. This set of rules are often a basic first draft and is often ‘just enough to work with.
As they playtest their game, read and re-read their draft and have it proofread professionally, they find more space and time is required for the rules.
The rules are improved basically. ( Written rules often require the most editing throughout a project. )
It then becomes necessary to fit all of the text into a booklet, as a single a5 sheet of paper isn’t enough anymore to fit all of the text on.
In other words, the rules expand into something else because it has been given more time and attention.
Last minute changes – this can affect the cost to design your board game
The more content – specifically information and components is laid out from the outset, the easier it is to gauge a budget time for a project. If all of the information stays the same throughout the whole project, the more likely the budget will stay closer to the original estimate.
But, I will let you in on a little secret, information, components, and game plans rarely stay the same. More so for larger projects.
As a board project evolves and improvements move from the original seed of an idea. The more budget and resource and time is given to a project. Some board game projects aren’t small!
Example of a past project
How much do designers and artists charge for a board game?
Each artist, and designer is different. And ‘ design a board game’ eg create all the visuals for a game is a very broad area. It really does depend on some factors such as how many images or pieces of artwork there is to create.
As a very rough idea on how much do designers or artists charge to create the visuals for a board game. These can be influencing factors.
Who will retain the copyright
Experience, knowledge and skill of designer or artist
How big – in terms of time, the project is
And generally how much content is there to create
Their geography
The designers or artist studio overheads ( expenses )
Written example typical project sizes ( budgets )
More often than not, when I see a board game assignment come through, they are of a larger scale. And larger scale projects require larger budgets for time.
This is not to say that I won’t work on a smaller game. It is often the case that I am involved in the game as a whole, but I am happy to work in varying capacities on a project.
Working on a board game with clients from concept to prototype is an exciting prospect that I love to dive into. I have more information on my Creative Direction and board game services than I have mentioned previously.
*It should be noted, that if you are a start-up thinking of embarking on creating a full board game with lots of components and cards – It is not a small project undertake. Especially if this is a game you have aspirations to take to the retail market.
Below is a rough table of how a project and budget ‘might’ work but each project is treated case by case scenario. If you would like to get a more accurate estimate, please get in touch.
**I am not a manufacturer, I am not able to itemise a lot of the design and journey into a checklist. Creating a retail-worthy game is rarely that straightforward – sorry!
How much does it cost to ‘design’ a board game? Potential cases
My personal commercial experience and skills are covered in the paragraphs written below. It essentially outlines some of my own skills when working on a board game project for a client to create a board game prototype or a core look and feel for the early game.
Initial Concept
Creating the core concept look and feel for a board game or card game. This is one of my main areas of focus. This covers the early ideas and the Creative Direction. Once some of the initial concepts have been established, this will move the project to the next step!
Adding a touch of character design to your board game
Using a trusty pencil and paper and Adobe Illustrator I can draw characters for your game. This is another service that is covered ‘under board game’ design. You can read more on vector illustration services to see how I may be able to help.
For example cards, rules, tokens, 2D miniatures. These can be a subject in themselves that require a lot of time and attention. Or if there is not too much inside the game box, not much at all!
Here are some examples of casess / scenerios that may give you more of the idea of project size and scope that will influence the cost and outcome.
Example of budgets and scope. This is not an itemised list but it will hopefully I’ve an idea of some past cases for budgets for a board game and projects.
Budget case table for design project (1) ( Small card game )
As an example. A card game as such with the items listed above would be a smaller budget than say a board game with a large box.
Case 1
Project Brief
Budget / Size
Other Information
Design a few characters
4 or 6 characters
Potentially smaller budget
Covers earlier sketches and vectors
Put together box artwork +
Look and feel already put together by another
Medium budget to create a retail ready ‘prototype’ box
Some content already supplied, design a nice box for the game
Important also if you want a uniformly designed and styled game
Create an illustration
Create vector cover art
Depending on illustration complexity* – medium to large part of budget
An eye catching illustration for the box cover or cover design
Create a single leaflet for the rules
1 a5 page of text
Often smaller end f budget and time required
Might be a simple plain page with some text
A written example of potential project format
The table above should give you an idea of how some of the time may be allocated on a smaller card game project. But this can be varied. It all depends on the complexity of the game and what is really involved in bring all these individuals elements together!
Below is another case table for board game budgets. Both of these tables are hypothetical but are based on past experience.
Budget case table for design project (2) ( Medium-sized board game )
Something of the scale would be more expensive to create.
Case 2
Project Brief
Budget / Size
Other Information
Design 10 characters
10 + characters plus lots of ideas
Potentially larger budget
Covers earlier sketches and vectors
Put together box artwork +
Establish a look and feel for the box – from scratch
Medium budget to create a retail ready ‘prototype’ box
A board game vs a card game will be more expensive
Create the look and feel for the game
Create the whole look and feel for the game
Largest part of project but an important step in part of the design journey
Important also if you want a uniformly designed and styled game
Create 3 or 4 illustrations
Create multiple vector illustrations
Depending on illustration complexity* 3 or 4 = much larger time allocation
Creating illustrations can take a while to complete
Create an 8 page booklet
1x 8 page booklet
More content is needed for 8 faces for a rule book.
Nice cover graphic, diagrams, more text / editing / tweaking
A written example of potential project format
Hopefully, this second case scenario gives you an example and difference between the two levels of budget and my involvement. Typically, the more I need to create – the larger the budget and along with polishing and editing all of the design and illustration content.
Case 1 is a smaller budget because it is a smaller project that requires less. Case 2 is a bigger project that requires more.
The creative the journey | the ‘real thing’ that is billed
* It should be noted, that the items in the board game are not strictly the reason for the budget being smaller or larger. But, that being said, the more elements there are to your game. Eg cards that need artwork, box covers, etc the more likely it is that the budget will be more expensive.
It’s a longer road!
I myself cannot, and do not charge for the items themselves. For my design services, I charge for the journey and the money is the fuel to get the project where it needs to be. The items, just help to offer markers and waypoints for the project.
It depends on what is required to bring your board game to life! That will be what determines the budget.
Read more about my design services – link takes you design services page.
How much does it cost to ‘design’ a board game?
The conclusive answer of how much does it cost to design a board game, is sadly – it depends. It depends on the size of the project and what is really involved in creating the board and how much there is to design,
Many board game design projects can sit around the £4000 – £5000 mark but each budget is unique to each game brief.
Keep in mind that if you need a designer and illustrator for a game that you will also need to factor in manufacturing and potentially marketing your game.
* This s not an official estimate, for an official estimate please get in touch. Rates can also change!
How much does it cost to make a board game for Kickstarter?
Considering all of the above to design to create a photo-ready prototype you may be looking at the following figure.
( Game design budget ) + Prototype Manufacture £100 – £300 + Plus shipping ad set up (£40 ) approximately.
This should give you a photo-ready prototype for a Kickstarter campaign.
Other helpful posts around How much does it cost to ‘design’ a board game?
How much does it cost to ‘design’ a board game for personal use?
If you are thinking of creating a board game for personal use, the more of the game you can create yourself, the lower the budget you will need to design the game. This method won’t strictly make it a retail-ready game by going down the do-it-yourself route, but you never know!
Some people want to create a board game just to figure it out and get into the industry and for that, I commend you. You may find this article helpful – how to draw on a computer starter steps.
To answer how much does it cost to design a board game for personal use, or for yourself. It depends on how far you wish to take it.
If you want to get pen and paper and create a white paper box. This can be perfect for a prototype and playtest model. Or you can try to learn some digital drawing skills.
I have written a helpful post on “how to design a retail kiosk in steps“. This post is to show a visual close up of what was involved in creating a kiosk in one of the larger shopping centres in the South East of England.
And, to show you some other examples of what a kiosk is.
A good question to ask yourself? What is a retail kiosk or kiosk store, and what are they for is answered directly below.
What is a kiosk?
A kiosk, or a retail kiosk, is a freestanding booth, installation, or cabin that is typically positioned in areas of high footfall.
You will often find retail kiosks positioned in:-
Shopping centres
Malls
Near areas of busy public transport such as train and bus stations
Tourist attractions
Festivals
Sports events
A kiosk (or retail kiosk) is a low-cost way of establishing a market presence and selling products to customers.
Retail kiosks are often used to sell consumer goods such as; food, beverages, accessories, merchandise, and help shoppers and tourists.
From a design and build perspective, kiosks are (typically) easier to build and remove opposed to shops.
Kiosks can be manned by one or two people.
A kiosk can be anything from a portable shack or shed – to a fiberglass cabin. Or something more bespoke and novelty, depending on budget and requirements.
Retail Kiosk Examples
There many examples of retail kiosks out there including the one I co-designed here in this post (further down).
Below is a written list of kiosk examples you may find.
Icecream booths are often seen at beaches and seaside areas.
Burger shacks are kiosks you can see in a variety of places (market places).
Information kiosks are often self-service units used to help to find your way around.
Health and beauty kiosks are often seen in the main walkways of shopping malls.
Tourist information kiosks will either be a self-service or typically have an assistant operating from within. You will often find these near entrances and lobby areas.
Electronics, Smartphone accessory kiosks tend to operate in medium-sized malls. These booths will often sell cases and offer repairs.
General consumer goods kiosk. There is often a range of kiosks that will sell anything from belt-buckles to cookies.
Example drawings of kiosks (ideas)
Below is a range of kiosk examples and ideas to give you some guidance and inspiration.
Booth Kiosk or prefabricated type!
An interesting shape for good access and visibility of products.
Robot Kiosk!
A gigantic bread bin as an example of eccentric kiosk design.
Photographic Examples Of Kiosks
A mood board of kiosk photographs to show you what a kiosk can be. And, potentially give some ideas with the literal examples!
What is a kiosk store?
What is a kiosk store? A kiosk store is a kiosk or booth that concentrates on selling to consumers in a retail environment.
If you want to sell products from a booth or freestanding shack, these would be considered as “kiosk stores”. Also known as kiosk shops or derivatives of.
A kiosk store can be mass-made and modular by design, or it can bespoke. It all depends on what is required for space and how you want to create your kiosk. Budget, brand, and products will also affect your kiosk store.
The difference between a “kiosk” and a “kiosk store” is its intent. The kiosk store will aim to sell a product.
Is a retail kiosk profitable?
Whether a kiosk is profitable comes down to the kiosk design, the products, and where the kiosk is positioned? It can also depend on the mall.
Smaller shopping centres such as the ones found at services tend to have lower of footfall. This is due to the fact they have shops aimed toward for convenience instead of dedicated retail shopping.
Large shopping centres such as the ones in Westfields in London are likely to have a much larger footfall. It is to check whether an area for your kiosk will be profitable.
Yes, a retail kiosk can be profitable. You must sell products customers want to buy. You should also look for ways to reduce your overheads and spending to make a profit from your Kiosk.
From a design perspective, using premade or prefabricated elements for the kiosk or booth will lower the cost and potentially increase profit margins.
Bricks and mortar stores and the ailing high-street
I would like to be truthful here and mention that retail, in recent years has had a rough time economically. A kiosk instead of a shop can be a great way of testing a product. If the booth and product is a success. You can then consider creating shop installation – if your kiosk is profitable.
I believe some businesses are harder to emulate online, such as services, things you can smell and taste for example.
Designing a kiosk takes planning and thought. You will need to consider the floor space, how to store products. What will go where? Positioning…
“This theme offered a lot for creative freedom with cogs, gears, machines etc – it was easy to turn these into functioning assets.”
The design below used all of the methodologies mentioned throughout this post.
Example of a kiosk in Bluewater
The kiosk was designed to be eye-catching and fun! We wanted to pull the users in from the main walkways and look at the products.
The illustration was used as an early look and feel for the kiosk. An idea for design intent. “proof of concept”. the proof of concept would have been shown to the landlords for early approval.
thanks team!Product close up
Branded wooden fascias.
The idea of the Kiosk design
The kiosk design above was built upon a previous design that was as themed in the branding and marketing – The Gadget Factory.
The Gadget Factory was a brand story and backdrop that that was created to frame and style certain product ranges.
This theme offered a lot for creative freedom with cogs, gears, machines etc – it was easy to turn these into functioning assets. Neither was It was a stretch to transfer the concept to the kiosk.
These installations turned a few heads at shows. So, we wondered if this would translate to a kiosk?
We tweaked the design a little bit from a factory as this was a theme we’d used for a couple of years.
What would have been attached to the factory?
Warehouse and cargo.
So we really suped-up the whole import-export idea to the next level. I used the brand styling onto the boxes and theme.
The form and function of the kiosk was an important step for the kiosk design process. When designing some of the rough plans in with the look and feel, I considered how it would actually work and sell the products.
For example, how would a customer interact? How would the product be stored overnight? Where it was placed.
And generally, how would the kiosk be built!
We needed an idea, even if the main building wasn’t left to me (us).
These were all important steps in the Kiosk design. And hence, this is why the cargo wooden boxes tied in. They were modular, easy to stack, looked intentional. And could be painted easily.
Conclusive Answer – what is a kiosk? Retail kiosk example
A kiosk is a freestanding booth, cabin or shack that is temporarily built, positioned, or installed. Kiosks are often found in walkways of shopping malls and retail centres. You will often find a kiosk in national parks, markets, and tourist spots too.
A retail kiosk is a great way of promoting a brand or selling a product without having to spend a fortune. You can also source ready-made kiosks which are often made from fibre glass.
Where to get retail kiosk example ideas?
The kiosk displayed above is an example of a retail outlet I co-designed. You can refer to the illustration for ideas kiosk examples. Another good place to find examples of kiosks is Pinterest.
What is a “kiosk store?” ( In Detail )
Still confused as to what a kiosk store actually is? It’s not a shop or not quite a stall.
What is a kiosk store? A Kiosk is a booth, cabin or shack or outlet in which you can serve or help customers.
A kiosk store is a pop-up or temporary stand in which you can sell products or merchandise. Kiosks are not permanent fixtures although they can be integrated with the environment.
The merits of the kiosk store are that you can sell a range of products and merchandise. You can test the market before committing to a permanent shop or longer lease.
You may get a kiosk that has a lease for 3 months 6 months or a year. It comes down to how much pay the landlord for a lease on your store.
Being flexible and not fixed to a long term contract is another potential advantage to a kiosk store or shop.
Getting started on creating a pop-up kiosk store
Below is a shortlist of helpful tips to get you started on your first pop kiosk store! These are especially helpful if you are new to creating your own kiosk and are in the early stages of starting up your brand.
Thank you for taking the time to look at the retail kiosk example
The retail kiosk example that I worked on, was created by myself and my past colleagues. My main role in kiosk creation was the design stage.
This particular kiosk design came after a few years of designing stands and installations. Many of these designs were used at international tradeshows for gifting and electronics.
My primary roles in this kiosk design were:
Conceptualisation and visualization in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator
Designing marketing collateral to promote products at the kiosk
Liaising with retail and kiosk manufacturers.
I hope that this post has helped to answer what a retail kiosk is. What an example of a kiosk is ( Bluewater project ). And a couple of sketchy ideas for kiosk and booth designs.
Helpful tips for kiosk design, ideas, and creating a product
How to design a kiosk. Designing a kiosk for retail, be it for a mall or a shopping centre is challenging.
The quick-fire answer to how to design a kiosk is to look at the environment, get the plans, and dimensions and draw up your intent in a document.
“create a detailed plan drawing that illustrates the intent and clearly shows key information about its construction.”
To draw and up a plan for your kiosk you, will either need to draw it in 2D or create a 3D model. Or both.
Designing a kiosk that is suitable for retail and will sell your product as best as possible, is not a small undertaking.
I am going to share my experience of how to design a kiosk for a shopping centre – broken down into bite-size steps.
Get your tape measure ready!
Actionable steps on how to design a kiosk
If you are looking to design your kiosk, these core stages will help you to pick through the design process.
It will also guide you on what you should do and what those behind the licensing of the kiosk may expect from your plan.
It should be noted here, as I am a designer that many of the steps and stages focus on concept, design, and planning stages.
Although I have an understanding of stand construction (even with a very distant background as a builders’ labourer).
My professional focus is in the design field, rather than implementation.
Below is a guide of what to use to design a retail kiosk.
Core stages on how to design a retail kiosk ( 1,2,3 )
1 ) Get the plan and technical information for the available space
2 ) Enquire about any limitations with regards to the kiosk design – what you can and can’t do
3 ) See the environment if you can, size up the competition
5 ) Conceptualise the design and try to stand out from the crowd (send a proof)
6 ) Consider the customer experience when they use the kiosk or stand
7 ) Polish up the rough drawings and design ready submitted to the mall
8 ) Amend design if needed (make sure you have factored in safety)
9 ) Make sure your design is easy to understand for the stand builder
Kiosk Design | Get a plan and information for your retail space
Before opening up any design packages or generally getting too carried away the experience, make sure to get the space information.
Eg, the floor plan and dimensions.
This stage is essential. If you leave getting all of the specifics about your space and information to the end of the project, you run the risk of hitting delays.
Worse still, having to redesign entire sections of your kiosk.
Get the information first, or at least! As early on as possible.
If you are considering designing your own kiosk, these tips will save you a lot of trouble later on.
With this still in the back of your mind, if you have any questions you can request my kiosk design services here.
The kiosk planning stage – get a floor plan
Get the dimensions for your space and see what you need to work with.
Often malls and retail centres will have a top-down view or plan and layout of the area. It is better still if they have the written dimensions of your allocated space.
This will save you the trouble of having to go to the shopping centre to take measurements.
In addition to the floor plan to help you design a kiosk. Any diagrams with notification of electrical points, fire exits, ventilation, and sprinklers will be important to know about and should be factored into your design.
How to design a kiosk | what you can and can’t do with the design
Knowing your limitations with the kiosk and retail space is just as important as to know what you can do with space.
All malls and retail centres are different.
You will find some retail centres are stricter, and others have basic requirements with the visual design.
It is also good to know the limitations and rules on what type of lighting you can and can’t use.
Knowing these rules and limitations for your kiosk design will help you with your design and save headaches further down the line when it comes to the final design and implementation.
Ignoring the rules is a likely way of delaying getting your kiosk or booth open to the public.
When it comes to kiosk design for a retail centre. *You can’t do anything that will pose a fire or safety risk to others.
You can’t build outside of your allocated area and you shouldn’t block items such as sprinklers and ventilation.
How to design a kiosk | Visit The Shopping Centre
If at all possible, I would recommend going to the shopping mall where your kiosk will be situated.
I want create the best customer experience possible. I want to put myself in their shoes!
By going to the environment where your kiosk will be built, it will potentially help you with the design concept.
It covers you for the unexpected.
It helps you to size up what the competition and lastly, you can observe the shoppers behaviour. Not to mention helping to see what is really going on with other shops and stalls.
When it comes to kiosk design, this is an ideal that I can come to the centre, but sometimes this isn’t always possible.
If you can’t visit in person, you can always get somebody at the company commissioning the kiosk design to take pictures. Or a member of the team to go.
How to design ‘your’ kiosk – perks of visiting your area
As already mentioned before, and especially if you are designing your kiosk in-house. I would strongly advise that you visit the space where you intend to build.
This is important for both the kiosk concept and the practicalities.
This is a small list of why it will benefit you in designing your kiosk :
Allows you to put yourself in your customers’ shoes
Helps you to spot things and anomalies not on your plan supplied by the license givers
Shows how you will compare to other kiosk and shops
You will be able to see where people come and go in the mall
It will allow you to take your own pictures
And you can make additional measurements if required
To list a few.
Kiosk Design | How to conceptualise and draw ideas
When considering how to design a kiosk, it is important to consider how the whole concept will work.
Gather as many facts and inspiration as necessary to create a kiosk that is practical and engaging. For inspiration, you may wish to look at websites such as Pinterest or go to shopping malls for ideas.
When I am engaged in a kiosk design project, I use those approaches as needed.
The concept stage of myself is the stage where permit the chance to jump in with both feet!
And if you have followed this guide so far…
You can too.
As a reminder to help you with how to conceptualise your kiosk make a note of the following:
How can I design a kiosk that stands out based on the limitations?
What are the business goals of the company?
Who is the target demographic?
How does the kiosk design plan need to be submitted?
To what capacity do you need have plan, eg 2 pages, 5 pages 10 pages.
Many of my past kiosk design projects have focused on creating a retail experience that makes the customer say –
“WHOA! What’s that!”
– Imaginary customer
In hopes to pull the customer toward the stand engage with the brand and product. Or at least that is what I aim for.
How “you” can conceptualise and design a kiosk
I would advise all of what I mentioned above if you are designing your own kiosk. Get the facts, get the plan, get the measurements, find out about health and safety.
And then –
Design your kiosk.
When conceptualising your kiosk, you should consider how the user will engage with the stand. Make good use of design to help sell the product to reinforce the brand image.
Also, on a practical note.
The kiosk design needs to work for all parties – including the staff. And storing the product after hours.
If you are also on a budget, you should also consider how this will affect the cost of the build. The plan and concept is just one stage.
Kiosk Concept Design Services
As part of my commercial design services, I can draft up a concept design for you to pitch. These services cover kiosk illustration, plan drawings, thoughts abstracts, and ideas.
All of which can be compiled together into a single PDF at the end of the project.
When creating a kiosk, I take into account how the kiosk will be used by both the brand and the consumer.
In addition to designing a retail kiosk that resonates with the audience, you should also strive to make it profitable for your business.
And In order to help make the kiosk as profitable as it can be. I have asked what products the client sells.
With regards to making a good sale, you should also think about what product you would like to sell first.
Keep your kiosk easy to use, fun, and easy to sell from.
With the kiosk design, consider consumer psychology
As much as I personally dislike the manipulation to get people to spend more than they need in the supermarkets. You cannot deny that the tactics used are clever.
You may believe that buying a product is a logical / considered thing. It is and it isn’t. Many customers make purchases on emotion and impulse too.
An inate need that they need more than they actually do – “just in case”
Examples of visual persuasion and tactical positioning in retail :-
Placing low-cost sweets at a checkout.
Putting big red signs saying “deal to be had”.
Placing items in areas where people loiter or come and go.
None of these tactics are new. And none are by accident.
But they do offer an interesting lesson that can be taken away. This all steers a sale. it ties in with positioning
Notes for steering a sale with your retail booth *kiosk
As part of my design process, these are just some of the factors and questions I will use when designing a new kiosk, including the all-important signage!
– Who are the products for?
– How can I make the best of the product space?
– Does the theme and visual design tie together with the brand story?
– Are there signs showing the customer where to look?
How to design a kiosk | Come to an agreement and speed up the process
By this stage ( or if earlier ), I would have illustrated a 2D visual – a mock-up of the kiosk.
To create this render, mock or illustration I would have used the processes above.
The kiosk concept is important, as is the information you supply about it’s design to the landlords and those granting a license.
You will need to come to an agreement with the design.
After all, the ones granting permission to use their space typically have the final say on the design.
One of my biggest tips I can give you if you are designing your kiosk in-house. Is to create some rough ideas and renders first.
Once you have created some of these polished illustrations or renders of the kiosk. Send them off for initial approval.
If this initial design is approved.
Then add the details ‘after’ this stage of the kiosk design process
If you send a 100% polished final design of your kiosk draft of your design and it needs to be changed – as design often does. then you may have to go over the entire design document and make those changed throughout.
Instead of having to change just a couple of items on your plan.
Don’t be cheeky either.
Remember what I said about who gets the last say? The chances are, if you are the stand designers who have been granted permission/lease for space – it isn’t you!
Getting your design accepted and then changing your build that deviates too far from the design plan is a huge no-no.
Don’t do it.
This will most likely cause you kiosk delays in the opening if you worry or annoy the landlords.
Do what you agreed in the plan. As much as you can!
Important in kiosk creation – “DO NOT” do this with your kiosk
“Do stick to the agreement.”
The plan – the kiosk concept -once finished and signed off by those granting the lease, should be adhered to. This is a mutual agreement between both you the stand builder on the mall offering the lease for you to place or build a kiosk.
The design plan is in place for you to stipulate your intent and for those granting the lease to see what you intend to do.
This the opportunity for both parties to land on the same page and be happy to go ahead.
Do not do anything that deviates too far from the design plan.
A ‘qualified; stand builder should be allowed room to execute their knowledge. The stand builders should know their craft and will flag when something is a bit off with your idea, it is a good idea to do this during the design process, if possible.
But even with the best intentions, things may arise were ‘minor changes’ need to occur.
Don’t be a geezer! – be straight an open with the design.
Minor changes…
If you decide to build custom shutters, new fixtures, wacky lights, things that block or stop ventilation and this is not shown on the original plan – which was agreed.
The solicitors or those granting the lease will either tell you to change it, amend the plan or they will stop you from opening the kiosk.
“that was not was agreed!”
Making substantial changes like this without consulting the landlords / those offering you space is a pointless risk in which you are the only one likely to lose.
Don’t be sketchy.
If you need to make substantial changes, later on, tell everybody involved and amend the design plan.
How to design your kiosk | amend the design if required
By this stage, you should be moving toward the completion of the kiosk design.
If you followed the previous steps, then you will have already shown an illustrated or 3D mock-up of your design.
Working on the design of your retail kiosk in incremental stages is better and saves time in releasing a big 15-page document in 1 go.
Imagine drawing the kiosk 10 or 15 times only to be told you need to change it across all 10 pages of the design document?
That adds a lot of bloat and time to get your design plan completed for your kiosk and may delay in the kiosk installation.
As preferred method, and when possible. I like to submit early design visuals before tightening up on the details.
If you are very lucky, you may not need to amend you design information. And, if this is the case. You can submit your design document and mark it as complete.
Get the sign off from the parties involved in running the mall. And you are getting closer to building your kiosk.
Preparing the PDF document of your booth concept for the landlord
If you are a qualified designer, you will be familiar with the different programs you can use to wrap up all of the documents into one neat and tidy plan.
As a general guide, if you are not using a standardised piece of software that creates documents. You can either go to a ‘Save As’ under file > menu or more often than not “export’ which will give similar document saving options.
If you are a Graphic Designer, then you can either use Adobe Indesign, Illustrator of Adobe Acrobat to compile together the images and artwork into a single PDF plan.
How to design your kiosk | getting it ready kiosk/stand builder
By this point, you will have most likely had your design signed off and be ready for the visualisation to be turned into something tangible for retail.
You may or may not have had the stand builders involved for consultation in the early stages.
The communication with the stand builders is an important step. When working with stand builders on the installation of the kiosk, make sure the document is easy to read and follow.
Clearly write the measurements, the materials, the functionality, lighting information on the design plan.
Make it easy to read and understand as much as possible.
Example of the project for Bluewater (inspiration)
As part of a project for a new retail unit that was to be put into Bluewater shopping centre – I was heavily involved in the kiosk design.
These visuals I am sharing are from that kiosk design. You may be interested In looking at these for inspiration on your kiosk design.
The design followed many of the core processes and principle mention throughout.
Branding, modular design and methods for easy storage and stacking to name a few.
Along with the team I worked with at the time, we also visited the retail centre before creating the design.
Have a look at the images for your own reference and inspiration.
Project for Bluewater
These are just some of the artboards that contributed to the project.
Rough Mock Up
The image of the concept above is another example of a booth or kiosk concept that would be presented to a landlord.
How to save money on your kiosk design
To save money on your kiosk design you should consider “modular design”. Modular design, or designing your kiosk in a way that it can easily be taken down and assembled elsewhere is a strong money-saving tactic.
Another simple way to save money on your kiosk design.
Present your rough ideas sooner rather than later. Don’t wait to show your best-polished work to the very end of the near building stage. Time is money. Show your design intent sooner rather than later to those offering a lease.
Last tip for reducing cost on kiosk design – look and ready-made solutions.
The more ‘bespoke’ your kiosk design is. The more likely you are to need to spend money on custom installation and building.
The design above is an example of a kiosk design that uses the modular method. This is so it can be assembled and taken down more easily and potentially moved to another shopping centre in the future.
You can also consider what resources are available to you. Such as this crate!
How to design your retail booth (in-house)
By following the steps above you should design your own kiosk in stages and by following the limitations set in the plan.
Consider the materials, branding, cost, and work hours to build and install the kiosk also.
Designing a kiosk is not a small undertaking. You should seek advice from those that know how to build kiosk and from the owners.
In order to design a kiosk that is suitable for a retail environment, your need to create a detailed plan drawing that illustrates the intent and clearly shows key information about its construction.
With regards to useful information to include on the construction plan, you should consider adding the following pieces of information:-
Kiosk size and floor plan with measurements
An illustration or render of the kiosk
Detailed pull-outs of what is happening with the construction
Notes on materials
Where electrical points will need to be added.
How and where customers can pay
Storage
How the Kiosk can be made secure overnight.
There are many factors that you may need to be included in your kiosk design plan. And to what degree and detail you need to create your proposal,l is down to your and the owners of the mall that are leasing you space.
Help with ‘designing’ your kiosk
If you have found this article helpful and over you, some step by step guidelines follow you may also be interested in contacting me or looking at my freelance kiosk design services.
Feel free to share this article to any budding kiosk or retail designers.
*The kiosk design is copyright copyrighted to the respective business. Do not use. – Thank you for reading – jimmsdesign. Steps on how to design a kiosk.
This project is an example of a Snakes and Ladders board game that I had the privilege in being involved in creating!
Many elements of this game, uses the Snakes & Ladders mechanics and adds additional aspects to the gameplay.
Additional elements included items such as game cards and collectible tokens. Or to be specific, Bones! Which were needed to complete the game and the end of the player journey.
You will find this post helpful if you are looking for ideas and inspiration to create or commission your own Snakes and ladders styled game.
I will cover my creative process and journey in helping to bring my client’s passion project to life – here is an example of a snakes and ladders type game. Which I had the pleasure of helping to create!
Or, as it was actually called in the end.
DINO BREAK
Creating a Snakes & Ladders type game
It is unfair to say that this is only a Snakes & Ladders game.
For example, when you play Snakes and Ladders, you roll a dice and move around the board trying to dodge the snakes and use the ladders as shortcuts.
With Dino Break, the game combines both challenging questions and token collection to win the game.
When the player lands on the spaces around the board, You ( the player ) must take a card from the deck and read aloud the questions which are themed around dinosaurs (palaeontology).
If the player gets the question correct, they take a token.
You need 6 tokens to win the game and free your friend.
This is an example of what can be done with Snakes & Ladders as a framework and adding to it.
To create the Dino Break game, including the mechanics of the game. It borrowed many of the gameplay elements from snakes and ladders and pushed it to new levels.
Extra parts were added to the game including cards, questions, points, and ‘nasty cards’ that cost the player points.
Examples of the complete prototype game
This is the printed prototype of the game complete with the outer box, game board, cards, rules, and tokens.
The look and the feel for the game were established once the core design had been created.
The narrative for Dino Break
Most of the core mechanics of the game were already supplied to me before I itemised what was needed for this jailbreak/snakes and ladder-type game.
Part of my core roll for this game was the creation of the game narrative. I created a story that would be told through the visuals and character design for the game. – The theme.
It was already established that the players would need to save or free a creature at the end of the game to win.
In order to win the game and free the prisoner, something would need to be collected throughout the game. Tokens, that would represent points.
This allowed for plenty of room for experimentation and the direction of the visual narrative. I took down the path of cartoon prehistoric.
Characters for the game | the players
The other part of my involvement in the making of this game was in creating character concepts. As an extra layer, I suggested that there should be a ‘good team’ and ‘bad’ team.
Protagonist and antagonist.
By default, you would assume that a bloodthirsty Dinosaur would be a villain. A big toothy dinosaur that eats little friendly dinosaurs or cave people!
I wanted to make this breakout game a bit different. Instead of villainous creatures. I made the cavemen the villains and the Dinosaurs the friendly ones – or the hunted!
The Players | The Crazy Saurs
As part of the game, I came up with 4 different playable characters ( and 2 blank playing cards ) in which you can play as any of the 4 different Dinosaurs or … Crazy Saurs
The Friendly Saur is the character you need to save from the cavemen. Collect the 6 tokens to free the Friendly Saur. As with the other designs, this character was sketched out and drawn in Adobe Illustrator as part of my contracting service.
The Cave Man
The cavemen were the villains of the peace in this game. I wanted to cast them as villainous thugs that wanted nothing more than to make Dino soup!
A “very rough” post-it note prototype of the game was sent emailed to me to inspect and decide and the best course of action.
I broke project down into manageable stages. Considering how I would need to achieve x y z on a budget.
Once the core goal was agreed. I set about roughing out the concept for the characters and the look and feel for the game.
Some minor suggestions were offered to the “mission” of the game. How to win.
With the concept, I took it as a snake and ‘laddersesque’ game and considered what we could do differently from a design standpoint. Everybody knows Snakes and Ladders – but what could be done differently.
I offered a range of ideas for the core components. Here is a rough list of core components for the game prototype.
Dino Break rough components and cutting list
Create the characters and character cards
Playing cards
Rules
Tokens
Game board
Top of game box
Bottom of game box
Other bits and pieces
For milestones for the clients and to keep everybody as involved as possible. I showed the project to the clients to keep them in the loop.
I polished the design until it was complete.
Once the visual design was complete along with the flat mockup, I sent the game artwork away to be printed.
Example of Snakes and Ladders board game – Dino Break
This game allowed me to flex my design muscles and jump in with both feet.
You may also feel inspired by this board game example to create your own project.
Thank you for reading.
"I was very impressed with the work itself and your designs were exactly what me and the child had in mind.
You kept to deadlines and were very punctual and took on board any amendments and got these done quickly.
You were a great businessman but also a fantastic person to work with. And you should be proud of the service you provided as you made one little boy's dreams come true." - Anonymous. (Dino break)
If you would like to read more on board game design related articles you can do so by following the links below.
This article is an example of an educational snakes and ladders board game. All content design, cards, characters are copyright to their respective owners. DO NOT STEAL THIS ARTWORK or claim this game as your own.
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