ADVENTURES IN THE DESIGN WORLD™: Deep In The Bowels Of CVS

Those of you who don't live in the hearty midwest or/and don't keep up with the financial machinations of the neighborhood pharmacy chain industry may not have noticed the recent CVS rebranding of old Osco pharmacies. While most of the rebranded franchise shops have gained much-needed interior decor makeovers, a few unlucky branches are still waiting for their 21st-century refits. And it is in one of these remodelling-challenged CVS pharmacies that the following photographs were taken. Rather than go all-out with new carpeting, paint, etc., this particular CVS has only invested in a handful of new signs to spruce things up, with varying levels of success.


In an attempt to educate its clientele, CVS has installed attractive, informative signage in the "Wine and Spirits" aisle discussing the ins and outs of the fine wines available for purchase. Here we see the sign for Pinot Noir; note its helpful pronunciation guide, which no doubt has a certain resonance with the consumers of adult diapers over in aisle 9 (not to mention the music fans perusing the cut-out bin of old hip hop CDs in aisle 4).


But it's not just the geriatric set that CVS is courting with its in-store signage projects. Above we have an example of their eye-catching "HOT NEW ITEM!" signs no doubt aimed at the 18-24 market, for whom the word "hot" has connotations of elite status within the singles set. And when I think of hot new items, I think hair lice products. Bravo, CVS! Your marketing department has made pediculosis fun again!

Enjoy using the large versions of these images as desktop pictures. You'll be glad you did.