1. John Heffernan
Assignment 2
Location: Ballina & Crossmolina Co. Mayo Ireland
* due to the fact that I have misplaced my camera usb cable, I have photos take that I
can’t add to this doc. I will give a quick description of the location & hopefully add at
a later stage. I then thought of using links to Street View in Google Maps but the
images go back to Sept 2009.
Ballina is a town in the West of Ireland with a population of approx 8,000 but as the
largest town in the local area it would have a larger footfall due to local government
offices etc. located there.
Crossmolina is a village approx 7 miles/11 km from Ballina and as a result is far
smaller population of approx 1000.
Munnellys Centra Crossmolina
 This is the largest of the local grocery shops in Crossmolina which has a
carpark and designated parking for wheelchair & mothers
 Has two sliding doors at 90deg to each other, catering for carpark and street
customers
 Designed in Centra branded pastel colours and very bright and airy.
 Plays local talk radio, playing more loudly at cash registers presuming for
staff
Insight & observation
 Potential to create a window alcove if they could remove the wall between the
two sliding doors which would bring in more light and reduce the requirement
to use fluorescent light
 Lines of shelves are very linear- what about shifting them 90 degrees for a
change
Panada Ballina
 It is a coffee shop that also makes and displays wedding/specialty cakes- it
also displays art works from a local artist.
 With all the cake models and pictures on the wall, it is very cramped and the
dark wallpaper and furniture makes it very dark.
 There is no design in layout but it is quirky
Insight & observation
 Create a “carousel of art” from the ceiling which is the only unused space in
the public area
 Tables of four could be changed for a long table or a quirky designed cubby
holes to help jazz it up a bit
PJH Ballina
 It is a very small shop that sells in England would be called bric- brac. It is a
shop that would sell everything that you would not find in more mainstream
shops.
 At present, predominantly selling Halloween stuff

2.  As school pupils are on holidays, customers were of this age buying the last of
Halloween tricks with pocket money
Insight & observation
 Create a little videos display showing youtube clips of how products work
 Have had to invite people to rummage through the large bins of merchandise –
involve a game element- find two different items with same price tag for a
discount
Dunnes Store Ballina
 It is large national brand of large supermarket in Ireland. It is built to a set
design and branding.
 All aisles are in straight line which were getting clogged up with shopping
trolleys
 Layout would have been designed by the company for that store
Insight & observation
 Make the aisles in to a maze or a one way system similar to ikea.
 As they were beginning to stock Christmas decorations etc, they could have
brought in a post Halloween pre Christmas gimmick, dress a witch in Santa
Claus outfit to break the monotony
Eason Ballina
 It is a chain bookstore that again is built to a set design and branding.
 All the divisions are clearly delineated, stationary separate from magazines
etc.
 No warm feeling if you wanted to whittle a hour browsing- you would have to
stand and wall shelves more like a library than a shop
Insight & observation
 Create a more comfortable location with more chairs similar to Borders or
Barnes & Noble.
 A childrens play area or decorated area
Hickson Store Crossmolina
 This shop is an old fashioned show store which is closer to 1880s than the
present day! It was once a style of shop common place in Ireland. I really
regret not having photos for this piece. The shop is owned and run by an
elderly gentleman who is more inclined to chat than sell shoes.
 To the outsider, there is no organization to how merchandise is structured.
Boxes are piled everywhere. But Dick knows where every box is located.
 It caters for a more older clientele
Insight & observation
 Needs a little coffee or tea stand to give it a more “community” feel. The shop
reminds me of the barber shops in 1950’s USA where patrons seem to hang
around all day reading paper etc.
 Make it more a “Victorian” shopping experience