INTRODUCTION

Assouline was founded in 1994 in Paris by Prosper and Martine Assouline. They are considered the first luxary brand on culture depicting travel, art, fashion and design stories. This brand began with a desire to create a new style for books using the couple’s experience to create visually rich stories and compelling narratives.

Visual emphasis through contrast is an essential tool in helping users find their way through a space. Designers use EMPHASIS as a tool for creating points of interest for aesthetic and orientation purposes.

When a composition has no emphasis, nothing stands out. As a result, designers use COLOR to emphasize guides that attract the user’s attention and deliver an intended message.

One of the fundamental principles of color used for design is through CONTRAST which is the visual, dimensional,or quantitative differences that distinguish one shape from another.

Through the examination of Assouline's (a book publisher and luxury lifestyle company) retail design, we will see how COLOR is used to CONTRAST visual elements within the store to create an overall EMPHASIS on the products and facilitating wayfinding.