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Can art and design make or break a cruise ship?

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The design and art on cruise ships and ROI comes under the spotlight at SCG case study session
 Art and design are crucial elements of any new cruise ship coming on stream but how important are they to the overall onboard customer experience, has been a long-running debate.

‘The industry as whole has eventually given in to the fact that design is an incredibly powerful competition tool - almost a bit of black magic,’ remarks Frederik Johansson, owner and executive project director, Tillberg Design of Sweden.

‘I don’t think anybody nowadays is in any doubt that the architecture and interiors of a cruise ship, it's decorations and artwork are just as important to the overall experience as the gastronomy and the onboard service,’ he added.

According to Tal Danai, founder and ceo, Artlink, ‘Design and art are powerful tools in creating environments. The design and art of a cruise ship may veer a traveller to spend more time looking outwards or inwards and completely change the experience of the journey.’

Both Johansson and Danai will be speaking at a Case Study session taking place at Seatrade Cruse Global focusing on Enhancing Your Brand with Art and Interior Design – Defining ROI on Wednesday, March 7 between 9:30am - 10:30am. Moderator for the session is Nate Storey, travel editor, Surface.

On the question if cruise lines are ‘selling’ these two aspects enough in their marketing of the product? Danai commented: ‘Visuals are the strongest asset used on the social networks. In 2018, 2.6bn people will be using social media platforms. 85% of social media marketers use visual assets in their marketing, according to the socialmediaexaminer.com 2018 report.

‘Keeping in mind these statistics, yes, cruise lines are at the dawn of developing creative and beneficial strategies for making best returns on their design and art investments, Danai believes.

Johansson concurs, ‘It varies a lot, but the brands who have really well-designed ships tend to use that as a vital part of the marketing, and in building a brand identity that stands out from the crowd. Just like in the world of fashion, it takes constant renewal and very strong visual promotion of your brand to set it apart.’

Asked to provide tips on how to define ROI in these areas the Tillberg chief offered, ‘a really well-designed stateroom will lift the guest experience from average to fantastic, and will create repeats, plus if the whole ship is also well-designed and easy to navigate, you can use the space you have more effectively, and you will need less crew. The guests will relax and be more likely to move around and explore all the offerings onboard.’

Danai’s picks include, ‘the number one goal should be to create an environment that fosters emotional reactions. As we know, emotions drive action and create retail programs for your design and art. You invested in it and have it on display for many people to enjoy and experience, why not turn an expense into a profit?