Desire to Inspire posted amazing photography work by Trevor Dixon, which got me thinking about product display. Do you feel more compelled to buy a product because of how it is presented to you? Personally I like it when a company or person puts in the extra effort to uniquely display their products. The photos keep me looking longer and may even lead to a sale. The display and props must enhance the product, not over-power it. Of course the product has to be nice too, but an additional story or idea is always refreshing.
Let's talk more about these photographs...the props are amazing! Antiques and textiles...both my weaknesses. Some may be harder to find, but others could easily be found at a yard sale or dollar store. Like the wall of scissors...bunch of scissors and a wall - done. My point is you can still be creative on a budget. Think about mixing items that wouldn't normally go together and experiment with color and texture. Even consider clearing out a drawer or part of your closet to start your own prop storage.
Trevor Dixon's work has inspired me to think about the details of display as I start the journey of opening an etsy shop (still in progress). Hopefully his work can also provide ideas for readers with etsy shops or art websites.
Now all we need is free, nice cameras! I'll have to admit - the camera will probably be the biggest expense, but I would consider it as an investment.
Is display important to you as a seller and buyer? Got any tips?
56 comments:
I am a complete sucker for display and packaging. If you have a nice display, I will buy. And if you wrap it in colored tissue paper and then put it in your brown kraft handle bag with coordinating logo and a bow I will be back! (And if I really like the bag I will use it to take my lunch to work, so you get free advertising out of me as well!)
what an interesting post, all the images you have used are wonderful
: )
great post, Diana! I definitely feel more compelled when it is displayed in such a unique and beautiful way! this is a great post—good advice for ideas on how to display my greeting cards in my friend's boutique!
sorry i have not been able to stop by in a while. it's not for lack want, rather between being sick or being at home where i am not able to comment on your blog for some reason. :(
i have lots of catching up to do! :)
i. love. these. A-MAZE-ING. i am always looking for better ways to display my vintage goods that i have for sale. i love these. i sometimes think i spend too much time on my photo shoots for my items, but get nice comments about them, so, well, i am going to keep on trying to make them pretty and inspiring.
i believe fully that display can sometimes complete a sale that was a maybe to start with.
these photos are great inspiration to me! thank you.
Fab post! How a product is displayed and the mood of the shop are very important to me. So much so that I tend to eschew sales racks because everything is so jumbled together and I just don't want to deal.
P.S. I heart those boots.
I prefer to buy things shot simply on plain backgrounds - while I love looking at beautifully composed and shot atmospheric product pictures, I tend to feel they are selling a mood or an idea, more than a concrete object, and I like to evaluate an object on its own terms. Some things look magical in a photograph, but when you actually have it in your home, all the glamour disappears ...
Great point Stephanie. I guess it depends on the product - some things look great displayed with props, yet other items (like wearable pieces) you may want to see on a model with a plain background. Thanks for all your perspectives!
I have to admit that I am a total sucker for display and packaging! Great post :)
Interesting!
Display is important, but normally it won't do much in my mind to decide if I want to buy it or not. It does catch my eyes though.
Display pulls me in every time. And I like to think about it when taking photos, even though I'm not selling anything. It's an art in and of itself. I'm like you and love it when people mix in antique props.
What a great topic, Diana! I totally agree-- product photography is huge and you are so great to bring up this topic! Love the responses! :)
product display is so important (to me at least), I think of stores like Anthropologie - I imagine some of their product in a display like... say, GAP, and I can't seeing them doing nearly as well.
really interesting post!
Yep, I'm a firm believer in 'it's all in the presentation,' whether or not that means something standing alone or being accompanied by just the right complementary accoutrements. These pics are proof positive! Hope your New Year is going great. ☺
i am a total sucker for packaging and display. i'm sure it impacts my buying decisions and over-rides price all of the time. i like to see wonderful product photography combined with more stylized shots that tell me more about the context of the item. i think kate spade does it very well as does anthropologie.
this is such a great topic because you are so right, people collect all kinds of things and they make great props. i love the images - hope to get complex like that someday - love the typewriter photo.
xo, c
ps thanks for your comment today - it means the world to me :).
Most definitely. The presentation is very important I think because it creates an experience. It is kinda like food, we all know that it ends up looking like mush in our stomach but boy it is nice when it looks beautiful and artistic. There is a sense of pride that goes into nicely set up work. The seller is trying to evoke a story, a feeling that is strongly tied to their shop. I think this feeling is picked up by customers in a subtle and conscious way that definitely affects consumptions.
I've never thought of it as related to food before - what a great connection!
i love displaying, I adore when i go somewhere and find a clever way of displaying there goods. In my house i displaying many things in clever ways that i have picked up from places or come up with myself.
I think it's an incredible boon to whatever you're selling. I'm still trying to bump up my presentation skills so they look more yummy!
as a seller, i'm all about displey!
yes, all of those are such wonderful displays.
this post is AWESOME, diana. i definitely love it when things are displayed in unique ways, and it makes me appreciate the shop/person more. now you've got me thinking i need to take some more interesting photos of my things!
i think as a buyer, it good, clean, straightforward and unique displays sway me. if something is overwhelming and sloppy, i tend to breeze over.
GREAT post! Good luck with your shop! I was thinking about all of this too when I was taking photos for my etsy shop and it is really fun staging a picture!
Thanks for the post!
Fab post---not only are these images gorgeous, but I love the art of display. My favourite shops are tiny boutiques where the tables, shelves, chairs and racks that they use for display are just as swoonworthy as the merchandise itself. Usually I end up wanting to take the shelves home as much as I want to buy their other wares!
Exciting news about an etsy shop. keep us informed as more news develops so I can be first in line!
LOVE the photos... I would say display and presentation is important... you need to capture sellers attention! First impressions!
yes, fantastic post and very important to me indeed. colors are what draw me to a display. i have been working on a few ideas for a friend who needs to display her jewelry line and these are extremely inspiring. the problem with inventive and beautiful product displays are that i tend to want/love everything, then get design/display/want overload and don't purchase anything;)
thanks for this discussion.
Fantastic post and wonderful inspiration, as well as food for thought.
I definitely think presentation is important as both a buyer and a seller. I struggle with trying to find a way to showcase my items well, (often hard to do with larger items like quilts and with limited space and not so great lighting.) But these photos really inspire me to try to think more outside the box. Thanks so much for sharing!
Display is very IMPORTANT..to me it makes the product and the picture.
I think you should always make sure your photos are clear...not too cluttered and bright colors are great!
GREAT POST!
Jen Ramos
'Cards & Prints You'll Love...'
www.madebygirl.com
madebygirl.blogspot.com
what gorgeous images, the art of display truely is important, especially in the design world! it's all part of marketing, making the products more desirable i think!
Display and packaging are hugely important to me! A clean, elegant display and beautiful (not cluttered or wasteful) packaging make all the diff. And when the product it contains is excellent, it's terrific! And then I'm willing to pay a premium. Which I do, I'm sure.
A great post and so true! I love the images.
Please keep us up today on your ETSY shop. I'm thinking of opening a very tiny, and I mean tiny one soon.
Those flats are displayed so beautifully
I'm not overly concerned with packaging, put I think getting a nice display together helps a lot, specially with something small like jewelry. For certain shows I've done I've made sure I have displays at different levels, used wooden bowls, old metal and glass cups and such.
And for photographs, I'm the first to admit that taking nice photographs of jewelry is much harder than it looks, but almost any digital camera with a macro setting will do the trick, once you practice a lot! And a good way to start is just taking about 50 more photos of each item than you think you will need.
sorry for the long comment. :D
displaying the product correct to show it off in the most advantageous mode is important.
Very cool and interesting :D
I love all of the photos you have presented!! I concur with your love of the mixture of textiles and vintage elements. Each tells its own storyline, completed with its own characters.
I think that prop styling is incredibly important, especially when it comes to selling a product. Styling is what brings a still, lifeless product to life, touching upon those emotions that trigger us to pull out the pocketbook :) As a stylist, I try to create a story with each photo, and I believe that especially with product photography, often less is more. One quirky accent piece is all that is needed, as you don't want to talk the focus away from the main product being sold.
I definitely feel more compelled to buy when an item is displayed beautifully - it makes a huge difference in my eyes.
Great post Diana!
Oh yes, beautiful presentation and packaging makes a big difference for me, whether I want to or not!
Those scissors displayed on the wall are rad!
I am very much influenced by pretty presentation; I'm also fond of really simple gorgeous packaging. I like when I buy things and the store wraps them in tissue paper, even though it's just for me. When I get home, I feel like I'm unwrapping a present. :p
I have been thinking about ways to display some prints that I am going to be framing so this is great inspiration for me. I think it's working because I really want those boots!
What clever images!! It makes me wanna go display stuff right now!
definitely...display is everything to me...I am such a sucker for a nice presentation...go get that camera and open up that sweet shop of yours girlie...xo t
I would have to say that display means a lot more to me when used for home and lifestyle products - I appreciate the romance... but, when displaying clothes I like to get a clear view of the shape, fit and detail without the smoke and mirrors, if you know what I mean...
p.s. love those boots, I think Anthropologie had them last year and I always wished I had bought them!
Presentation is everything. If you have a bad picture of a nice item it won't sell...
Definitely important -- sometimes will buy or considering buying something simply because it's so beautifully packaged or displayed . . .
What a lovely post!A feast for the eye;)
Hmm, the display sure plays a role in attracting the eye. However, if you like something, together with its price tag and you WANT it, there's no display, no seller no whatsoever that counts, right? hehe
Another sucker for display and packaging here. Great post Diana! It is about creating a feeling. It is a continuation of the product....as if it could talk and tell its story. Whether it is done with lots of props or shown in a "clean" vision, to me it is successful when everytime I use the product it takes me right back to that initial feeling.
Great discussionI I love great display work, which is one of the reasons I'm so addicted to Anthropologie. I'm also quite sure I've been guilty of buying something simply because I love its packaging or the way in which it was interpreted in the store. Visual design and display work is also what I miss most about my previous life as a shop owner.
P.S. Love these photos...so inspiring for some 2009 home projects! Thank you.
wow wow wow. Thanks for such great inspiration! I plan to reinvent the ideas and use on my new etsy shop. Thanks for sharing-terrific!!
First of all, I cannot wait to see your shop.
Second, display (and presentation) are just as important to me as the product that's being sold. I'm such a sucker that if something is presented in a lovely, cool way, I'll buy it. (Yes, I'm weak.)
these photos are amazing! i think product display is so important...and these photos have inspired me to work even harder on displaying my little products!
wow--i am so behind...this is such a great post...and so inspiring! I am always trying to find interesting and beautiful ways to display my jewelry to bring out their "story"...thank you dfor the inspiration as always!!!
what lovely arrangments. What do you think about stuff on cats??
i worked in "store display" when i was in my early twenties, but never photographed the merchandise i was attempting to feature.
i'm also setting up an etsy shop, and these are just the inspiration i need to jump start my photo session.
wonderfully inspiring photos, via another shade of grey.
Can't wait to see you etsy shop! Yes display is important but I like it best when it is muted and natural to really showcase the pieces.
I bet yours will be lovely!
Most definitely! If it is displayed in a pretty or unqiue way it makes me want it more. I don't why but it does. I love the use of antique textiles in these pictures. Total inspiration.
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