The Challenge
User studies consistently highlighted a fundamental challenge for our customers: effectively visualizing our diverse paper stocks and their unique print characteristics in an online environment. This led to our guiding question: "How might we help customers truly visualize our diverse paper stocks and their print characteristics?" Our goal was to empower customers to make confident paper choices, moving beyond text-based descriptions to a more tangible understanding.
A rapid proof of concept using existing photography was crucial for early user validation. This allowed us to quickly identify which photographic styles resonated most with customers, informing our approach before a full-scale investment.
Our Approach
We explored various solutions, prioritizing seamless integration with our existing site templates. The breakthrough came from an unexpected source: observing the detailed product imagery on cereal boxes. This sparked the idea of leveraging the ample image real estate on our product pages to display highly-detailed, close-up photographs of each paper stock, complete with print samples. This approach promised to offer customers a realistic preview of how their designs would appear on different papers.
Our process unfolded in key phases:
Rapid Proof of Concept & Early Validation: We quickly developed a proof of concept using existing photography. This allowed us to conduct early user validation, rapidly identifying which photographic styles resonated most with customers. This crucial step informed our approach before committing to a full-scale investment in new photography.
Dedicated Art Direction: With a user-verified direction, the project transitioned into dedicated art direction. We meticulously planned the visual execution to ensure consistency and impact.
Collaborative Photography & Shot List Development: Our next critical step involved close collaboration with our Tunis-based photography team. We worked together to establish a consistent compositional approach across more than 20 unique paper stocks. We carefully selected specific designs to feature on each stock to demonstrate print characteristics effectively. This culminated in a detailed shot list, which served as the single source of truth for all stakeholders, ensuring alignment and clarity throughout the photography process.
The Outcome
By meticulously planning and executing this visual strategy, we were able to provide customers with an unparalleled understanding of their paper choices. This initiative directly addressed the initial challenge, building customer confidence and enhancing the overall user experience on our product pages.
This strategy proved so effective at reducing care calls that it has since rolled out to many other products with similar issues. These products include postcards, greeting cards, posters, vinyl banners, and more.
Above you can see several examples of the final images, each showing off paper texture and print quality.
This is an example of a finished image being deployed on a product page to help flesh out the product story.