PHOTOGRAPHERS. DESIGNERS. A new market-research report from InfoTrends seems to suggest that professional photographers who can help make it easier for consumers to convert images into attractively designed books, posters, collages, and other projects can develop additional sources of revenues.
In the report entitled, “U.S. Consumer Photo Merchandise Market Forecast: 2010-2015,” InfoTrends projects that the photo merchandise market can grow substantially, reaching $2.2 billion in revenues by 2015.
They group photo merchandise in four categories:
Photo books
Photo greeting cards
Photo calendars
Specialty photo items
Specialty photo items include enlargements greater than 8 x 10 inches, posters, framed photo prints, photo collages, and fine-art photo prints on canvas.
InfoTrends analysts believes that photo books will contribute the most to overall revenue and will experience the largest growth numbers.
Attracting more first-time buyers into the photo merchandise market will be essential to achieving the forecasted growth rates, notes David Haueter, an associate director at InfoTrends: “Our consumer research data shows that, in 2010, only 32% of survey respondents had purchased any type of photo merchandise in the past year. This was an increase over 2009 numbers (25%), but there is still nearly 70% of the population that have not purchased photo merchandise in the last year.”
He believes vendors of photo merchandise can succeed by offering attractive and competitive products and marketing efforts that clearly show the benefits. In addition, photo-merchandise vendors must be constantly looking ahead to anticipate what additional products their customers will want or what types of new design or product features will appeal to them.
Vendors who sell photo merchandise to consumers must also consider how to improve the workflow process associated with creating and ordering photo merchandise items to make it simpler for their customers.
“There are challenges involved in being successful in this market,” Haueter says, “But InfoTrends has a very positive outlook on the long-term health and growth of this market, as it gives consumers a creative outlet for doing things with their photos.”
DESIGNERS. Ponoko has made a new material available for 3D printing projects: Glazed Ceramics. The objects are printed with an alumina silica ceramic powder and sealed with porcelain and silica. The ceramic pieces can be coated with a lead-free, non-toxic white glaze that makes them food-safe and heat-resistant.
A ZCorp 3D printing machine is used to form each ceramic piece layer by layer, using an inkjet head to deposit binder onto a bed of compacted powder. The powder is layered and cured in succession until the object is formed.
The Materials section of the Ponoko website provides a detailed description of the ceramic printing, firing, and glazing process as well as design tips.
Other materials that Ponoko can 3D print include durable gloss plastic, gold plate, stainless steel, superfine plastic, cardboard, corrugated card, upholstery leather, felt, russet leather, verge tanned leather, aluminum, PETG, acrylic, styrene, silicone, melamine finished MDF, hardboard, bamboo, veneer MDF, and plywood.
One way to explore different business models for marketing art and photography is to skim through art blogs and online press releases. Some online releases are issued by brick-and-mortar galleries seeking to reach out to people who search for art online. Many online press releases come from start-up businesses or individuals experimenting with new concepts for selling their work. Some new ventures are announced online by targeted bloggers and journalists who reach high-end collectors. Here are four examples:
Electricity Showroom
Rea is inviting other designers, artists, and writers to get in on the action by collaborating with one another to create and sell inspirational wares on the site.
Poster by Sleep Opp and Chad Rea
He chose the name “electricity showroom” to describe the creative sparks that can occur when designers, artists, and writers work together. He views the site as a way for creative pros to “make stuff quicker.”
“In advertising, you tend to work on a lot of creative projects at once,” Rea says, “Now that I’m creating my own ventures from the ground up, the timelines are much longer than I typically have patience for. I needed something that would allow me to produce ideas quickly. Collaborating with other artists to make and sell prints direct to consumers seemed like the perfect creative outlet for everyone.”
Chad Rea is a member of ecopop, a Portland, Oregon-based social-innovations collective that lives at the intersection of ecology and pop culture. Ecopop creates brands, art, and activism (aka brand activism) with ventures ranging from men’s accessories made from recycled clothes to charity-based iPhone apps.
Founded over 30 years ago in Basel, Switzerland, Artspace Warehouse now has galleries in Zurich; Cologne, Germany; and Los Angeles, California. Artspace Warehouse specializes in affordable contemporary original art, representing pop, urban, graffiti, and photo styles. The gallery presents an eclectic and every-expanding selection of works from international and local artists at prices for every budget.
The pieces are displayed by category: Value Hunter (from $200 to $400), Savvy Spender (up to $1,000), and Aficianado ($1,000 to $2,000). A collector’s section offers exclusive paintings of museum-quality artists starting at $2,000. The gallery also offers art consultation and commissioned murals.
An Artspace Warehouse press release invited to public to special event at which at which interior designer Deb Gregory spoke about how she is using accessible art and design in her residential and commercial projects. She emphasized that good art and design should be accessible to all, and that interesting environments enrich our lives.
Digital artist Joel Martin Cohen used a press release to announce the launch of his own online gallery, through which visitors may purchase prints of his digital compositions.
Cohen, who has experience both a graphic designer and professional photographer, has been working in the digital art space for more than five years. While some of his visual ideas start with a photograph, he develops the art using the digital tools to create treatments that express how he feels about the subject. Many of his subjects include landscapes, cityscapes, and the natural world.
“I was infatuated with the powerful potential of the new digital processes to create looks that never existed before, as well as new takes on traditional painting techniques,” says Cohen. The pieces in his online gallery range in size from 8 x 10 inches to 20 x 30 inches. Prices range from $20 to $500.
“Given the state of the current economy, some clients find that a smaller piece is more suited for them right now,” Cohen said. “Other clients who are looking for wall art for a new home or office may be interested in some of my larger pieces.”
Exhibition A is a new members-only website that sells editions of printed reproductions of works by top contemporary artists. The site’s founders include fashion designer/art lover Cynthia Rowley and Bill Powers who owners the Half Gallery in New York.
They define their mission as follows: “We’re committed to working with exceptional artists–artists whose work is exhibited at well-respected galleries and sought after by serious collectors–to create editions of their work at prices you can afford.”
Each week Exhibition A will debut one or more editions by a contemporary artist. The artwork will either be sold as a limited edition (with a finite, predetermined number of copies) or as a limited-time open edition (in which no additional prints will be made after the four-week edition sale period has ended). The total number of prints made during a limited-time open edition sale will be revealed in the Archive section of Exhibition A website. This total number may include up to 25 prints that Exhibition A made for its own inventory.
According to a post about Exhibition A by Hannah Elliott on Forbes.com, the prices will range from $200 to $500 for a work on canvas to $100 to $300 on paper. One of the goals of the site is to broaden participation in the world of art without hurting the each artist’s primary collectors.
Some of the artists featured on the site include Francesca Dimattio, Dietmar Busse, Dike Blair, David LaChappelle, Olympia Scarry, Dasha Shiskin, Agathe Snow, and Duncan Hannah. On the Exhibition A, you can read bios of the featured artists as well as interviews with collectors of contemporary art.
DESIGNERS. WRITERS. If you ever feel frustrated by working conditions that make it impossible to deliver your best creative work, read the free, 56-page e-book “How to Motivate Creative People—Including Yourself.” Then, urge your boss to read it.
The e-book was written by poet Mark McGuinness. In his day job, Mark provides training and coaching services to innovative companies and freelance artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs.
“How to Motivate Creative People” can help managers understand how motivation affects creativity and how easy it is for managers to unintentionally de-motivate their creative
team. Mark explains low-cost ways to get better work out of creative people and
facilitate creative collaboration.
If you’re a conscientious creative pro who is already highly motivated to deliver great work, the book can help you find more satisfaction in your work and influence others by explaining more about how the creative process works.
The book cites research that shows that managers don’t intentionally squash creativity. But in their efforts to attain greater productivity, efficiency, and control, managers often end up undermining creativity because they don’t understand how creative pros think. Mark notes that creatives have a low threshold for boredom and tend to be motivated more by challenge and responsibility than compensation.
“You can’t improve creative performance by giving people orders, showering them with praise, or paying them more money,” writes McGuinness. He explains that “To get the best out of creative workers, managers need to help them discover meaning and interest in their work—over and above their professional obligations and the company’s commercial interests.”
PHOTOGRAPHERS. ARTISTS. The latest e-book added to PhotoShelter’s online library talks about “Marketing Yourself with Photo Books.” Although the advice was written for photographers, the e-book might also interest artists, designers, and others who could use photo books to complement other marketing efforts.
The free, 23-page e-book describes ways self-published photo books can be used to effectively build a following among prospects and expand interest from existing clients. The content covers the following topics:
The economics of self-publishing
Using a photo book as your portfolio
Using a photo editor to help select and sequence your best images
Design considerations
Color fidelity
What to consider before and after you make your book
The publication also talks about what magazine photo editors and ad-agency photo buyers think about photo books. One photo editor says she doesn’t like getting huge packages in the mail from people she doesn’t know, so she doesn’t like receiving unsolicited books. But she says small photo books can be a great leave-behinds for photographers who come in for a meeting to show their portfolios.
Pro photographer and avid Blurb bookmaker Dan Milnor wrote the section on things to consider in making a photo book. He notes that, “Making a photo book is a great way to elevate your work.” He says that when you showcase your work in a book, it suddenly has context and presentation that goes way beyond what a promotional postcard can do. Milnor talks about some of the planning that should be done before you start, as well as some ideas for promoting your book.
Case studies in the book feature candid insights by fashion photographer Michael Creagh, travel photographer Graciela Cattarossi, advertising and editorial photographer Andrew Kaufman, documentary photographer Matt Eich, and lifestyle photographer Terry Vine.
Also included is a profile of Larissa Leclair, the founder of the Indie Photobook Library. The Library’s goal is to archive, preserve, and showcase self-published books and magazines.
Guidelines for submitting photo books are included on the Library’s website. Some books from the Library’s growing collection will be exhibited at the Photographic Resource Center in Boston this fall.
Although the “Marketing Yourself with Photo Books” guide was sponsored by Blurb, the e-book also discusses photography bookmaking services from other vendors. To encourage you to apply what you have learned about photo book publishing, the guide includes a 20% off coupon from Blurb.
“Marketing Yourself with Photo Books” is the latest in PhotoShelter’s ongoing series of free business e-books for photographers and marketing professionals. PhotoShelter’s library of 13 free e-books includes guides on email marketing, search engine optimization, starting a photography business, and marketing for freelance professionals.
When desktop publishing, Photoshop, and other imaging technologies first hit the scene, graphic designers were among the first to recognize that mastering new technologies would sooon become an integral part of their jobs. Still, few people really envisioned how rapidly and radically advances in digital imaging, digital printing, communications, and the Internet would transform the world of business and commerce. The “rules” are marketing and publishing are being rewritten every day. Here’s a quick rundown of major challenges and opportunities for graphic designers.
Challenges
Global competition. Easy access to global online providers of low-cost or do-it-yourself template-driven design services has eroded the prices for common types of graphic-design services.
Constant training and equipment updating. The shift away from print advertising and print publications to new forms of Internet advertising and interactive media requires designers to continually update their skills and computer hardware and software. Designers are typically on the leading edge of figuring out how to make new forms of communications click with users.
Multi-channel marketing demands speed and flexibility. High volumes of graphics often must be produced under tight deadlines. In addition to producing graphics for multiple forms of media, the messaging often must be customized and directed to narrower audiences. Production speed and efficiency are essential.
Keeping up with changes in consumer preferences. Graphic designers must stay attuned to the fast-changing trends and preferences within audiences of different generations, cultural backgrounds, and tech-savvy.
Opportunities
Expanded roles and changing expectations. Companies expect designers to add value by differentiating their brands, products, or customer experience. Designers can expand their roles by helping organizations prepare for the next wave of changes in technology, communications, and society.
Mass customization and personalization. The incredible versatility of large-format, on-demand, and 3D printing has opened new opportunities for all types of products, books, and décor to be custom designed. Designers can work with a broader range of clients and come up with new ideas for vehicle wraps, wallcoverings, environmental graphics, fabrics, clothing, jewelry, and home furnishings.
New business models for design firms. Entrepreneurial designers can use the Internet to sell a wide range of their own custom-designed products and services.
Integrated, cross-media marketing. Designers will play a key role in implementing integrated marketing campaigns that will influence consumers at a variety of touchpoints including social networks, websites, blogs, e-mail, smartphones, printed materials, trade-show graphics, and point-of-purchase. Many corporations are developing sophisticated content-publishing operations that will rival traditional editorial publishing operations.
“The Freelancer’s Online Marketing Blueprint.” is the newest e-book from PhotoShelter, a leading provider of portfolio websites and sales and marketing tools for photographers. The free 53-page guide explains how creative freelancers can use online marketing to generate more clients and increase revenue. It can be downloaded from the PhotoShelter website.
“When you’re a freelancer, it can be a real challenge to balance self-promotion with client demands,” says Allen Murabayashi, CEO of PhotoShelter. “This e-book is meant to coach freelancers on effective marketing strategies that will help optimize their online exposure and reach a larger pool of prospective clients.”
The Freelancer’s Online Marketing Blueprint includes practical, step-by-step tips on how to generate inbound website traffic, build a successful leads list for email marketing, and optimize your website to increase the conversion of visitors to paying clients.
For example, the guide includes a checklist of 23 ways to grow your online footprint. In addition to increasing the likelihood that prospects can find you, creating multiple online destinations also helps you manage your brand by suppressing any negative commentary that might show up about you on the first page of a Google search.
The guide also discusses how to efficiently manage your time, allocate scarce marketing budgets, and benefit from pay-per-click advertising. Also included are contributions from internet marketing and creative business-management experts at companies such as Conversion Rate Experts, SEO software developer SEOmoz, Marketing Mentor, and email-marketing service Emma.
The Freelancer’s Online Marketing Blueprint complements PhotoShelter’s ongoing series of free business and marketing e-books for photographers. Other e-books in the PhotoShelter library provide detailed advice on email marketing, Facebook pages, search engine optimization, and starting a photography business.
InfoTrends analysts believes that photo books will contribute the most to overall revenue and will experience the largest growth numbers.
