Redbox Biz Blog

Here are more tips for those who are selling goods online and want to make their product photos stand out.

1. Take a portion of the product. It could be half or three-quarter of the product. You don’t need to show the whole product. Use a thumbnail of the partial product to attract customers to click for a larger photo.

2. Angle the product. Must all photos be straight? No. Angle your camera so it shoots well… from an angle.

3. If your product is combined from a number of parts, have a separate photo showing the separate bobs and bits. It’ll let the customer know how it all fits together and what they’ll be getting when they buy it. And describe the parts.

4. If the product you sell is tiny, show off the incredible detailing of this tiny product. Shoot close-ups of the product and get more of the intricate details.

5. Show how it is used. If the product is best shown being used, shoot the photo with a model using the product especially if it is new or complicated. Cute kids with kids products always enhances the products.

6. If you are selling clothes, lay the clothes flat and shoot. No hangers please. Or get someone to model them. If that person’s shy, tell him or her to turn their face sideways.

7. If you have the same product in different colours, why not arrange them in a circle and shoot? It’s always attractive and at the same time, shows your customers the range of colours available.

8. If you are selling photo frames, why not insert a photo into the frame to make it look lively?

9. If at lost for ideas, pick up good catalogues and brochures (one of them is IKEA). Study how products are featured and how they are arranged.

Related articles: “Do your photos entice?” Read more at http://www.redboxstudio.com/blog/?p=83

Many people think that if they can put text and photos together and create something which they like, they think they are ready to declare themselves web designers.

It’s just like saying that just because I know what pills to pop, I am ready to become a medical doctor.

So how does one know if one has hired a true web designer and not someone who thinks he or she is?

Small things.

Small things which matter, in this case. Things which only real web designers agonise over.

Take the www for instance. I get upset when I type a URL without the www and it gives me a site not found message. Whether there is or isn’t a www before the domain name is a small matter but it is an important small matter. Many people are so used to typing the domain direct onto the browser address bar without the www. You would think web designers would at least pay attention to issues like this. Continue reading »

Websites are meant to be communication between your company (including the products and services you sell) and your customers, or what we call the people who buy your products and services.

But looking at many websites today, you would think they were designed for pure entertainment. This happens for a number of reasons: the CEO wants it that way, the marketing people think it’s the only way to attract web visitors and yada yada yada.

Again and again, most companies and their decision-makers don’t get the basic premise of a website - it is a medium of communication. It must communicate. There are no buts, or ifs. If it doesn’t, do something about it.

As Jakob Nielsen says, websites should be designed based on three main priorities: Continue reading »

If you don’t have a website, you’re considered out-dated. A website is often the first thing people check if they are interested in your product or service. Like most people, I like to do my own research on products which I like and find out everything about it before I pay.

But what happens if you’re a professional like a lawyer? Can lawyers have websites? You cannot advertise, that’s for sure but is having a website considered advertising/self-promotion?

I wasn’t too sure about Malaysian lawyers though I do know that overseas, the lawyers seem a lot more sure about websites.

One of my clients is a lawyer and he approached me to design for him a website sometime last year. And he had no reservations whatsoever.Locally though many lawyers still do not have websites. Maybe they are still unsure what they can do with a website. Well, here’s something which can put their fears to rest.

Here’s a link to the pages on the Malaysian Bar website which spells out clearly what lawyers can and cannot do with a website.

What I gather is this:

1. If you cease practice, you must remove your website from the world wide web.

2. Disclaimers should be displayed prominently on the website.

3. Lawyers can track their visitors but cannot publicly reveal this information.

For more detailed information, read “Website Rules for Law Firms 2005″ at
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/content/category/6/279/95/