9 Examples of Brands With Bold and Beautiful Imagery
It’s 2018, and I’m scrolling through Instagram when something catches my eye — an unretouched photo of legs with cellulite in a promotional ad for running shorts.
The connection and devotion towards this athletic apparel brand were instant for me.
The appeal was that the message paired with it was NOT “Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes” or something along those lines. I get exhausted from brands using “body positivity” as a gimmick to sell their products.
The image was used without explicit attention drawn to the cellulite’s presence; it was just another mover #doingthings in their apparel. Including unaltered and diverse pictures feels more authentic when you don’t have to comment on the said unaltered image.
I was an Outdoor Voice brand loyalist from that moment on.
I quickly hopped online and bought that pair of running shorts in not one but two colors. I was proud, excited even to move and recreate while repping the name Outdoor Voices.
Outdoor Voices has continued to hold my attention for five years as a customer through artfully shot marketing campaigns and content that reimagines the idea of “fitness” into a world where movement and sweat are associated with play, recreation, and inclusion—not competition.
The power of visual storytelling through video and photography is immense.
In researching for this article, I asked my coworkers, “what brands have you been influenced by because of their photography and video style?”
In case you don’t already know, we’re a team of major branding and design geeks at Underbelly. So it was a lot of fun to riff off each other and find inspiration as we compiled this list. Our answers overlapped, but ultimately the list of brands that captured us as buyers because of their brand imagery is diverse.
I’ve put together this list in hopes of inspiring and motivating you to prioritize video and photography as part of your brand identity. You’d be surprised how unique product photography can make you stand out from the crowd in an Amazon marketplace, social media feed, or make your website an experience your audience can’t forget.
1. Airbnb
Online travel booking service
Airbnb is helping us all imagine a world where we can belong anywhere. Their grassroots approach to photography communicates diversity, community, energy, and growth–all factors in making you feel like you can belong. During a rebrand in 2014, the company established a point of view on branded photography — it should be colorful, energetic, honest, and human. Read more about how Bridget Harris, Director of Photography at Airbnb, applied that point of view across all production levels at Airbnb in this interview article by Shoko Wanger.
2. Klarna
eCommerce payment solutions
Klarna’s photography style is super colorful, funky, and retro. The creative direction and original film by Snask for Klarna’s larger brand identity is work our team really admires. See more of their photography style on Behance and their website.
3. Teenage Engineering
Consumer electronics company
With Teenage Engineering’s beautifully designed products and renders, it’s not hard to capture our team of designers’ attention. They do an excellent job of zooming in on a product to show the details. They’re not afraid to make it significant, almost life size. As I’m writing this, I have their Instagram account pulled up on my desktop, and my boss walked by, stopped, and said, “Whoa, what company is that? That’s so cool!”
4. Chobani
Food & beverage
Leland Maschmeyer, Chief Brand Officer at Chobani says the brand’s photography portrays “this idea of innocence, this idea of happiness, this idea of a romantic relationship with nature and admiration of nature.” Their photography style isn’t necessarily “unique,” but it’s beautiful. I’ve found myself romanticizing my morning yogurt and coffee because of the idea of a romantic, happy, and natural relationship to food and what I choose to put in my body.
5. Nike
Athletic apparel company
Nike is referenced a lot when people speak of brand identities that inspire. Often it’s the iconic swoosh or celebrity endorsements that people think make their brand marketing superior. However, the storytelling of their humble beginning and stories of their athletes rising against all odds is brought to life through the power of imagery and video. The imagery in their ad campaigns, social media, and product imagery on their website amplify their story — inspiring customer loyalty worldwide.
6. Webflow
SaaS company
At Underbelly, we design most of our client websites using Webflow. Our web designers listed Webflow as a company whose imagery and videos positively increased their brand and user experience. We appreciate their effort in using powerful imagery and well-produced videos in their Weblfow University. They sprinkle in notes of humor and a down-to-earth tone throughout their educational content, making it informative, relatable, and fun. The ROI from this content production is noticeable because we’ve had such a positive experience interacting with their company; we recommend Webflow to our clients.
7. Arc’teryx
Outdoor apparel company
Arc’teryx uses compelling, texture-rich content to promote its apparel. What I find so fascinating about their creative content production is that, without a doubt, it has made me trust that their apparel is the top-line for technical outdoor adventures. And on top of that — it also serves as relaxed, casual streetwear. New heights feel possible with Arc’teryx. The creative direction in their social media and ad campaigns has positioned Arc’teryx at the intersection of outdoor wear and streetwear. They pull off both successfully.
8. Lumi
Consumer goods & tech company
Lumi’s brilliant, bright product and lifestyle photography make the daunting task of learning a musical instrument feel doable. Lumi’s use of light and color in their product design and brand marketing transforms your affinity towards learning the piano.
9. Hyundai
Motor vehicle company
National Geographic & Hyundai teamed up to create an immersive and educational website exploring some of the nation’s great national parks, called Outside Academy. Working alongside the awesome agency House of V, Underbelly produced a mixture of 360 videos, b-roll, and photographs to fill the content on the site. This content-rich interactive website told the story of an adventure waiting to be had with Hyundai and America’s greatest national parks.
When it comes to creating a memorable brand, small details make all the difference. Every touchpoint with your audience can influence their perception and impact the bottom line. I hope we were able to shed some light on the importance of thoughtful, rich content to help you reach your audience and tell your story. If you are interested in learning more about how we at Underbelly craft content-rich websites, apps, and brands, drop us a line and explore some of our work.
