Scott Muckenthaler
Product Visual Identity
Imagery to build shopping experiences, campaigns and brands.
Quick take
Product images are the fundamental ingredient in expressing the essence of a brand. I developed a system to make them great every time.
brand
Hyundai
date
2015 - 2022
challenge
Let people touch the vehicles with their eyes. Tell them everything they need to know without saying a word.
role
Creative Director for all product image productions.
A full range of visual content.
exterior heroes
interior heroes
design details
feature details
motion heroes
motion details
freestyle
Exterior heroes.
The second-most important type of new car photo.
It's true the interiors take the top spot for people who are truly in shopping mode. But the exterior hero images are where we work hard to define what a vehicle is all about.
Interior heroes.
The most important car image.
Whether they know it or not, shoppers need all the inteiror views they can get becasue they tell you the most about quality, design and whether you're going to be happy sitting in here for looking at all this for miles and miles.
Design details.
The idea of quality is often a more abstract one. But to pay it off visually, this is the type of close-up shot we use to reveal it.
Feature details.
Whether its a signature part of the design, a part of the car with importatnt functionality, we do a handful of feature detail shots that say it all.
Motion Photogrpahy.
The hero image effect, in video.
The best parts of two worlds come together to give poeple the careful, yet dynamic views they need when shopping and considering purchases.
Motion photography footage for multiple models.
Motion photography supporting the masthead hero for Ioniq Hybrid.
Motion photography supporting the masthead hero for Santa Cruz.
Motion Photogrpahy for vehicle details.
We use these short snippets of motion to give people a sense of dimension. Or the sense of "oh I see how it works". Either way its to help them feel like they're walking up for a closer look.
Freestyle.
The unscripted look.
These take the products from being impressive looking machines, to being tools that fulfill needs in peoples' lives.
Two principles make the whole thing work.
Principle one
Campaign approach.
A series with visual consistencies reinforce the idea of what a vehicle is about. It helps people differentiate our products while at the same time understand our brand appeal.
Themes to define the style.
a. lead trim
b. lead color
c. location types
d. visual theme
e. limit talent variety
f. post production
Showcase just one vehicle trim. And in just one color.
The temptation is to show as many of the trim options as possible. But what works is showing just one. The best one, coolest one, the most exciting one. Images like this are meant to inspire. Looking at differences and options are for aother time.
Pick a type of location and stay with it.
The pictures are where people really see what a product like a car is all about. So we aim for one type of location to build a stong identity and purpose. The more locations it appears in, the longer it takes peopole to understand it.
Use the same talent in the shots.
The real purpose of people in car photos is for a sense of scale. With that understood, we then aim for a good demographic fit and we make styling decisions to aid in the overall message. But like locations, its best to use the same people across the range of images for th sake of simplicity and focus.
Define a visual theme in the art direciton. Unify the look in post production.
We're thinking about the retouching and post production way before taking the shots. This way all the images shot at different scenes at different times of day can share the same color, contrast and look & feel at the end of the project.
Principle two
Shopping mindset.
Customers are drawn to great looking product images over pictures that are only artistically attractive. To look inspirational I prioritize image clarity and believability.
Elements of the look.
a. sheetmetal shine
b. interior surface fidelity
c. shadows and sun
d. realism
e. natural and clear
Sheetmetal shine.
Most car paint finishes are glossy. The glass is glassy and the wheels often have some kind of reflective quality. Wer're always wathcing out that these surfaces are true to their nature. This shine is what pops a car out from the background and makes it say "look at me".
Interior surface fidelity.
There are so many different textures inside a car. And they're the ones people are touching everytime they go somewhere. So we make a big deal out of sharp detail, revealing light and camera position so that people can touch these surfaces with their eyes.
Shadows and sun.
It's all about sun position. If the sun ends up being near the car, or on the opposite side from the camera, you can forget about havig a good view of the product. We're always planning shots arpound this idea. So while you may end up with an artistic-looking back-lit photo, you're not helping someone shop.
Realism.
It's a broad topic. But we look at things like making sure the car is not positioned someplace a normal owner would never take a car. Or making sure people with the car seem authentic.
Natural and clear.
Towards the end of the post-production process, we make sure we don't have anything that's over-styled by software effects such as a painted or airbrished look. We know the brand goals are for a natural appearance to everything but we end up pushing very hard to achieve this effortless look. The realism check is the final pass to verify that we didn't go out of bounds.