On this bonus episode of Honest Ecommerce, we have Lindsay More Nisbett. Lindsay is an entrepreneur, creative director, and Co-Founder & Brand Director of The Line Studios. We talk about incorporating brand voice through imagery, crafting visual brand language, investing strategically in assets, and so much more!
Lindsay More Nisbett is an entrepreneur, creative director, and Co-Founder & Brand Director of The Line Studios, a leading creative production studio with expertise in creating compelling e-commerce and marketing content.
Since its inception in January 2016, Lindsay has built The Line Studios into the go-to imagery experts for top e-commerce brands, including Hill House Home, MM LaFleur, Negative Underwear, Fresh Beauty, Faherty Brand, and many more. By striking the perfect balance between a beautiful image and an efficient production process, The Line Studios has become well-known for providing their clients with best-in-class e-commerce imagery that drives incremental lift in revenue.
Lindsay's vision for The Line Studios transcends mere visuals; it's about crafting exceptional e-commerce imagery that not only elevates the client's brand but also translates into outstanding results. Her unwavering commitment to delivering the highest quality visuals has allowed The Line Studios to capture the very essence of their client's products and effectively convey their brand's unique message to consumers.
Lindsay More Nisbett continues to shape the Ecommerce landscape, setting new standards of excellence with each project undertaken by The Line Studios.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
Resources:
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Lindsay More Nisbett
It's all about building trust through imagery, through video. Our goal is to showcase that product so the customer feels that they understand it fully.
Chase Clymer
Welcome to Honest Ecommerce, a podcast dedicated to cutting through the BS and finding actionable advice for online store owners. I'm your host, Chase Clymer. And I believe running a direct-to-consumer brand does not have to be complicated or a guessing game.
On this podcast, we interview founders and experts who are putting in the work and creating real results.
I also share my own insights from running our top Shopify consultancy, Electric Eye. We cut the fluff in favor of facts to help you grow your Ecommerce business.
Let's get on with the show.
Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of Honest Ecommerce.
Today I'm welcoming to the show an entrepreneur, creative director, co-founder and brand director of The Line Studios, Lindsay More Nisbett. Welcome to the show.
Lindsay More Nisbett
Thank you, Chase. It's great to be here.
Chase Clymer
Alright. I'm excited to chat with you and dive into our topic today. Spoiler alert, we're going to talk about product imagery and optimizing it.
But before we get into that, let's talk about The Line Studios. What is it? How are you helping people over there? What is that business all about?
Lindsay More Nisbett
Absolutely.
So it is very hard, especially today, for brands to keep up with just the sheer amount of content that needs to be produced almost on a daily basis for multiple marketing channels.
And Ecommerce, specifically, that can sometimes mean hundreds, if not thousands of images on a monthly basis.
I think a lot of brands, it's very easy for them to get bogged down in a very tactical head above water approach when you have to churn out so much content.
So The Line Studios, we work with emerging designers, high growth D2C brands and leaders in the luxury space across many different industries to help them scale their production and refine their creative vision.
Our expertise really lies in developing a very streamlined workflow to shoot all of their creative assets. And that workflow is really supported by a creative strategy that's going to tell a unique brand story through each and every marketing campaign, PDP shoot, social channel, brand video, you name it.
Ultimately, this approach ensures that every image created by a brand is ultimately driving sales and growth by being efficiently produced and representing the brand.
Chase Clymer
That's amazing, Lindsay. That might be the best response to that question I've gotten on the show. So you can wear that crown.
So let's talk about your history, how you came to be one of the co-founders at The Line Studios. What was the career journey?
Lindsay More Nisbett
Absolutely.
So I started my career not to go way far back, but I started in advertising as an art director and was working on the million dollar campaigns where budgets were slightly different to where they are today.
But that really sort of laid the groundwork to falling in love with the whole world of photography and everything that happens on a photo set to ultimately sell products.
I met my business partner at a company called gilt.com where when I joined, there were two photo studios operating out of the Brooklyn Navy Yards. And by the time I left, we were operating upwards of 20 different photo studios across multiple locations.
And the amazing thing about Gilt was we were shooting every day, multiple studios, thousands of images. And we really all became masters of this Ecommerce world, which was really just starting to take off at the time.
And a lot of luxury brands, Gilt was the first Ecommerce platform that they were really presented on. So we had to shoot everything in a beautiful quality while also being incredibly efficient.
And towards the end of my time at Gilt, we really saw an opportunity where brands were struggling to actually produce their e-commerce assets. It strained their internal bandwidth and they needed support.
And so we saw the opportunity to start The Line Studios and really help these brands to come up with a very efficient and strategic approach to create these assets.
Chase Clymer
A curveball question for you. Are you a Canon or a Nikon person, or third party? Are you doing Sony? What are you doing?
Lindsay More Nisbett
So we use Canon. I myself, being on the art direction side, I don't have a strong personal preference. But we do use Canon.
Chase Clymer
So... I am a Canon person as well. But I do have a Nikon FG sitting next to me. For anyone that is watching us on YouTube, this was an amazing garage sale find over the summer.
Yeah, I have a love for photography. And it's honestly what really drove me into this interesting, creative, strategic field. And funny enough, it's where me and my partner did a lot of collaboration over photography at his previous job.
But I went more into the website and the web design stuff. That's where... That was the itch I like to scratch.
Going now, let's dive in a bit more to what we're here to talk about: the product page and specifically imagery for product pages.
For a brand, can we outline the strategies that they should be thinking about or just how they should be thinking about their product page imagery just at the start?
Lindsay More Nisbett
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, it's an interesting question because I think the way brands should be thinking about their product imagery has really shifted over the last few years. And what we encourage our brands to really think about is beyond just the transactional nature of a product image.
You have an opportunity, you're shooting, you know, 20, 30, 100, 500 SKUs for your Ecommerce site. So you have the product, you have the photographer, you have the stylist, you have everyone there on set.
So if you can think about your product imagery in a more agile way, meaning approach it not so transactional, but inject some of your brand voice into those assets, you are maximizing every creative production dollar for that shoot, giving your marketing team multiple assets that can actually represent your brand voice in addition to showcasing the product.
And ultimately just have a lot more assets to use across all of those marketing channels that represent your brand.
Historically speaking, when you think about where product imagery historically was and traditionally was, it's a very straightforward product. White background, front side detail on the model, or if it's a still life, it's an accessory, front side back, whatever it is, and not much of a uniqueness there.
But today, it's so crowded. The marketplace is so crowded in every industry. And so I encourage our brands to really think about how each one of those images–instead of being just like the next one–how can they stand out? And you don't have to shoot them so straightforward that you can't use them anywhere else except for your product detail page.
Chase Clymer
That was a fantastic answer. And so I'm going to parrot it back to you in a dumb way because that's how my brain works.
You're saying try to think about how you can take what essentially is, typically still on white, let's be real, that's the basic product picture.
It's like how can you elevate that in one or two different ways and make it more unique to your brand? And did I get that correct?
Lindsay More Nisbett
Yes. And thank you because mine was very long-winded. And that's a great way to...
Chase Clymer
Sometimes the simplest way gets the point across and then you can elaborate on it more. So if I’m thinking through this and hearing what you're saying... So if I'm approaching a project, obviously, I'm gonna approach it from a development designing perspective.
I love product imagery. And I know what you do. And I love getting into projects where I have awesome assets. Because at the end of the day, a web design is only as good as the assets that you are given.
And if you just have on white, you're kind of boring and it's limited.
So I would say the two things that come to my mind with elevating that basic product image would be A, don't use a white background. That's pretty straightforward. But B would be interjecting…you said some of the brand voice.
The two examples that came to my mind were coffee beans for a coffee company. Having those to break up the stillness of that, or more like floral. I've seen flowers used a lot as stuff within the backdrop of a shoot for an image.
Do you have any other go-to tricks or whatever, I guess, when you're approaching how to elevate this product image?
Lindsay More Nisbett
So you're mentioning coffee beans. That's a really interesting product category. It comes down to creating this visual language and what are those different attributes?
So if it's coffee beans or some sort of CPG product, telling the brand story via the props you use, the type of materials you're shooting on.
Is it in a modern kitchen? Is it more natural? Is it shot in Costa Rica? Bringing in those brand elements can be tiny little details in the photograph, but really help you to express your brand voice.
So you're not just showing, okay, great coffee beans. You're making that image work a lot harder for you. And that can come through, like I said, sort of props, the environment, the styling, the lighting, the framing even.
You know, framing, let's say it's a very cool outerwear piece that's got a lot of interesting features. Rather than just showing a model from the waist up, zoom in, get some really interesting details, get some interesting angles and crop it differently.
That kind of crop can then be used and stop someone from scrolling because they see something visually interesting that's not just so straightforward.
Chase Clymer
Absolutely. And I'm 100% going to circle back on advertising and marketing with these assets, but I really want to dive in more to helping merchants think about these photo shoots and how to elevate it.
You even explained something that I want to call out here: the environment. I was like, “Oh yeah, these don't have to just be on a seamless backdrop.” You can put it in a kitchen or put it out in the real world.
Now, when you're approaching it this way, I think a hesitation a merchant might have is, well, every product has to be shot that way. And maybe it's a bit more of a lift in their regard.
Is that just the cost of doing business? Or how would you approach that if that was a sticking point for a conversation?
Lindsay More Nisbett
Yeah. I think the interesting thing happening now, and this is one of the trends we're seeing, is that, no, not everything has to be shot exactly the same way. You might have a seasonal story that you tell in April that evolves for summer and then evolves again for the fall.
So I think customers, from a brand perspective, there's a lot less rigidity right now and treating everything exactly the same. And I think if you want to experiment, it's a really great thing to do to see what's resonating with your customer.
You might find that that more environmental picture increases your conversion by 30%. So yeah, then maybe it is a great investment for your brand to shoot more like that.
Chase Clymer
Absolutely.
And I think another thing... I just had Claus Lautner on from The Coffee Break Podcast. We talked about the Pareto Principle, 80-20 rule. I think that this 100% applies to elevating these assets for these products.
It's like, just pick your best-selling products. You know there's four that make up 80% of your business. Just like that, focus there, if it is a capacity or a budgetary constraint.
Lindsay More Nisbett
That's a really great rule. And I think especially when you're trying something new and you don't know what's going to work, and every brand is different. Doubling down on the ones that are your highest sellers and seeing what drives that even more is fantastic.
Chase Clymer
Okay, I think we've done a good job of explaining why elevating these product images can help on the product page. It just stops people from scrolling, it can elevate conversion rate. There's the intrinsic value of elevating the aesthetic of the brand. And that leads to more value in click-throughs and trust of the brand.
But I think a lot of people will argue it's more expensive to do this thing. And sure, you got us there. But can we talk about how to invest in these assets, where you can also repurpose them? It's not just going to end up on the product detail page, right?
Lindsay More Nisbett
Right. Exactly.
I think the biggest thing people tend to forget about is if you do invest more in your Ecommerce imagery by making it a little bit more representative of your brand, then you might be able to eliminate an entire marketing shoot for that season.
So thinking about it in terms of that high level perspective of maximizing everything, you might be putting more dollars into, let's say, creating a video, but then that video can really lead to some great conversions through digital advertising.
So just thinking about it more holistically and from the customer's experience of where they're finding your brand. And now that is everywhere. And so you want to be able to create assets that can meet them everywhere. And you're not really doing that if you're just creating assets on white.
And it's a shame because you're not maximizing that budget.
Chase Clymer
No. You're sharing a wealth of knowledge here.
And I think that just one thing a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with is differentiating themselves against their competition when it is something that's maybe more commoditized.
And it's like the perceived value of something on white versus something that is elevated, a different environment with these props, etc.
You don't have to run a survey or a split test there. One is going to outperform the other. And then when you take that same effort and you distill it out through all of your marketing channels, right? So you've invested in...
Let's just take a typical example here. A merchant has invested in their top products. They did five, this awesome, cool way experimenting. And then they're taking that same thing. They are now using it in their Facebook ads. They're now using it in their email marketing. They're now using it on their landing page so the ad matches the look and feel and the message of that landing page.
Hell, they could take it to print either a catalog or direct mail. These assets are useful everywhere. I see the value.
Lindsay More Nisbett
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think representing your brand through those images also gives your customer just more opportunities to connect emotionally as well. And for you to stand out when those customers are coming or potential customers are exploring and discovering your brand.
Chase Clymer
We talked a lot about imagery. Does this same mindset apply to video?
Lindsay More Nisbett
It definitely does.
Again, video can be cost prohibitive, but I encourage our brands to really think about it in terms of testing. And like you said, the 80-20 almost rules here.
So if you experiment and test with video, you're going to learn what works for your brand, and you're gonna most likely see higher conversion rates. And so yes, you're spending more, but you're gonna see a lot of benefits from that.
Product videos also don't have to be super straightforward. They don't have to be that 360 turn that we often see. There's so many formats to experiment with and so many different formats that might resonate with a brand's customer.
Even though they're not the cheapest, I encourage people to experiment, start small, test a few concepts. Maybe it's a how-to. Maybe it's something more lifestyle driven. Or maybe it's a really great way to showcase the scale of a product if it's something like a backpack or the functionality.
So you test what's working and then you double down. And then all of a sudden, that cost is nothing compared to what you see on the conversion end.
Chase Clymer
Absolutely.
And just like a crash course in conversion rate optimization and how this applies to it is when it comes down to it, you're trying to get rid of any fears, uncertainties and doubts that your potential customer has with purchasing your product. And where these imagery assets and these video assets come in to do that is it will answer questions that they have before they can ask them.
So let's just take an example of a still image on white versus a video of that product being used, how it's supposed to be used.
They don't know the scale of it, like you mentioned. They see the front, back, the top, the bottom. All their questions are getting answered so they have no reason… If it solves their problem, they trust it more and they want to buy from it.
And additionally, I talked about the perceived value of elevated assets. That's why people buy Apple products– it’s because they have amazing marketing and assets.
And so if I think I'm getting a better deal, because the perceived value of this product is better because the assets make me feel that way, that's also going to raise your conversion rate because the trust is there.
Lindsay More Nisbett
100%. It's all about building trust through imagery, through video. Our goal is to showcase that product so the customer feels that they understand it fully, both the functionality of it, but also how it is going to fit into their lives. And that's where the more agile, editorialized approach really helps in that respect too.
Chase Clymer
Absolutely.
Now I can't let you leave this podcast without talking about AI. It's going crazy these days. How do you see AI, especially with image generation, how is this going to play into people's workflows? How is this going to affect your average Ecommerce entrepreneur?
Lindsay More Nisbett
Yes, that is something we think about a lot. We use a great workflow software called Creative Force. And so there's AI utilized on the process side that just helps us streamline things in a less... It's not a massive impact on our workflow.
What we're really watching is on the creative side and the imagery creation side. Now, most of our clients are in the fashion and beauty space. And while we're paying very close attention, it's not yet replacing the need to shoot products or even the ability to replicate and create interesting scenarios yet for us. It doesn't...
Chase Clymer
It's really bad at hand.
Lindsay More Nisbett
Yeah. It's not the most realistic effect at the moment. And the people who do it well are not any more cost effective right now than actually putting together the crew to do it. But yeah. We're not utilizing it in the Ecommerce world quite yet, but we're paying close attention.
Chase Clymer
We talked a lot about product imagery and how to make your store better.
But is there anything I didn't ask you that you think would resonate with our audience and help merchants?
Lindsay More Nisbett
So we talked about the agile approach. Thinking about their imagery in 2024 and looking ahead, it's important that just as a general fact here, customers are spending 40% more time on the PDP than the homepage when they're visiting a brand site.
So just to reiterate, paying very careful attention to your Ecommerce imagery is really more important than it has ever been before.
And I think some other interesting tidbits that we're seeing, to share some trends in Ecommerce imagery that we're really paying attention to, that more editorialized approach that we talked about.
There's definitely a trend towards viewing real people, not necessarily models and assets that are created. User-generated content, putting that on your PDP, using real people in your casting.
And then also things like image infographics we've seen on the rise as well, stemming perhaps from the success of Amazon shopping and the fact that customers don't really want to read descriptions as much as before. So the more information you can put onto your imagery also seems to be gaining in popularity as well.
So that's what I would say to brands that are hopefully some helpful information as we look ahead.
Chase Clymer
I mean, I'm going to use something you just said in my work life, which is that 40% more time is spent on PDPs than on homepages.
To me, that makes the argument... I feel brands get really caught up when designing websites. They get caught up a lot about the homepage that is just a placeholder to get to where they actually want to go, which is usually the product page for the product that's going to solve their problem, or they're exploring other stuff on the website that is going to help them… the fears and certainties, doubts, and get over that shit.
So I feel when we're having conversations around web design projects and redesigns and maybe they're going through branding or whatever, a lot more focus has been put historically on what are the assets for that homepage hero. And I'm going to start to push back like, who cares about that?
Lindsay More Nisbett
People are skipping it entirely also because you're coming in from all these different channels. It's nonlinear. They're not always going to the homepage, PLP, PDP. They're going very often directly to the PDP from other places. So yeah.
Chase Clymer
Yeah. They're seeing the product on TikTok. And then oftentimes, they're not even going to the product page. They're going to a lander built specifically for that offer. And that circumvents the website maybe completely. So it's a lot to think about here.
Lindsay, I can't thank you enough for coming on and sharing all these insights.
If I'm listening to this, and I'm curious, I want to learn more about you and learn more about The Line Studios. Where should I go?
Lindsay More Nisbett
thelinestudios.nyc. We're located in New York City. Or Lindsay More Nisbett on LinkedIn and I would love to hear from any of your listeners.
Chase Clymer
Awesome. We'll make sure to link to all that stuff in the show notes. And I'll have you on soon.
Lindsay More Nisbett
Great. This was so fun. Thanks, Chase.
Chase Clymer
We can't thank our guests enough for coming on the show and sharing their knowledge and journey with us. We've got a lot to think about and potentially add into our own business. You can find all the links in the show notes.
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