“We live in a visual world. People no longer want to browse a website- they want to experience it.” That’s the way Muna Salah, co-founder and CEO of the digital content creation studio based in Dubai, Shapes Defined, summarizes the importance of visually engaging images in the realm of e-commerce. “The content needs to be the utmost representation of each brand to create trust and confidence with their consumers,” Salah says. “There is a direct correlation between better images/videos and higher online sales.”
In a time in which online businesses have grown by multiple times – a growth that currently can be as high as 9.1 million online merchants worldwide according to the study conducted by TidioSalah’s words ring true with a trend in consumer behavior that has grown more prevalent in a global context following the COVID-19 epidemic. However, Salah recognized the need to improve digital content during his Middle East years before the epidemic triggered an explosion in e-commercein 2017. be exact. “The rise of e-commerce in the USA had not yet reached the GCC [then],” Salah recalls. “So, I started looking into the tech necessary to disrupt how the GCC was addressing content creation. It was in its infancy. We needed content, we needed it fast, and we needed it seamless, to buy into the online world. I then began detailed research and development into this, and realized the need for a fully automated studio.”
Salah’s exploration into this area ultimately led to a partnership to The Packshot Creatorwhich is a France-based software company that specializes in still-life photography, multi-angle photos 360deg videos, as well as three-dimensional (3D) animation and more. “I then became the exclusive reseller for Packshot Creator in the GCC to get all the best-inclass machinery, equipment, and photography software to enable my learning journey; Shapes Defined was born,” Salah states. “There are many market challenges when it comes to product photography, and it usually is a pain for online stores when it comes to communication, consistency, quality, prices, and speed-to-market. We set out to create a platform that removes all these headaches, and we were very pleased with the outcome.”
In the present, Shapes Defined operates as an online platform for software-as-a-service – also known as Shapes Defined Content Platform. Shapes Defined Content Platform- that provides photography services for online companies. The offerings are divided into three distinct areas which include product photography, model photography as well as animation and video. Within the category of product photography, Studio’s most popular product is Packshot Product Photography. This utilizes the Packshot software to capture various angles of a item, which includes close-ups and images of its packaging and labels. In addition, there is Macro Product Photography, which provides sharp photos of jewelry products, as well as Ghost Mannequin Product Photography, which uses models to showcase products in the environments they’re intended to be used in. Finally, Shapes Defined’s video, as well as animation options, include 360-degree animated videos and stop-motion videos, among others.
Salah insists that her company doesn’t rely exclusively on the power of technology to generate value for its customers. “Customer satisfaction is paramount, and it lives within our ethos at the studio from the minute you are on the phone with us, till the cycle of content creation is over,” Salah says. “From picking up the items, to dedicated time at the studio, and establishing the brand look and feel, we strive to create immersive content for every client. From content delivery, file naming, editing, and quality control, it all must integrate seamlessly to give our client best-in-class content which enables them to stand out among the competition.”
Salah says the fact that Shapes Defined also provides writing services for products that it photographs. “E-commerce involves so much more than just selling products onlineit’s an entire ecosystem that needs to coalesce in order to supply the products to the masses on a continuous basis,” Salah insists. “One thing that is necessary for growing an e-commerce business is having impeccable writing in product description pages. The combination of image and the written word is what has the power to convert web visitors into buying customers- and businesses know this!”
With a fervor that can be felt even through her own written responses to in this conversation, Salah is then able to discuss how online-based content writing should not just capture the personality of a brand and personality, but additionally “speak” to the subtle desires of its online customers. “The luxury consumer is spoken to far differently than that of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) consumer,” she explains.
Between the impact of words and the power of images, However, it appears that the studio’s best advantage is its rapid turnaround time. Shapes Defined Content Platform Shapes Defined Content Platform enables instant feedback on uploaded photos and also immediate image editing by its creators. “The platform has increased productivity by 300%, cutting the cycle from 10 to 14 days (or longer), down to 48 hours, saving our clients time, and, more importantly, money,” Salah claims. “By the time that the photographer uploaded their images editors and writers get a notification and begin to work towards meeting the deadlines. This has helped us get a 99% errors for information about the product images, names of the images, and mismatches between images and products across the entire workflow, from product deliveries to the final delivery of content.”
