Friday, November 5, 2010

Welcome to Friday - time for a new customer spotlight!

Spotlight On: Sinelleo Combo Deals of the Day
Service: New logo, eBay store design, and matching eCommerce store design
Website: http://www.directsinelleo.com

The Need: Pepe has a great product line - high end designer clothing at amazing prices - and great energy. He wanted to capture a hip, urban, youthful spirit that would appeal to his younger, brand-conscious customers, but that would also be clean, upscale, and have the professional quality of the "big guys". When we asked him for sample sites he likes, he went straight to Ralph Lauren!

The Solution: So, how do you combine the elegance of top brand names with a fun, energetic quality? We hope we've done it! By keeping this website clean and very well organized, with a simple color scheme of cool blues and greens, it has the feel of an easy to navigate professional design. By giving Pepe's logo tons of eye appeal and using youthful models and lots of subtle textures, the site gets an added punch of funky and hip. Cool + upscale = problem solved!

Q & A:

Q: What kinds of model pictures can I use?

A: Anything you have the copyright license to may be used on your website. Images you may use include:
  • Photographic images you take yourself
  • Full-rights stock photography you purchase
  • Limited-rights stock photography you purchase (as long as it's not resold in any form
  • Images from your vendor(s) that you have express rights to use
Images you may not include:
  • Photos of celebrities
  • Photos you found on another website
  • Stock photography images purchased by someone else
  • Ad images from your vendors/suppliers/brands (unless you have their written consent)
  • Model and/or product images from your vendors/suppliers/brands (unless you have their written consent)

Q: Does this include my product photos? Can't I use the photos from the manufacturer's website or print catalog?

A: Technically, no - unless you have their express written consent, this is copyrighted intellectual property and cannot be "borrowed" for use with your sales. Do people do it? Sure, all the time. But they set themselves up for a copyright infringement suit and can cause themselves a lot of headache and hassle if they are pursued. (And yes, people ARE pursued for this every day. Amazon and eBay both have very strict VERO policies, too.)

Q: So where do I get my images then?

A: Product Images: You can start with asking your suppliers if you can use their images - many will say yes. Some have limitations on where or how they can be used (for example, "not on eBay" is a common restriction), while others will give you full access. In lieu of that, you should take your own product photographs - they add significant value to your web business, becoming your own intellectual property asset! (You can also hire an "industrial photographer" to take your product photos, but this can get quite expensive - expect to pay $10 to $30 per photo for raw, unedited images - and up to $50 to $250 per edited image!)

Model Images: There are some great stock photography sites out there that sell limited-rights access to professional images. Depending on the image quality and usage rights, you can expect to pay between $2 and $25 for standard images at sites like www.istockphoto.com and www.dreamstime.com, two of my favorites. Or, ask your designer! We make it our business to find the best quality stock photo images, and maintain lightboxes for all kinds of different photography subjects, from plants to foods to men and women in various kinds of activity and attire.


Let us know your feedback and questions about this site design (or any of our others). And thank you, Pepe, for working with us on both of your new websites! We know you're ready to take the urban market by storm.

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