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I think brands sometimes underestimate how much people want to see themselves in a product.
In 2026, a beautiful product photo is rarely enough on its own.
We’re seeing hundreds of them every day.
So instead of only showing us what you sell…
Show us where it belongs in someone’s life!
I love seeing premium brands do this without sacrificing their aesthetic.
Think of a Gucci shoot:
Gucci rings.
A woman kneading bread.
It’s unexpected.
But suddenly I can imagine the product in a real person’s world.
Maybe she’s a baker.
Maybe she’s a homebody.
Maybe she spends her Sundays making bread for her family.
And maybe she also wants to wear beautiful jewelry while doing it.
That’s storytelling.
You don’t have to make your brand louder to make it more memorable.
Sometimes you just have to make the world around the product more specific.
Instead of:
“Here’s our product.”
Try:
“Here’s a moment where our product belongs.”
The beautiful thing about specificity is that it can actually make your brand feel more universal.
You give one person a very clear way to see themselves in the brand…
…and suddenly someone else sees themselves there too.
Product → person → ritual → world.
That’s where a brand starts becoming more than a catalog.
And honestly, I think there’s a lot more room for brands to play here.
––––––
*Visual note: The Gucci image shown is an AI-generated concept by Twye Labs, not an official Gucci campaign. I’m using it purely to illustrate the creative idea discussed above.
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