Product Image Art Direction for Hospitality Catalog

After completing a 50-page printed catalog for Hotel Items, I independently developed an art direction exploration to test a more unified presentation across its product imagery.

This exploration was developed after the catalog was delivered and was not part of the original catalog scope.

The original catalog was designed using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. For this exploration, I used the existing product photographs as a starting point and worked with Kittl AI to create a more cohesive, polished visual presentation aligned with the brand’s renewed identity.

After Hotel Items’ rebrand, I saw an opportunity to explore how its catalog imagery could feel more consistent with the updated identity.

The available product photography featured white or transparent backgrounds, low resolution, and visible variations in lighting and color casts. Each product could work on its own, but the full catalog lacked a shared visual system.

The challenge was to explore how a consistent art direction could elevate product perception and create a more cohesive editorial experience.

I started with the original product photography and developed several visual directions based on art direction references.

The goal was to build a repeatable visual system. Lighting, backgrounds, composition, color, and atmosphere needed to feel like part of the same brand, even across different product categories.

Through testing and refinement, I selected the strongest visual directions and applied the system across approximately 130 product images as part of the exploration.

I reviewed the product images to identify the main visual issues: limited resolution, neutral backgrounds, inconsistent lighting, and color variations between products.

I defined several creative directions based on art direction references. Each route explored a different combination of atmosphere, lighting, background, and composition.

I selected the approaches that best supported Hotel Items’ updated identity and created a more unified presentation for its products.

Using the original product photography as a foundation, I improved the visual presentation with Kittl AI. The original images remained the reference point: the direction changed the visual setting while keeping each product recognizable and aligned with its brand image.

The exploration produced a consistent visual direction across product categories, with shared lighting, background treatment, composition, color, and atmosphere. It demonstrates how art direction can turn limited photographic assets into a clearer, more cohesive, and brand-aligned product presentation.

For hospitality and ecommerce brands working with existing product photography, this approach can define a repeatable visual direction across a catalog without relying on a full reshoot. A first engagement can focus on one product category: reviewing the existing assets, defining a visual direction, and testing it on a selected set of images before scaling it across the catalog.

Original Catalog Client: Hotel Items Catalog Editorial Design: Ernesto Carrazana Independent Art Direction Exploration: Ernesto Carrazana