This week’s post is inspired by the talk by photographer Daniel Shapiro who showed his work and process on a wide range of artistic and product photography. One component of his work included creating mood boards for concepting the style for photography shoots and campaigns for his clients, so we’ve been challenged to create a mood board for Petcube, an app-controlled product that allows pet owners to watch and interact with their pets when the pets are home alone. The product can support remotely talking with your pet and throwing treats to the pet, and it also has all of the functionality of Alexa such as playing music, looking up information, etc. When I was brainstorming about this product, I thought about how many pet owners have recently spent a lot of time with their pets since they were likely working from home during the pandemic, and now that everyone is beginning to go back to the office, many pet owners might be feeling sad or even guilty about leaving their pet at home alone. Maybe they are concerned that their pet is lonely or that they could lose the connection that they feel to their pet. This product aims to solve those problems by allowing pet owners to see and interact virtually, giving the feeling that they are not truly leaving their pet entirely. Because of this, I designed this mood board to be pet-forward rather than technology-forward. In contrast to the clean, functional look that the product’s advertising seems to have had in the past, this advertising strategy appeals to the pet owner’s emotions by emphasizing the playfulness, warmth, and connection they feel for their pets. The color palette reflects the warmth of that relationship and emphasizes hues of the pets themselves, and likewise, the photography is generally warmly-lit with emphasis on pets’ facial expressions for connection as well as imagery and messaging reflecting the love that they wish to express for their furry companion.
