From Placeholders to Genuine Avatars
Inclusive imagery is important to me as an art director, and thinking about ways to evolve the conversation around that topic keeps my work innovative and interesting. So it was very compelling when I was told we were creating realistic names and backstories for “real” people whose lives would help illustrate different interface scenarios throughout our Material 3 guidelines. They were all going to need curated, individualized images that weren’t selected at random for generic, placeholder characters like Johnny Appleseed at 123 Main Street.
It was an exciting opportunity and also one that came with unique challenges: Building a design system like M3 takes time and illustrating the system, in this case, was a final step. When we reached this point in the process, it was too short of a turn-around to commission photography and illustration, but I still needed to craft a believable, visual narrative for each new profile, so I turned to stock agencies.
The first step was to decide which agencies to work with. Because our guidelines are available to a global audience, and it is important that the audience feel represented, I decided to draw from a stock agency that works with photographers and artists from all over the world.
From there, another challenge surfaced. Stock imagery is extremely convenient, and more affordable than commissioning custom art, but in using stock I am limited to what’s available in their libraries. I needed to figure out a way to create genuine and cohesive depictions of people with prefabricated options.
My goal in art direction is to create a feeling of connection throughout a body of work by producing imagery with a consistent look and feel. As I started working through each profile, I began to realize the benefit of using stock imagery – it was the variety of lighting, styles, and subjects that made these collections believable.
Visual representation of life doesn't have to be overly polished. Perfect visual cohesion is not always realistic. Instead of thinking of everything being coordinated, I imagined how specific images would surface in each person’s life. From there, I was able to create convincing profiles.
Case study: Sam Pietersen
To start building Sam’s identity, who uses they/them pronouns, I started with their profile image. Knowing they are shy and reserved, I chose portraits with a soft focus to respect that part of them and their privacy while also elevating their shyness to a creative level.
Since Sam is a nature enthusiast, I knew their phone’s camera roll would be full of outdoor adventures, and it was likely Sam would choose one of those photos for their phone’s wallpaper. Getting the wallpaper right was important because it defined what Sam’s UI looked like with dynamic theming.
I focused on nature-based photography because there is a lot to choose from in stock image libraries and they appear the most organic in a user-generated context. If the images were too professional or commercial looking, Sam’s life would get lost in the visual narrative.
Before I made the selections for nature imagery, I went on a hike and photographed what I saw – birds, lakes, trees, moths, and all the mushrooms I could find. The goal in doing this was to make the imagery feel more personal and realistic. If I saw it in my own experience, I knew it was something Sam could also encounter.
Pulling art for the media was my favorite part because it was an opportunity to have a little fun. Because the subject matter and styling of podcasts, albums, and movie posters are all so diverse, I had visual flexibility in building out Sam’s media library. I could choose literal, abstract, user-generated, and commercial photography and illustration while still capturing the essence of Sam’s identity.
Putting people before images helped me bring Sam and the other avatars to life. By respecting them as individuals with personalities and full lives, I was able to capture and represent the nuances of their identities. One aesthetic rarely governs a single perspective, so you can create rich, convincing, and relatable narratives using a variety of stock imagery and still express genuine personalities that real people will recognize and feel they know.