This week’s AI generated featured image gets an 8/10 it resembles the mess when you are doing product photography.
This week, I was reminded of my academic interest in the Journal of Organisational Aesthetics, which comes out of the highly lauded Tavistock to explore how human senses and artistry inform businesses and many other company practices found in charities and government.
Since I currently work at the intersection of art and organisational behaviour creation, I thought my take on organisational aesthetics might be unique and was looking forward to presenting a couple of papers to this scholarly community.
However, I later discovered that the very thing informing the presentation of my art practice is mostly from my experience in my first career, where appealing to the customer’s five senses was what we were all about in the world of the five-star spa.
I had an intense weekend. Synthesizing a range of ideas in re-doing some product photography. I had to fit in with Etsy’s new rules for sizing from listening to some of their reasserting of the preference of the algorithm for light backgrounds, in pictures. I also had to remember what my shelf styling class taught me about arranging items with natural materials. Additionally I integrated what the product photography coach said about getting good lighting with proper window positioning and using tools to get filler light to remove shadows and cast secondary light on areas of the product. Those are the three main main pieces of aesthetics advice that Etsy sellers get. It’s given as a recommendation of appealing to customers and selling more items. And the practice would appear to be in the thick of organisational aesthetics, however the scholars do say they distinctly focus on beauty for the sake of engaging the senses and not just for profit or sales.
I dug deeper into what organisational aesthetics might mean to me and the art I do and how I present it. I asked myself:
Q: What is this Aesthetic that I create and cannot avoid repeating? Where does it come from?
A: It comes from within and some of it might be the imprint of your spa and beauty years.
After a few struggles and wondering why my arrangements do not look corporate in the slightest, no matter how many books and staplers I insert. I then realised my style comes from an imprint from my early career induction into the interior design and decor values of five star spas, Mayfair clinics/ treatment centres head offices and London’s West-End retail (my first proper Saturday job was Miss Selfridge in Knightsbridge).
It also dawned on me that this is a group (except the West End retail) that might welcome some help. I remember being a sole trader in my city of London treatment room, unsure how to fit out the space I was renting. However, my friend Rachel helped to wallpaper in Timinney Fowler and fit the blush-coloured carpet at the reception. I just had a flashback of getting the electrician to install a gothic lamp and fill up our IKEA cabinet; it would have been nice to have someone to discuss shelf displays that might make the products look more appealing through storytelling other than piling the boxes boxes of moisturiser and serum high.
If you are an independent trader or sole operator in the beauty and spa world and agree that product houses could help more with your displays please comment below.
If you are in any other industry and a sole operator and wondering how you learned to present your professional and personal brand and how organisational aesthetics fits with what you do, please comment below.
How did you come to know what your style or aesthic preference is? How does your organisation use organisational aesthetics not only to bring in revenue but just for the value of having something beautiful to look at?
Below is a list of the posts you might have missed from August
A Night of Jazz, Art, and Warmth at Ladbroke Hall
A warm, art‑filled evening at Ladbroke Hall — from jazz solos and unexpected service drama to the striking décor, lighting, and symbolic artworks that caught my artist’s eye. A reflective visit that blends culture, creativity, and the charm of London’s design scene.
Workplace Themes in Akram Khan’s Giselle Performance
Yesterday I attended the English National Ballet performance of Akram Khans rendition of Giselle. It was their final day, and I saw the matinee at 2 pm. I know the original ballet and have seen it at The Royal Opera House. I was mesmerised by the set and the striking choreography.I especially connected with the…
How Bruce Springsteen Inspired My Creative Process
The author reflects on their experience watching the Bruce Springsteen biopic “Deliver Me from No Where.” They express how the film resonated with their own feelings of solitude and creativity, despite not fitting the typical fan profile. Personal memories intertwine with themes of family, identity, and mental health, highlighting connections to Springsteen’s artistry.
Natural Shades: Stylish Burlap and Rattan Lampshades
Here are a couple of images I took while out shopping. They helped me realize I can offer a collection of natural shades made of burlap, hessian, and sinamay. This collection has a finer and smoother texture than the rough feeling rattan. If there’s something you want that isn’t there, please use the Etsy convo…
