The Etsy seller “Design Digitals,” who was selling digital items like PNGs, fonts, etc., wanted to get into personalized digital products. The first product should be a personalizable “matchbook art” poster design. The customer could write any memory or send in a picture (up to 15 different per poster), and it would be transformed into the cover of a matchbook. The style of the outcome could be chosen (e.g., retro, hand-painted, pencil sketch, etc.) as well as background color, orientation, and personalized text.
The goal was to create a system that would transform the specific information given by the customer into a print-ready, downloadable file, without hours of work creating the art. At the same time, everything needed to be understandable at first glance, to not scare away potential customers through overcomplicating things.
The only way to communicate information visually in the Etsy storefront is through the product pictures. As the topic is complex to explain, I had to find a way to playfully integrate all necessary information into the available 8 slides. I used the Design Digitals CI and guided the viewer through the process that would be waiting for them upon ordering, making sure everything is understandable.
After ordering, a link was provided that led to an external online form where all necessary information would be filled in and files could be uploaded, guaranteeing a hassle-free order process.
Alongside the informational graphics, I engineered an automated backend workflow via Zapier that parsed incoming order details directly into a structured prompt sheet. These prompts were then pasted into Midjourney, already containing all necessary information like aspect ratio, style, etc. I developed a modular Photoshop template covering layouts from 1 to 15 matchbooks, utilizing smart objects to place the uploaded or generated pictures. Each smart object already had all filters embedded , so with a few clicks, every uploaded, regular photo could be turned into the aimed-for style within seconds.
This automation allowed the creation of a 15-picture poster within roughly 45 minutes at a price point of $200. Sadly, due to the flooding of Etsy with digital products at the end of 2023 and the rise of better picture AIs, Design Digitals discontinued their shop in early 2024, so the matchbook poster system remained mainly a concept.
