Background: A Brand Ready to Scale
Urban Edge Apparel started as a small streetwear brand with 50 products and ambitions to become a major player.
The Bottleneck
Their bottleneck wasn't design or demand – it was content production. Traditional photography limited them to launching 5-10 new products monthly due to scheduling and cost constraints.
The Need
They needed a solution that could scale with their growth while maintaining the edgy, urban aesthetic that defined their brand.
Strategic Implementation of AI Photography
Urban Edge developed a systematic approach to AI photography integration:
Phase 1: Testing
- Tested Picoko with existing products
- Refined model settings to match their young, diverse, urban audience
Phase 2: Style Guide Development
- Created AI photography style guide
- Defined preferred model characteristics, poses, and backgrounds
Phase 3: Process Integration
- Integrated AI photography into product development pipeline
- Designs to listing in under a week
Phase 4: Scaling
- Scaled to 500 SKUs
- Maintained two-person content team
Maintaining Brand Identity with AI
A key concern was preserving their distinctive brand aesthetic.
Their Approach
- Defined specific model demographics matching their customer base
- Used consistent scene descriptions for cohesive catalog look
- Mixed AI-generated images with occasional professional shoots for campaigns
- Developed prompts capturing their urban, street-style vibe
- A/B tested to ensure AI images performed equally well
Business Impact and Results
After one year, the results exceeded expectations:
| Metric | Achievement |
|---|---|
| SKU growth | 50 → 500 (10x) |
| Photography cost increase | Only 50% |
| Time-to-market | 4 weeks → 5 days |
| Conversion rate | +18% |
| Market variations | No additional cost |
Additional benefits:
- Marketing team could iterate rapidly on visual content
- Different models for different regional markets at no extra cost
Key Takeaways for Growing Brands
Urban Edge's success demonstrates that AI photography isn't just about cost savings – it's about enabling growth.
Their Advice
- Define your visual identity first - Before scaling with AI
- Create systematic processes - For consistent output
- Use AI strategically - Volume with AI, brand moments with professional shoots
- Refine based on data - Let performance guide your approach
- Experiment freely - AI makes iteration cheap and fast
"With tools like Picoko, the only limit to your visual content is your imagination."
— Creative Director, Urban Edge Apparel