Imagery-Free Image Enhancement

When I sent out my launch email, one of the recipients was an old colleague who is a communications expert.  She made a great observation - that it's somewhat ironic that newboi.es lacks any imagery in the site.  She expected to see photos of fit people, people working out, before and after photos, etc.  For something that seems to be about image, she thought it was weird that there weren't any images.

I agree that this could create a really nice, rich looking site, and it's what you see on most fitness and health-related sites. That or pictures of fresh fruits and veggies with little water droplets on them to imply they're juicy and just-washed.  It's all very eye catching.  The photos of fit people and people working out should inspire you to do the same for yourself - get fit and exercise, right?  To be sure, that's what I want people to do by visiting our site - get inspired to be fit and exercise.  But not because of a photo of someone else.  And the site (and newbodi.es as a whole) isn't about 'image'.  It's about health and you.  How you feel.  How you think.  How you achieve.  Not at all what you are perceived as to others, but how you perceive yourself.

See, while the cheapskate in me likes the idea of not paying fitness models to do a photo shoot or licensing photos of fit people to use in the site, that was more an afterthought than a driver of why the site is mainly text and text-based graphics, like our coaching mantra logo (on the right).

No, this was a conscious decision not to cover the site in pictures of healthy, fit people with rock hard abs that aren't you, me or anyone we know.  I had a picture of me on the page about my story, but ultimately removed it.  Why not have any photos like you'd see on other sites? I feel like that sort of imagery is meant to motivate you, but, to me, that's false motivation.  Fleeting motivation.  It's no more lasting or powerful than trying to lose a few pounds for some event.  Once it's happened, you go back to your old ways.

Instead, I want you to motivate you.  I want the idea of what you're trying to achieve (i.e. your goals) to motivate you.  I want the idea that you can be successful in reaching those goals with help from newbodi.es to be your motivation.  I want the 'before' photo you keep on your mirror (or 'before' stats you keep in a spreadsheet or app, clothes, etc) to be what motivates you.  I want the notion of being there for your spouse/kids/friends/family/dog/cat/gerboa/etc be your motivation.  These are things you know, love and value.

You are motivation enough for yourself.  You deserve to be healthy for you.  Not because some random guy or woman has a toned physique.

So, I kept the site very much free of imagery of 'success' because that wouldn't really be success for you.  That's success for the person in the photo.  Use a mental image of yourself being healthy and fit, and then go for it.