The evolution from cave paintings to written text took millennia. The return journey might just be around the corner Human communication began with images. Long before the first written word, our ancestors painted scenes on cave walls, not as decoration, but as visual communication systems that conveyed complex ideas aboutContinue Reading
Perception, like clouds, is shaped more by the observer than the object. One person sees a horse galloping through the sky; another sees a face, a dragon, or nothing at all. The sky doesn’t change—the viewer does. And so it is with images. We do not see the world asContinue Reading
A Market on the Brink The proliferation of generative AI has ushered in a transformative era in visual content creation. Capable of producing photorealistic images from text prompts in seconds, tools like Midjourney, DALL·E, and Adobe Firefly are reshaping how businesses and individuals source images. By August 2024, 39.5% ofContinue Reading
The announcement of the Shutterstock-Getty Images merger landed like a crack of a whip in the stillness of the desert. With the New Year barely underway and much of the world’s attention focused on global politics, the news caught everyone by surprise—though not for long. The stock photo industry hasContinue Reading
Four visual AI platforms are setting industry standards by training their models on ethically sourced data, compensating creators fairly, and preventing the generation of copyrighted content. Adobe, Getty Images, Shutterstock, and Bria.ai have established revenue-sharing and bonus systems, with vast proprietary image databases, to support ethical AI development. These companies are leading the charge in demonstrating that AI can succeed commercially while adhering to responsible data practices and bypassing the need for regulatory oversight.Continue Reading
Last week, Lightricks CEO Zeev Farbman candidly shared how AI is impacting Lightricks’ photo editing app business. For one, AI tech makes some of the work that used to require specialized software and expertise trivial, according to Farbman in last week’s interview with Axios. “It’s clearly a complete game-changer, meaningContinue Reading
An arachnid man once said: ” with great power comes great responsibility”. In the case of AI, this statement could not be more accurate. With the quick appearance and large availability of generative AI, issues around ethics and responsible behaviour have increased, forwarding the debate to the front of manyContinue Reading
The question often comes up at our Visual 1st conference and in our strategic client workshops: What criteria to apply when selecting potential targets for strategic acquisition? And, from the standpoint of startups seeking an exit, how to choose suitable potential acquirers? Examining recent trends can provide helpful insights onContinue Reading
On one side, an economy exponentially craving for content. On the other, a static, unprepared landscape ripe for disruption. The stage is set for a redistribution of value in a vibrant and volatile environment: Witness the formation of a new visual content ecosystem. It’s been a cascading series of announcements:Continue Reading
Shutterstock’s acquisition of 3D marketplace Turbo Squid is significant for a few reasons, some of which might not be obvious. The first and well-understood purchase trigger is that the microstock company is under pressure to expand its offering horizontally. There is a known ceiling to the paid licensed still imagesContinue Reading