A key characteristic of the twenty-first century economy is 'the image'. Brand development is based on image, products are advertised via images, and corporate image is critical for economic success. This book draws from art history, photography and visual studies to develop an interdisciplinary, image-based approach to understanding consumer behaviour.

Focusing on four themes: representation, photography, images and identity, it presents a theoretical perspective on visual consumption, providing wide-ranging examples from advertising, the internet, photography, design, theatre and tourism, and discusses the importance of the internet in bringing visual issues into the mainstream of strategic thinking; spurring research into perception of visual displays.
Incorporating case studies from the US, Europe and the UK, this book provides an unparalleled guide to the visual consumption processes necessary for understanding and succeeding in today's market.

Introduction. 1. A Visual Approach to Consumer Research Part I: Consuming Representation 2. Visual Representation and the Market 3. Through the Lens: Reflections on Image Culture Part II: Consumption Domains 4. Photography as a Way of Life 5. E-Commerce, Architecture, and Expression 6. Marketing Identity, Consuming Difference 7. The Fetish in Contemporary Visual Culture 8. Visual Consumption in an Attention Economy