Frames of the Future: The Latest Ways to Display Photos and Art
Digital frames and photos have evolved in recent years, and how we interact and decorate with them can too
Canvia Smart Art Display. Photo from Palacio
New Kids on the Wall
The early digital frames with lower-quality screens, cumbersome connection ports and limited functionality have graduated into fully social media-integrated, high-definition image-display systems that respond to their environment. “The most recent wave of digital photo frames has focused on two main areas: content and user experience,” says Palacio’s VP of communications, Thomas Stimson.
Palacio’s Canvia smart art frame, shown here and available for preorder on Kickstarter, for example, embraces the latter through built-in sensors designed to adjust the displayed image and its texture to changing light, making it appear as a physical print or painting instead of a digital image. Users can switch an image’s vertical or horizontal orientation, reposition images and add captions. The system is connected to a curated library of photography and art for users to choose from (there is both a free tier as well as a premium subscription tier). User also can upload their own images.
New Kids on the Wall
The early digital frames with lower-quality screens, cumbersome connection ports and limited functionality have graduated into fully social media-integrated, high-definition image-display systems that respond to their environment. “The most recent wave of digital photo frames has focused on two main areas: content and user experience,” says Palacio’s VP of communications, Thomas Stimson.
Palacio’s Canvia smart art frame, shown here and available for preorder on Kickstarter, for example, embraces the latter through built-in sensors designed to adjust the displayed image and its texture to changing light, making it appear as a physical print or painting instead of a digital image. Users can switch an image’s vertical or horizontal orientation, reposition images and add captions. The system is connected to a curated library of photography and art for users to choose from (there is both a free tier as well as a premium subscription tier). User also can upload their own images.
Both products, and a slew of others, including the just-released 4K version of Samsung’s Frame TV, shown here in the center of the photo, embrace an elevated level of content, user experience and subtle style.
They also support an increasingly connected lifestyle in general, like their popular smart speaker household-assistant cousins (some of which, like Google’s new Lenovo Smart Display and Amazon’s Echo Show, are now also incorporating screens).
Is the Timing Finally Right for Framed Digital Art?
They also support an increasingly connected lifestyle in general, like their popular smart speaker household-assistant cousins (some of which, like Google’s new Lenovo Smart Display and Amazon’s Echo Show, are now also incorporating screens).
Is the Timing Finally Right for Framed Digital Art?
New Avenues for Art
Much like the spread of streaming television networks has opened the gates to actors and writers who might not have otherwise found a wide audience, the developers behind these types of frames say their technology is connecting users with established and up-and-coming artists.
“Our platform is part of an ongoing shift to more accessible digital channels in a traditionally ‘physical’ and sometimes intimidating industry,” Stimson says. For instance, Canvia shares a percentage of revenues from its premium subscription fee with contributing artists, he says. Meural also emphasizes an artist-friendly model, licensing and paying for every copyrighted image in its collection for a time-negotiated period, according to head of curation Simpson. Later this year, they’ll also launch a new Marketplace feature that will allow subscribers and non-subscribers to purchase individual works or playlists to own, offering artists royalties.
Rather than replacing the collection of physical, original works, Stimson says he sees Canvia and other digital frames coexisting with collectors and artists. “Collectors are welcome to explore more works via our library portal and then connect with artists for direct sales,” he says.
Favoriting Photos
Canvia, Meural and other new smart frames are specially designed to display artwork, but with the thousands of personal photos people now keep stashed on their phones, the frames may also come in handy when a homeowner’s looking to showcase snapshots from their recent Caribbean cruise or trip to the dog park.
Even a few years ago, those pics may have shown up blurry or warped in such a large display format. Now, with the latest iPhone boasting a 12-megapixel wide-angle and telephoto camera with portrait mode and other features, and other phones promising lenses just as sharp, the everyday photos people are capturing to post on social media might be frameworthy.
So, how can homeowners choose the shots best-suited for the smart screen (or a wall frame in general instead of a phone folder)?
Angela Jackson, owner and operator of framing shop The Great Frame Up in West Des Moines, Iowa, says it’s all about emotion. “Narrow it down to the photos that create an emotional response,” Jackson says. “A fond memory of a trip, or a memory of a child when they were younger.”
Any photos taken professionally, she says, are also usually worth showing off. And even if they’re not, with today’s digital frames they can easily be swapped for another image.
“If a photo doesn’t look great, it only takes a second to take it down and try out a new one,” says Poppy Simpson, Meural’s head of curation. “You can quickly cycle through a bunch, choose a few that look great and easily add them into different art ‘playlists,’ based on theme, subject, color, occasion, et cetera.”
Much like the spread of streaming television networks has opened the gates to actors and writers who might not have otherwise found a wide audience, the developers behind these types of frames say their technology is connecting users with established and up-and-coming artists.
“Our platform is part of an ongoing shift to more accessible digital channels in a traditionally ‘physical’ and sometimes intimidating industry,” Stimson says. For instance, Canvia shares a percentage of revenues from its premium subscription fee with contributing artists, he says. Meural also emphasizes an artist-friendly model, licensing and paying for every copyrighted image in its collection for a time-negotiated period, according to head of curation Simpson. Later this year, they’ll also launch a new Marketplace feature that will allow subscribers and non-subscribers to purchase individual works or playlists to own, offering artists royalties.
Rather than replacing the collection of physical, original works, Stimson says he sees Canvia and other digital frames coexisting with collectors and artists. “Collectors are welcome to explore more works via our library portal and then connect with artists for direct sales,” he says.
Favoriting Photos
Canvia, Meural and other new smart frames are specially designed to display artwork, but with the thousands of personal photos people now keep stashed on their phones, the frames may also come in handy when a homeowner’s looking to showcase snapshots from their recent Caribbean cruise or trip to the dog park.
Even a few years ago, those pics may have shown up blurry or warped in such a large display format. Now, with the latest iPhone boasting a 12-megapixel wide-angle and telephoto camera with portrait mode and other features, and other phones promising lenses just as sharp, the everyday photos people are capturing to post on social media might be frameworthy.
So, how can homeowners choose the shots best-suited for the smart screen (or a wall frame in general instead of a phone folder)?
Angela Jackson, owner and operator of framing shop The Great Frame Up in West Des Moines, Iowa, says it’s all about emotion. “Narrow it down to the photos that create an emotional response,” Jackson says. “A fond memory of a trip, or a memory of a child when they were younger.”
Any photos taken professionally, she says, are also usually worth showing off. And even if they’re not, with today’s digital frames they can easily be swapped for another image.
“If a photo doesn’t look great, it only takes a second to take it down and try out a new one,” says Poppy Simpson, Meural’s head of curation. “You can quickly cycle through a bunch, choose a few that look great and easily add them into different art ‘playlists,’ based on theme, subject, color, occasion, et cetera.”
A Meural Canvas digital frame hangs above a console table. Photo from Meural
Framing the Frames
Traditionally, a statement-making wall frame would incorporate a color or texture already in the space or colors that make the colors within the artwork itself pop. With a digital frame’s interchangeable picture library, choosing an image that perfectly complements a room’s style or color scheme isn’t a necessity, though many smart frames now offer options to search for images within certain palettes. As fewer style choices are dictated by the image, the frame should be timeless, experts we spoke to say. Most smart-frame companies offer a selection of neutral frames like black, white and walnut.
“We find that an excellent way to integrate the Meural Canvas or another digital frame in your home is to make it the centerpiece of a gallery wall,” Simpson says. “When placed with other styles and sizes of analog art pieces, the [digital frame] blends in even more seamlessly and gives you the ability to have a gallery wall that isn’t set in stone — one that adapts with your developing tastes and interests.”
The fact that many digital frame models are now Wi-Fi-enabled and often equipped with easy-to-camouflage “ghost” wires makes that integration even smoother, as aesthetics aren’t tangled up in as many ugly cords.
Framing the Frames
Traditionally, a statement-making wall frame would incorporate a color or texture already in the space or colors that make the colors within the artwork itself pop. With a digital frame’s interchangeable picture library, choosing an image that perfectly complements a room’s style or color scheme isn’t a necessity, though many smart frames now offer options to search for images within certain palettes. As fewer style choices are dictated by the image, the frame should be timeless, experts we spoke to say. Most smart-frame companies offer a selection of neutral frames like black, white and walnut.
“We find that an excellent way to integrate the Meural Canvas or another digital frame in your home is to make it the centerpiece of a gallery wall,” Simpson says. “When placed with other styles and sizes of analog art pieces, the [digital frame] blends in even more seamlessly and gives you the ability to have a gallery wall that isn’t set in stone — one that adapts with your developing tastes and interests.”
The fact that many digital frame models are now Wi-Fi-enabled and often equipped with easy-to-camouflage “ghost” wires makes that integration even smoother, as aesthetics aren’t tangled up in as many ugly cords.
What’s Next?
These types of frames are likely to get only more connected and capable as technology develops. But it looks like they’ll also continue to feel more and more natural as home accents.
“Within the next 10 years, we foresee that it’ll be just as normal to have a smart art frame in your home as it is to have a stove. Having art that changes and interacts with the rest of your smart home will be a regular part of everyday life,” Vukicevic says. “Of course, we also expect to see all sorts of new shapes, sizes and styles emerge in the space, as well as new ways to control and interact with the art and photography you love.”
These types of frames are likely to get only more connected and capable as technology develops. But it looks like they’ll also continue to feel more and more natural as home accents.
“Within the next 10 years, we foresee that it’ll be just as normal to have a smart art frame in your home as it is to have a stove. Having art that changes and interacts with the rest of your smart home will be a regular part of everyday life,” Vukicevic says. “Of course, we also expect to see all sorts of new shapes, sizes and styles emerge in the space, as well as new ways to control and interact with the art and photography you love.”
Tell us: Are you Team Digital Frame? Tell us in the Comments how you incorporate yours into your home decor.
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Even just a decade ago, the idea of designing a room around a digital image frame likely would have fallen flat. The available options, if they were hung at all, were bulky and glaring, sticking out among more traditional wall hangings like a slide-showing sore thumb. Since then, the digital frame field has unveiled a series of far sleeker products. Smart art frames from companies like Meural and Depict started to leave a mark on the market within the past five years, and today, the newest products from these brands and others are more high-tech and high-fashion than ever.
“It’s no secret that the term ‘digital photo frame’ carries a bit of a negative connotation for some,” says Vladimir Vukicevic, Meural’s CEO and co-founder. “Most people tend to think of the cheesy plastic frames we got for our grandparents in the early 2000s. Today’s iterations are a very far cry from that.”
As smart frames blend more seamlessly into our gallery walls, and subscription services, interactive features and ever-improving phone cameras give us more image options than we’ve had before, incorporating this cutting-edge technology into home decor may require more thoughtful planning. Here are a few things to know.