Creatives: Rethinking and Reinventing

To creatives and designers alike, the industry is shifting into a more fluid and innovative landscape. Old mediums of the past are being thrown out; human focused design and art are paramount to achieving an effective creative voice in today's market. We'll look at two articles that detail this tumultuous environment.

Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94

The first article details artist, Laurie Simmons first foray into makeup with a limited edition red lipstick. Simmons speaks of her intuition and inspiration from everyday items around her. Lipstick was a big part of her life and identity in the 70s (where the picture above is from) and so she began to include it into her photography works. Pushing boundaries of art and what it means for a display to be considered art, Simmons has created a cosmetic that reinvents both makeup and artistry, solidifying her creative voice and influence.

Credit: Jonathan Knowles/Getty Images

The second article discusses the changing nature of the creative director role. Penston talks about how, like much of the marketing industry, most creative directors are stuck in the past, doing things the old way and ignoring the fluidity of today's modern creatives. Brand identity, Photoshop and repeat is their mantra. Penston states that UX (user design) is one of the most important facets of the creative director role today. As brands find the need to seem genuine, relatable and human, consumers become the paramount focus. In order to maintain a loyal following, your product or service must consider and reflect your efforts at designing a user friendly experience. Knowing your customers' interests, hobbies, needs, desires and how they engage with content is more important than ever. In order to maintain a creative voice and show that your brand is not just a bland machine, it's imperative to consider human interaction when designing anything these days.

Consider the following to build your own creative voice:

Quality over quantity: Now, more than ever, content must seem carefully crafted and personal instead of just another piece of content to be lost in a sea of media.

Design for life: Design should maintain practicality and be focused on user friendliness while remaining aesthetically pleasing.

Don't be afraid: Creativity is synonymous with innovation and requires a pushing of limits to be successful.

Beauty Industry Executive-3 Ways to Keep Up with the New Trend

Today your competitors are exploring how to use the Internet of Things. Think smart and be technologically savvy is quite important for the industry to meet consumers’ needs. As a graduate student at Northwestern University looking out for current development in IMC, I have found 2 useful articles on how beauty companies are creating augmented reality to aggregate more customers.

MakeupGenius Changes Makeup Application Forever is an article published by L’Oreal Paris. The AR-powered beauty app, Make Up Genius, now turns iPhone screen into mirrors to over-lay make-up onto the user’s face, which is a brilliant devise for customers. By giving users the ability to try and test products before they buy, it offers greater value for customers, solving common problems and bringing convenience to them. What’s more, it also gives consumers the opportunity to get expert or professional advice, resulting in a far more personal and customized experience all-round.

By Nikki Gilliland

Another article about virtual Makeover is written by Anu Passary- Best Apps For Virtual Makeover: ModiFace, L’Oreal Makeup Genius, Hair Color Booth And More. It simply introduces the new trend, including not only the different makeups but also hairstyles in beauty industry and recommended some virtual makeover’s best app. 

Based on the 2 articles, my working experience, knowledge I absorbed at Northwestern University and even the passion over beauty and fashion trends, I have developed three action items that you may need to think of immediately:

• Be Customer Centric-The virtual App is successful because it brings convenience to customers, which resonates their request.
• Think Multi-Media- Marketing in a multi-media way means greater impact, greater connectivity, and greater engagement.
• User-friendly Works- If it’s a user-friendly tool, it will automatically aggregate customers to use it, which brings better profit.

When you are developing your marketing strategies, consider IOT and the its meaning behind it.

    

  Melody Chang is a graduate student in the Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University. My past working experience includes digital marketing, event planer, and customer relationship management. You can contact me on LinkedIn and Twitter