Change of Direction (Again!) + Final Proposal

Project context 

In a society where social media plays an integral role in our daily lives, it is no wonder the beauty industry has also become heavily reliant upon its relationship with various social media platforms as a method of connecting with its consumers. It has now become the norm for ‘Social Influencers’ such as YouTube personalities and bloggers to collaborate with cosmetic brands in hopes of both boosting following and increasing product exposure. Research has found that the millennial demographic has become increasingly reliant on the internet, particularly using the word of these social media personalities as a source of guidance regarding which beauty products to buy (Liddicote, 2016). Largely due to lower incomes than their parent generation, the millennial consumer is a savvy shopper with keen interest to ascertain a product’s credibility prior to purchasing. Because of this growing relationship between social media and the beauty industry, it can be hard to judge the authenticity of product recommendations made online due to a rise in product endorsements and commissioned collaborations.

Millennials, also known as Generation Z, are vastly more tech savvy then the generations before them. Generation Z’s reliance on social media as a way of life has opened them up to more independent and niche brands than before. As a result they are more willing to try products from these lesser-known brands as opposed to the more traditional big brand names belonging to the likes of Estee Lauder and L’oreal. Because of this, the beauty industry is becoming less dominated by long standing traditional brands and embracing new, innovative and niche cosmetic brands (WGSN, 2017).  

Project outcome & USP

‘UntoldBeauty’ is a blog that seeks to provide inspirational looks and product recommendations without agenda or bias towards only big-name brands. In keeping with the theme of discovery, the blog will champion looks of subtlety and simplicity, which are commonly overlooked and under-rated in the world of beauty.

Target Audience

‘UntoldBeauty’ caters to the millennial demographic of women aged 18-30 by offering interpretations of current trends that are fashion-forward yet still wearable. Alongside these featured looks will be genuine product recommendations based on personal experience rather than endorsement, this seeks to meet the target consumers need to find products that are credible and effective.

Outcome Aesthetic  

UntoldBeauty will be based on a traditional blog layout, with a feed of recent posts featuring the various looks created. However, I aim to incorporate more website based elements to differentiate UntoldBeauty from more traditional and common beauty blogs. 

Typical blog layout

Typical layout conventions of beauty blog can be seen in the diagram above. UntoldBeauty will differ from this layout and form more of a cross over between a gallery website and blog.   

Inspirational Blog Layout

Inspirational Blog Layout

Inspirational Blog Layout

(Something that did occur to me when finalising my redeveloped outcome concept, was whether I'd still be able to make use of the looks I have already shot. However, this will not be an issue because its not as if my target audience or intended outcome have drastically changed. My audience has remained very much the same and in fact become slightly broader. Also, as stated previously throughout the duration of the project Ive been keen to incorporate my love of subtle and minimal make up along side the incorporation of current trends)

♯Initiative & Independent Learning
♯Devise Innovative and Appropriate Solutions to a problem or brief
♯Understanding of trends & styling conventions
♯Good working practices