VIDEO GAME DESIGN
2022
Cursed Mountain
Developed the UI/UX for an original platformer game with a focus on accessibility for Global Game Jam 2022.
DESC
Conducted primary and secondary user and market research to position my social campaign empowering female consumers.
DESC
UX Researcher
Graphic Designer
ROLE
TIME
5 weeks
Individual project
UX RESEARCH
2021
Get Real
01 / PROBLEM BACKGROUND
Advertising Shits in our Minds
The average person is estimated to encounter 6,000 to 10,000 ads daily. These ads often showcase an image of idealized female beauty: slim, light-skinned, and digitally altered to unrealistic proportions. This deceptive and uninclusive American beauty idea hurts young girls’ mental and emotional health.
Between the ages of 11 and 14, the number of girls unhappy with their appearance nearly doubles, putting them at a higher risk for mental illnesses like eating disorders and depression.
Victoria’s Secret’s body underepresentation.
Airbrushed and photoshopped adverts.
Young girls grew less satisfied in their bodies after playing with a Barbie.
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Get Real is a multi-platform social movement that empowers female consumers by dismantling predatorial beauty marketing that undermines their self-esteem for-profit and demands more authentic and inclusive marketing behavior within the media and beauty industries.
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02 / EMPATHIZE - USER RESEARCH
Targeting the Targeted: Growing Girls
AUDIENCE
-
Those who grew up in robust cities (where advertising thrives).
-
Young girls (15-21) who are avid, daily social media users (advertising is particularly strong on adolescents, as they are still developing their self-concepts).
ETHNOGRAPHY
Living in NYC and being online has given me direct access to study the practices in which consumers revolt against predatorial advertising in real life and online.
SCROLL
Forms of Current Consumer Protest
TAKEAWAYS
Physically critiquing adverts through graffiti, stickers, and writing.
1.
Utilizing social media features, like hashtags, comments, and sharing posts.
2.
These forms of protest aim to platform and build a collective voice made by consumers, for consumers.
3.
I used secondary research to further validate my hypothesis: that (1) consumers don’t feel represented by current beauty marketing and (2) it poses a threat to their emotional and mental development.
STATS
67%
*According to Mentil’s (marketing research agency) 2022 study
of Americans agree social media
has created impossible beauty standards*.
50%
of ads found in teen magazines
use “sexualized beauty” to sell products, creating a mindset from a young age that beauty is defined by looking and acting a certain way.
Those with body image dissatisfaction are at higher risk for:
anxiety disorders
substance use disorders
mood disorders
**Those aged 18-24 in 2021.
~25%
of Gen Z**
consumers feel unrepresented in beauty advertisements.
INTERVIEWS
Because this project delved into personal and sometimes sensitive issues, I conducted semi-structured interviews with a handful of young women within my target audience to better understand their pain points and wants in their experience with female representation in media.
“Growing up, I didn’t see myself represented on TV. I assumed it was because I wasn’t worthy enough.” - Simone
“I didn’t like my brown skin as early as elementary school.” - Shahd
“There are so many misconceptions built around what being a woman is.” - Esmaa
03 / DEFINE - NEEDS & OPPORTUNITIES
Consumer’s Pain Points
Brainwashed
Young women are socially conditioned to hate their bodies. While consumers are aware that pervasive beauty messaging can be disingenuous, it takes lots of self-control to stay resilient to it.
Underepresented
Women of all body types, skin tones, and other traits are not represented in the media industry, and, more importantly, no concentrated space to platform consumers’ demands.
Insecure
Many girls feel insecure because they are conditioned to think that their natural features are burdens they need to “fix”. Their anxiety around their appearance halts their growth and confidence.
How might I support consumers in being mindful of predatorial marketing and demanding for representation in the beauty industries while remaining empowered through the process?
TAKEAWAYS
After analyzing social efforts, I realized
Get Real needed to...
Specialize in women media representation.
1.
Allow the consumer to be the head of the movement, and Get Real the neck. Support consumer voice has brought real change before (i.e. Victoria Secret changing their campaign).
2.
Talk with the consumer, not at. Allow viewer contribution through digital and print media.
3.
MARKET
RESEARCH
I conducted a competitor analysis of organizations aiming to platform consumer voice to challenge corporate power.
Studying other efforts helped me clarify what is missing and how Get Real can position itself to fulfill that need, along with prioritizing which features enhance user experience when interacting with Get Real.
I converted the user pain points into campaign objectives that would guide my process.
GOALS
Brainwashed
Mindful
Through creative activism and educative workshops, Get Real helps consumers dismantle and prevent beauty messaging from provoking insecurity within them.
Underrepresented
Represented
Get Real should be a concentrated platform to represent consumer voices to corporations through social media and OOH prints, strategies women are already using to stand up.
Insecure
Empowered
Get Real should empower its users through community-building and education on developing confidence and digital resilience amidst corporate advertising.
04 / IDEATION
Status Quo vs. Consumer Protest
Get Real reappropriates forms of popular culture its audience grew up with, such as Disney and Barbie, to challenge hidden implications within them. Loud type (in mockery of yelling American adverts), a blunt black and white palette, and graffiti-like strokes develop an honest, authentic, activist voice.
MOODBOARD
I platformed common consumer sentiments (i.e., not finding a doll akin to their appearance) and positioned them in my sketches through blunt compositions and big and bold type.
SKETCHES
05 / FINAL DESIGNS
Get Real Campaign
Based on my research, the target audience’s biggest gripes range from consumerism, materialism, and the objectification of women in advertising. Get Real content should explore and challenge the interrelations between these topics.
THEMES
Get Real stickers serve as an opening for consumer protest.
STICKERS
With the youth's avid use of social media, it is crucial to reach them digitally.
Through Instagram, viewers can join the conversation, share their experiences, and strengthen the Get Real voice.
SOCIAL
POSTERS IN PRINT
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE.
Explore Other Projects
This project is the most passionate of my passion projects. Get Real serves as an outlet to vomit female consumer's sentiments, experiences, and critiques on media concerning beauty and consumer representation.
Design-wise, it is a fresh deviant from more cut-and-clean commercial work I design. I was able to marry my interests in collage and grunge design.
LESSONS
06 / CONCLUSION
Reflection
My next step would be to conduct primary research on the impressions my target audience has on Get Real, specifically about what they enjoy, and what's missing.
Get Real feels like it's talking to the users rather than with them. My next step is to add another way for users to interact with Get Real. For example, an interactive kiosk that acts as a doll dress-up game inviting users to create "The Perfect Girl"-- except all of the options treat women as a homogenous group and are a spoof of the "ideal" woman of today. I'm still brainstorming!