With the growing strength of the beauty subscription package market, world renowned design agency Seymourpowell wanted to look at how this market would continue to evolve and how future technology would be able to enhance the consumer experience. Through their research, the design team, headed by Mariel Brown, developed Identité, a ground-breaking new beauty concept to mark the industry's shift towards big data.
In their qualitative research project of working with beauty influencers and experts from London, LA, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Seoul, Seymourpowell found that consumer behaviors are shifting in response to increasing connectivity in our everyday lives.
Identité harnesses AI technology to curate and deliver bespoke collections of beauty products, anticipating consumer's day or week ahead. The service draws on three important data points to select the right products for users. It scans information on the environment to understand factors such as humidity and heat; information on you, such as your skin health and face shape; and current beauty style trends, such as what colours and effects are in season. It understands what you need and what looks good on you.
"The beauty buyer of tomorrow has access to data like never before and knows how to use it," commented Mariel Brown, director of futures at Seymourpowell. "Our interviewees viewed their identity as an asset that could be manipulated to give them an edge. They were tapping in to information online in a hyper-strategic way to then carefully curate their looks to give themselves the greatest chance of success. In the words of one of our respondents, 'I tend to dress based on two criteria for the day; comfort and capitalism.'"
Identité would know your schedule and give you extra products to keep your skin healthy and your beauty looks on point. If you're holidaying in Tulum, Mexico, it will provide products that match the laid back eco-chic vibe, as well as the humidity. If you're heading to a business meeting in NYC it will ensure your lipstick colour is going to be exactly on trend, suit your colourings, and last the day. It knows your exercise routine and adjusts around it, providing vitamins and supplements to support it. The possibilities are endless.
"Identité imagines how beauty products could be designed with the application of AI to be more responsive," explained Robert Cooper, designer at Seymourpowell. "Moving to an emphasis on flexibility and function, Identité explores the relationship between the power of algorithms to make decision for us and beauty products as a form of self-expression and personal identity."
Identité's products would be packed in perfectly portioned single use modules, made from formed paper and neatly collated into bio-degradable injection-moulded fibre boxes for regular delivery. Creating fresher, more natural product formulas by reducing the need for preservatives. The result is an intelligent, sustainable beauty concept that harnesses AI to meet the needs and desires of beauty consumers of the future.