Thesis Update

Short Summary

A book of stories that come from the interaction with people and their makeup collections along with drawn and photographed visuals.


Full Description

Throughout experimenting with my project ideas about makeup, my favorite part was exploring other people's makeup collections and talking about them. Much interesting conversation comes from interacting with others' collections and I want to record my findings and assemble them into a book. I want to pair the stories with photographed and illustrated visuals.

Illustration sample

In my previous post I mentioned that I'd like to make some illustrations to go along the stories as visuals. Here's an example illustration I did of a few items of makeup.

A New Idea That's been There the Whole Time

I've been thinking a lot about the "conversation" aspect that my project has had an on and off relationship with. I was never 100% sold on any of my other ideas, but this one feels more like me and moving forward with it gets me excited. I have been doing makeup for people lately and a lot of conversation comes out of exploring someone else's collection of makeup and their relationship to their products and the story of each one. Laying out a collection and picking up someone's products innately starts a conversation about it and I find I do the same thing if someone else is looking through my own.

Here are some things I remember from the last couple of weeks of doing this:

"That mascara burns my eyes, but I still use it anyway"

"I wear this red lipstick so my boyfriend won't want to kiss me"

"I only use this eyebrow pencil; the other three I never use"

"I never use my Kylie lipsticks because they dry out my lips"

"All the eyeshadow I have is really bad"

"I have an Anastasia contour palette and I don't know how to use it please help me"

"I've had this one brush for 7 years, it was definitely worth the $36"

I guess the things that I remember about these conversations are the funnier parts.

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I'd really like to document people's collections (photos, illustrations) and write about the conversations and stories that come up while interacting with them. (Assembled into a book? I had always wanted the end result to be one)

Makeup is becoming more and more collectible and women and men are amassing huge collections nytimes.com

App Flow Progress

Last week I began using the Adobe XD program and started mapping out the bare pages and flow of the app. I felt like I couldn't go further without knowing exactly the flow from initial question to each end result, so I wrote out a flow chart on paper, which I can mimic with the XD flow lines to travel from page to page within the app.

XD flows

I am thinking about how I will display these end results and I'm considering simple illustrations that could be instructional as well.

I am also deciding if a working XD prototype will be sufficient or if I should treat it as just a prototype and use coding later.

Adobe XD for interactive prototypes

I've been learning and building as I go with the new Adobe XD program, which makes interactive prototypes, and I've really been liking the program so far. I've been taking my time to go through all the instructional tutorials and the more I learn that it can do the more I think it will work well with my project. Here's some of the bare layout I've been working on and what the program looks like.

How do I design my face every morning? The System.

I think mapping out how I plan the way I'm going to look at the start of my day is an important step in designing a kind of app that may do this thinking for someone. I've done this routine on auto for so many years that I can makes these decisions in really no time at all. I'm going to dig up what I'm thinking and feeling as I pickup my brushes.

1. The first thing I think of is how much time do I have or want to spend. Some days I don't have a lot of time and some days it feels a little like a chore that I just want to get over and done with. I have a few different looks that I'll do if I have around 10, 15, or 20+ minutes.

2. Another thing I consider, and it might be weird, is the season. Yes, I do my makeup differently from season to season. In warmer months, I use less products on my face and ones that are lighter taking sweat, heat, and comfort into consideration. I also like to use more natural looking colors in the summer as they last longer throughout the day. In colder months, I wear heavier foundation and darker colors. In colder months there's really no need to worry about anything melting away. Kind of like "fall colors" with clothes I do the same with my face.

3. Is there an occasion? I won't wear green eyeshadow or purple lipstick to work and I won't have an absence of anything if I'm going out with friends or on a date. There are lots of things to consider!

4. If I have about 10 minutes, I'll skip eyeshadow altogether. To me, you don't need eyeshadow to have a complete look. This can be compensated (if I feel like it) with a more boldly colored lipstick since it takes the same amount of time to do any color. I'll usually skip strip lashes if I'm in a time pinch too, which I usually do wear. Iffy finishing touch things are blush and highlighter. In this time frame I'll do kind of the "bare minimum", which may be like a lot to some people because I've gotten pretty fast: foundation, concealer, light cheekbone contour, eyeliner (always graphic and winged!), mascara top and bottom, eyebrow fill, setting powder, lipstick, and highlighter (usually).

If I have about 15 minutes, I'll do simple eyeshadow like a gold or pink lid and I usually add a dark brown in my crease and lower lash line. I'll definitely wear extra eyelashes on these days. With a mildly bold eye,  I will most likely wear a natural looking lip color. I will also lightly contour my whole face, sweeping a brownish color over all the more shadowy areas of the face like under the cheekbones, jawline, and sides of the forehead. Highlights are added to the tops of cheekbones, tip and bridge of the nose, inner corners of the eyes, and just under the eyebrows.

If I have 20+ minutes, let the creativity begin! This is when I pull out my more elaborately colored eyeshadow palette and experiment with more unconventional colors like green, blue, silver, red, etc.. I try to experiment with different blending techniques and shapes too. When I do this, it is always a natural lip color. I don't like to have both bold eyes and lips, it looks overdone to me, I like either the eyes or lips to make a statement, never both.

I don't really think it takes a lot of different products to make this happen. My makeup collection is actually pretty small compared to most. I can fit everything in a fairly small makeup bag with 2 larger eyeshadow palettes that can't fit (and two collector's items from an Andy Warhol collection I rarely use). In the bag I have 6 brushes, 1 foundation, 1 concealer, 1 face powder, 1 eyebrow tint, 1 mascara, 2 eyeliners, 3 lipsticks, 2 lash sets with a glue, 1 blush, and 1 highlighter.

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I have also been learning how to use the new program Adobe XD and I think this could be a good program for me to use as it is an interactive app/interface prototyping program.

Maybe Moving on?

So I did more research into my idea and of an AR program and I found that pretty much everything I was envisioning already exists. Sephora has a program on their website to upload a photo and try on any of the products that they sell. It works really well too.

Sephora Program

There is a company that created augmented reality technology for beauty brands Modiface

Now I'm thinking I should probably move on from this idea. Thoughts from anyone?

AR and an Idea

I played around a little with the Aurasma augmented reality software to see what I could possibly do with it. The photo below has an aura on it.

After all this I think my solid idea finally came to me. I think this augmented reality and totally digital thing really evolved from my initial ideas and I felt like it was drifting a little too far from what felt like me and my work. I always envisioned this turning out like something physical like a book and I think I can combine that with augmented reality to make a more modern makeup book. Aurasma definitely opened up more possibilities and ideas for me and I think I want to incorporate it in my project. The makeup tutorial has gone pretty much completely video/web based and with augmented reality I can combine digital with a physical book. I will definitely have to produce some prototypes of this.

Prototypes & Technology

I tried playing with different "prototypes" like we discussed in class with changing looks of the eye.

changing eyeshadow saturation

different eyebrow styles

changing eyeliner shapes

changing eye contouring

Talking in class made me think of how Snapchat lenses instantly distinguish faces and and can decorate/distort them in real time. I think this kind of technology would be interesting to look into, but is it impossible for me to use? This article/video shows generally how they do it.


https://petapixel.com/2016/06/30/snapchats-powerful-facial-recognition-technology-works/


This exercise is actually making me think a lot about sort of "digital makeup application" and the possibilities of creating artificial makeup entirely on the computer.

from discussion of Coral's abstractions

Here is screen grab of the side-by-side view of the two components of Coral's "abstract eye based on green one," from our discussion in Seminar yesterday. We thought about how this abstraction might be the component of a tool that by changing colors in any of the triangles at right, yields an instant preview of what the result would be in the image of the eye at left.

Because a lot of expertise goes into applying the makeup (choice of brush, pressure and direction of application, etc., etc.), the tool might incorporate Coral's "signature" style to makeup, for the use either of herself or (paying?) others.

Relates a little to the makeup sketch pads, and to systematizing makeup. Also, can play a role in interactions with others, around makeup.
 

Additions/Abstracting

I actually really liked documenting my eyes so I think I'm going to continue to do it, whether for my project or not.

New Eye

The other day we talked a little about abstracting the eye and "being able to tell if it was an eye". I tried abstracting one of them to see what it would look like.

abstract eye based on green one

Eyes

I started photographing some eye makeup looks on myself. I do something different pretty much every day and I thought something could come out of that documentation of how I want to look that day. I thought playing around with them on Photoshop looked kind of cool too and seeing the basic shapes of the eye makeup can create.

I also did a makeup test on Gabby. There was something nice about being at her home and spreading out all the makeup she has and using all her own products; using them in a way she never has before on herself.
 

 

More Experimenting

I did some more work with the face charts and used the ones from the book this time.

I also did some experimental photos with a simple makeup look on myself. I actually really enjoyed the photo editing and I feel like I got more creative actually using makeup than drawing it on paper.

Updates and Thoughts

Short project description

An exploration of how different people feel about makeup and how makeup makes them feel about themselves when a look is designed for them.

A project title is coming before Tuesday I promise!

Proposal update has been moved to Coral's thesis page (link at upper right)
jm

I want to gather a variety of people; those who wear makeup often or never, all genders, etc. and ask them some questions about their interaction with makeup and who they are. I really want to hear their stories too because I think everyone has a 'story' about makeup. I can create a look from this information and apply it, documenting the process (photos, video). I really want the focus to be the reactions, emotions, and how people feel about the process and themselves from before to the finished look.

Possible makeup interview questions

How often do you wear makeup?
Why do/don’t you wear it?
When did you start and why?
Any occasions?
Are there any looks or trends you’ve been seeing that you do or don’t like?
What are three words that you would use to describe your personality?
How would you describe your personal style?
Do you have any stories about makeup? Funny, life-changing, horror... (something like this may just come up anyway like it has been in class)

bonus because it made me laugh
A video I really like about a girls's funny story about makeup changing in the last 10 years... Tweens are too pretty
 

RECAP

I've neglected to post the last couple weeks so I figured I'd give a quick recap of what I've done up to this point. Initial experiments includes drawing my own faces to use, working with pastels and real makeup, and creating looks with quotes I found during my research of makeup history.

experimenting with face chart sketches

makeup looks designed with quotes in mind

My next step looks like I'll be highlighting the process and and taking a more personal approach to how makeup makes people feel (Thanks Court for the great input!), why they do it or don't, why/how people do it for different settings or occasions. I'm working on a face chart process with photos and I'm thinking of doing the same but actually on a person and seeing what I can find.

Another Art History Lesson

An exploration of cosmetic history and culture. An application of the findings today to create artful looks to photograph and possibly assemble all into a book.

preliminaries

1

All seminar projects should have a title (always subject to change), and a 140-character (tweet length) summary (also may be changed). Optional: three or four #tags, possibly worked into that tweet-length summary, that help orient the work to larger (social, thematic, political etc) concerns.

For Tuesday: Have titles and 140-character summaries; do the readings; discuss current movements in your projects/initiatives.

This post is tagged with everyone's tag (or "label"), so you can see your name in the "posts by" list on main blog page, right column.

2

The two readings I assigned are these

Cameron Tonkinwise
design thinking, yet again, because, maybe, it could actually be useful, perhaps even necessary, given every thing
June 12, 2017

Christina Wodtke
How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Design Thinking
August 26, 2017

Cameron Tonkinwise is a smart, energetic and prolific writer about design (sustainability design, transition design). I monitor his writing and links to others' writing via @camerontw.
he is also at academia.edu.