MFA Thesis by Shaily Shah Copyright Š 2015 Shaily Shah Written and Designed by Shaily Shah All Rights Reserved. No portion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without the written consent of Shaily Shah. All respective work shown has been appropriately identified and credited. Any omissions found will be noted and corrected in subsequent editions. About the project: website/ hundredpercentyou.com blog/ hundredpercentyou.wordpress.com About the designer: website/ shailyshah.com email  / hello@shailyshah.com
100%YOU is a MOVEMENT INSPIRING ASIAN GIRLS TO CELEBRATE THEIR UNIQUE SELVES AND TAKE PRIDE IN THEIR ETHNIC FEATURES.
foreground
Shaily grew up in India surrounded by very defined beauty norms. Where only fair people were considered beautiful while people with dark or dusky skin were looked down upon, treated as ugly and associated with lower classes. Shaily belonged to the second category of people only in terms of skin color. Family, friends and strangers alike would freely suggest different fairness creams and bleaches for her to apply on her face. To make her “beautiful�. They constantly made her feel that life would be much harder for her. She was told she would not be able to find the right partner or get a good job, all because of the color of her skin. But Shaily grew up to be a strong and confident woman who ran her own business before deciding to study further. She even married the man of her dreams. She empathized with the way millions of other girls in Asia felt and she decided to use her design and strategy skills to help these women fight the challenges they face in everyday life. That’s how 100%You was born. It is a movement inspiring Asian girls to love their ethnic features and celebrate their unique selves.
“ When you’re nineteen, all the girls get plastic surgery, so if you don’t do it, after a few years, your friends will all look better, but you will look like your unimproved you.” — Reported by The New Yorker
CONTENTS
01 BACKGROUND
005
_ the problem space _ current media context _ why it matters
02 RESEARCH
029
_ exploring pathways _ defining personas _ discussion & strategy _ interview & survey
03 DEVELOPMENT
069
_ thesis video proposal _ visual moodboard _ identity development _ user testing & feedback
04 DESIGN SOLUTION _ photo session & manifesto _ website & campaign _ interactive event & app _ promotional video
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Chapter 01 Background
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/01 BACKGROUND _ the problem space _ current media context _ why it matters
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Chapter 01 Background
“ Plastic surgery used to be for the rich and famous; today, we’ve leveled the playing field with cheap boob jobs, tummy tucks, and outpatient procedures you can get on your lunch break.” —D eborah Rhode, Stanford Law Professor and Author of ‘The Beauty Bias’
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the problem space
Chapter 01 Background
009
Western culture is extremely popular in Asian countries like China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Thailand; to the point where entire generations of young adults are finding themselves in the middle of a warped identity crisis. These people have been bombarded by unrealistic images of what they should look like by the media, society, friends and sometimes even family. This has created a narrow beauty standard which has manifested itself into many problems like—eating disorders, chronic anxiety, bullying, plastic surgery, dysmorphic syndrome, social withdrawal and suicide. Cosmetic surgeries in Asia have increased drastically in the last few years. Four out of every seven Korean parents chose a cosmetic surgery over a car as a graduation gift for their kids. Young men and women are getting double-eyelid surgeries, smile lifts, jaw realignments, nose jobs and much more in an effort to alter their natural anatomy. In a superficial culture where having the ideal body and face is the only way to gain social acceptance, what can be done to get people to appreciate their natural beauty? Addressing this issue, I would like to present a much broader definition of beauty that can help young people accept themselves without prejudice and celebrate their unique features.
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CURRENT MEDIA CONTEXT
Blepharoplasty or double-eyelid surgery is a symbol of white America’s history of cultural dominance over South Korea. It goes back to American plastic surgery pioneer Dr. Ralph Millard, who was stationed in Seoul from 1950 to 1953 to do reconstructive surgery for the war wounded. Millard is known among plastic surgeons today for his innovations in facelifts and cleft palates. Millard was reportedly the first person to develop and perform the operation in Korea. But the surgeon who introduced double-eyelid surgery to Korea also projected the worst of Asian stereotypes onto people with “monolids.” In the 1964 edition of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Millard wrote that “the absence of the puerperal fold produces a passive expression which seems to epitomize the stoical and unemotional manner of the oriental.” He wrote that he had the first opportunity to try the operation when “a slant-eyed Korean interpreter, speaking excellent English, came in requesting to be made into a ‘round-eye.’”
Many of his patients were reportedly Korean women working in the sex trade who wanted to get the operation to increase their appeal to American GIs. Other clients were so-called “war brides” — Korean women who married American soldiers and moved to the US — who wanted to fit in more in their adopted home. In a 1993 study of eleven Asian American women in the San Francisco Bay Area who received plastic surgery, ethnographer Eugenia Kaw found that patients underwent plastic surgery in order to “escape persisting racial prejudice that correlates their stereotyped genetic physical features (‘small, slanty’ eyes and a ‘flat’ nose) with negative behavioral characteristics, such as passivity, dullness, and a lack of sociability.”
Chapter 01 Background
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You are required to submit your photo with your résumé, with the assumption that if you look like you can take care of yourself, then you can take care of your job. It is an undeniable fact that modern day South Korea is extremely image-conscious. But what kind of image is prized? In Asia, a youthfullooking appearance is seen as desirable. The popularity of Korean girl and boy-bands sporting the 'ulzzang look' is believed to propel both men & women in their early twenties to seek a softer image. This includes a prominent nose tip, a less angular jaw and double eyelids. For the ladies, the Korean look isn’t very far off: creating fairer skin, double eyelids, a prominent nose bridge, and a slimmer face is commonly requested by many expats. Since Goo Hara from
the hit girl group KARA and Miss Korea 2012 professed to cosmetic surgery, an increasing number of Korean celebrities have been found to have gotten surgery. Many fans fixated by the natural-looking, flawless faces of Korean celebrities travel to Korea for cosmetic surgery. It’s a known fact that the modern Korean woman has exchanged maternal and domestic femininity for a slim, toned body and youthful face. For many Korean women, cosmetic surgery is seen as a symbolic, coming-of-action practice that is believed to bring about significant changes in one’s education, marriage and career.
Chapter 01 Background
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Chapter 01 Background
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Highest plastic surgery rates in 2010 (Procedures per 10,000 people per year)
To compare rates between any two countries, simply divide their PP10K values. For example, people in South Korea undergo invasive plastic surgery at a rate 1.7 times higher than people in Taiwan, 2.3 times higher than people in Japan, and 8.2 times higher than people in China.
74
44
32
korea
taiwan
japan
Chapter 01 Background
Country
Total Procedures
Total Population
PP10K
Korea
365,000
49,232,000
74
Taiwan
103,000
22,929,000
44
Japan
411,000
127,288,000
32
Thailand
76,000
65,500,000
11
China
1,215,000
1,322,000,000
9
11 thailand
9 china
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Four out of every seven Korean parents chose a cosmetic surgery over a car as a graduation gift for their kids. In South Korea, a country known as the plastic surgery capitol of the world, parents are paying for their teenagers to get double eyelid surgery before they head to college. Instead of a typical gift like a car, teenagers get double eyelid surgery, which can cost anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000. So why is this drastic gift so commonplace? According to a plastic surgeon from Seoul’s Gangnam District, the trend has to do with first impressions and success after college. Many Asian people strongly believe that the first impression is very important, and the most important part of the face is the eyes. If their eyes become bigger, they believe their appearance will be much prettier than before.
And when it comes to succeeding in the job market, a pretty face is valuable. Meeting beauty standards gives possible employees an edge and offers them more opportunity. While this expectation is not “completely true,” parents still believe it and offer the surgery as a way to ensure their teens will have more opportunity. The widespread acceptance of plastic surgery reflects a gradual but profound shift in Korean culture. Once upon a time, being a successful Korean meant endurance: holding in feelings, keeping your head down, and working hard. Now, being Korean is more about expression: presenting to the world what people here call “Ul-jjang” or “best face.” For many families, plastic surgery is helping to turn that concept from an abstraction into a reality.
Chapter 01 Background
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Eyelid surgery to create a double-eyelid and nose jobs to lengthen the nose are the most popular surgeries. These procedures are so common, they’re called “the basics.” As a whole, modern day Korea is an imageconscious and competitive nation. So much so that success when it comes to relationships or career, greatly depends on one's attactiveness. How much is this ingrained in the South Korean culture? Children as young as highschool aged would receive plastic surgery as graduation gifts from their parents. This could almost be seen as a ritual, before they head out into the real world to face its challenges. On the other hand, the Korean wave (K-Pop, K-drama, etc.) has affected more than the local people. It has affected many countries across the world, especially those around Asia. There are now plenty of international customers who are looking for the “natural look” that Korean surgeons are so adept at producing.
Many Asians want the same look: light skin, tiny nose, wide eyes with double eyelids, and a small face with a V-shaped chin. Koreans get plastic surgery to achieve this idealized look more than any other nation. Plastic surgery has such a normal part of society that everyone talks about it. Instead of where did you get your designer handbag, people might ask you where you got your chin or your nose. Plastic surgery has become so popular that it’s not uncommon for Korean high school girls to go under the knife. In fact, it’s believed that the earlier you do it, the more “natural” it looks as you grow into your features. Some parents even encourage their children to get plastic surgery. Getting your eyes done might even be a graduation present.
Chapter 01 Background
Small V- shaped face is celebrated over natural facial structures.
45%
45% of women feel that women who are more beautiful have greater opportunities in life.
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Plastic surgery rates in Asia have increased drastically in the past few years.
57%
More than half strongly agree that physically attractive women are more valued by men.
59%
Over half of all women strongly agree that the attributes of female beauty have become very narrowly defined in today’s world.
68%
68% of women strongly agree that “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve.”
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27% 73%
In East Asia, 73% of the people who undergo plastic surgery are female, while 27% of them are male.
Chapter 01 Background
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Almost 8 out of 10 women are dissatisfied with their reflection, and more than half of them would like to change their looks at some point.
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Chapter 01 Background
why it mat ters
The standard of beauty is changing the face of Eastern Asia. Literally. The Western idea of what is beautiful has infiltrated the Asian culture and influenced how Asian women and men view themselves, making them feel unworthy, unlovable, and un-beautiful. Photo manipulations, makeup, and plastic surgery have created "hyper beauty” images that no one, not even the models themselves, can live up to in real life. The prevalence of cosmetic surgery in Asia has reached a point where going under the knife to get double eyelid (Blepharoplasty) or even nose surgery (Rhinoplasty) has become akin to getting braces. Everyone in Asia wants a V-shaped
face, slim jaw, double eyelids, long nose, fair face, pale skin and a skinny body. Anyone on a healthier side is considered fat or chubby. There’s something terribly wrong when 6-yearolds are using makeup, while their mothers spend the equivalent of a college education just keeping their faces intact. There are various forces to blame for a lot of this, from an economy that allows pickiness to a plastic surgery industry that encourages superficial notions of beauty. In reality, it’s a confluence of cultural forces that has left us clutching desperately to an ever-evolving beauty ideal. At this rate, we are looking at a future where everybody looks exactly the same.
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Chapter 02 Research
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/02 RESEARCH _ exploring pathways _ defining personas _ discussion & strategy _ interview & survey
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“ Remarks from relatives such as, ‘You would be a lot prettier if you just had your jaw tapered,’ are considered no more insulting than, ‘You’d get a lot more for your apartment if you redid the kitchen.” — Patricia Marx, Reporter at The New Yorker
Chapter 02 Research
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addiction
bureaucracy
malpractice
SLAVES
unreal
patriarchy
rebirth
westernophilia
flower
obsession
tourism
stereotype
sacrifice
anorexia
discrimination
bullying
physiognomy
impression
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Chapter 02 Research
EXPLORING PATHWAYS
The tedious quest for Western perfection started when East met West hundreds of years ago through trading. In the early 20th century, cosmetics became a staple fashion in the West. It was due to the influence of ballet, theatre and hollywood starlets. Images of Western beauty spread to Asia through media and travel. It influenced Asian women about what was “in” in the West, and this still continues to this day. Asian society is strongly influenced by the media and the standard of beauty portrayed through advertisements and entertainment industry. They have a very narrow definition of beauty and anyone who doesnt meet that standard is considered ugly. On one of the most popular reality TV shows, “Let Me In,”
contestants share sob stories of being bullied and picked on before a team of experts “fixes” them. At the end of the show, they parade down a runway to unveil the new look to a live audience. East Asian culture believes in patriarchal versions of femininity in order to maximize a women’s chances of success in marriage and the economy. A woman’s success, bound to the imminent and the domestic, was rooted in her ability to mimic a concealed and deferential ideal, defined by virginity or maternity. South Korea is a leading destination for cosmetic surgery. The government spent around $642 million on advertising Korean medical tourism to attract customers from all over the world.
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DEFINING THE PERSONAS
Chapter 02 Research
The traits and strengths attributed to these archetypes serve as a general description of the overall personas. These cards tell a story of an archetype which helps in personifying an idea without making it personal. Instead of giving them individual names, I have given the archetypes different handles that were derived from their traits. The attributes given to them helped in identifying a few people around me who fit the same description.
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Chapter 02 Research
Persona 01: The Trending Teenybopper
“Ginny, did you get your chin done? Oh my! It looks beautiful! Did you go to Dr. Yeonsei Jin? Yes, the one in Nonhyeon-dong Gangnam-gu! Isn’t he amazing!? My mother’s co-worker’s step-daughter went there two months ago. I heard she was locked-in at home for the next two weeks, but who cares? You gotta have some pain for a lot of gain, right?” » Spends hours in front of the mirror everyday. »H er favorite band is ‘Girls Generation’ and she listens to them religiously. »C onsiders herself fat and goes on a diet for days at a stretch in order to look skinny.
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Persona 02: The self-deprecating female
“I can’t remember the last time I did not have acne on my face. When I go out it’s the one thing that’s always on my mind and the one thing that I always feel is on everybody’s mind. I wish we didn’t live in a world where people write me off based on my looks.” » Has severe self-confidence issue. » I s vegetarian and will never use unnatural products on her skin. »D oes not care about the media or society but secretly is very sensitive to what people think of her.
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Persona 03: The cosmetomaniac diva
“Sorry, hun! I did not realize it would take an hour just to find the right dress for the party. It gets confusing sometimes, I am sure you understand. Why don’t you get the car around and I’ll join you as soon as possible. Oh and take the Audi today. We have to look super classy, Mrs. Hyeok Sun is going to be there, remember?” » Got a double eyelid surgery after her graduation and recently got a nose and jaw surgery. » Spends more than 50% of her income on beauty salons and treatments. » Loves to attend music events and movies with her boyfriend.
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Chapter 02 Research
Persona 04: The beauty filter
“Can I borrow a lighter? Thanks. Yes, we had a lot of résumés come in last week. Any good? No, far from it. None of them really have that look. Seems like the town has run dry of its beauties. One of them actually looked like my ex-wife, without the stapled scalp! Hahaha!” » I s a forty-year-old HR manager working in a leading corporate firm. »F ilters thousands of people's résumés every week based on their looks. »S pends most of his income on branded fashionable clothing.
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Persona 05: The uber naturel
“As a high school teacher, I keep trying to explain to students the importance of inner beauty, but somehow they just don’t understand the meaning of that term. They are so obsessed with looking perfect on the outside that sometimes I get worried about their future.” »A n avid blogger who is very critical of the stereotypical society and the people. »S pends less than five minutes applying makeup. »W ould be comfortable going grocery shopping in her track suit.
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Persona 06: The helicopter mom
“Dear, do not let the world fool you. You are not beautiful. I am just telling you the harsh truth so that you don’t expect handsome guys to marry you, unless of course you are ready to really change yourself.” »A middle class mother, works as an employee at samsung. » L ooks forward to meeting her group of girlfriends every month. »D resses like an upper-class woman and loves to show off her status, family and job.
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Qualitative research
Chapter 02 Research
In order to get a better understanding of the audience, I created qualitative interview sessions with focus groups. The event was called ‘Morning Mimosas’ where I invited people from different parts of the world to talk about their personal experiences related to the topic of beauty and their own struggles while growing up. I collected the learnings from this event and presented them in the form of a website.
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Quantitative research
Relationship
The following data is from the results gathered from a total of 68 survey respondents.
Gender
Other
Married 28%
72%
Single
Engaged
13% 37% 44%
Age group 36– 40
In a Relationship 50+
31–35
21–35
How beautiful do you think you are?
34%
2
54%
10
26–30
Ethnicity East Asian
69% 3%
Indian
4%
Asian American
7%
Have you gotten any negative comments about your looks from family or friends?
26%
American
6.6
Never
63%
Other
Sometimes 16% 10%
All the time
Chapter 02 Research
In order to understand the reason behind this growing trend in the Asian society, I interviewed some Asian people currently studying/working in the USA. This topic being very sensitive and personal, it was difficult to get people to be honest and answer without feeling like they were being judged. I kept my questions and responses very open without including my biases towards the subject. For the interview, I approached each audience differently by asking questions or altering them according to the answers they provided. My main concern was to try and make my audience feel comfortable during the interview so that they would open up and talk about their personal experiences. When asked how they would define beauty, I got varied responses from my audience where some of them named the famous Korean singer ‘Boa Kwon’, while others described the perfect features like–double eyelids, ‘V’ shaped face, skinny body and fair skin–as beautiful. Surprisingly, only 15% of them thought of inner beauty and self-confidence as the real beauty.
Furthermore, when asked if they would call themself beautiful, around 34% of women remained silent or said that they did not know and found this question difficult to answer. 56% of them answered in negative, whereas only 10% of them seemed confident and answered in positive. When the same question was asked to men, 55% said that they considered themselves handsome while the rest of them were not sure or answered in negative. When asked if they had gone through plastic surgery in the past, 80% of them answered in negative while 20% of them had done either double eyelid surgery or jaw surgery or both. For the ones who had not done any surgery yet, 60% of them said that they would not mind getting cosmetic surgery if they were offered it for free. Whereas, the rest 40% said that they would never think of going under the knife because they did not want to lose their identity and were against altering their natural looks.
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From a scale of 1 to 10, how beautiful do you consider yourself?
36%
12%
18%
34%
How often do you look at yourself in the mirror?
Have you gone through a cosmetic procedure?
Other
Yes
No
Once every hour
Once a day
60%
40%
Twice a day
Once every 3–4 hours
What skin do you associate beauty with?
In school were you made fun of on the basis of your height, weight, acne, hair or face?
44%
Tanned skin
Dark skin
9%
13%
All the time
White skin
65%
Sometimes
63%
22%
Never
Chapter 02 Research
As for the reason behind their insecurity and the quest to be beautiful, most of them said that society and media were responsible for the way they think about themselves. A lot of them said that, “Everyone on TV looks beautiful and everyone has got some kind of surgery. It makes us feel that getting surgery is THE THING to do in order to succeed.” Sixty percent strongly agree that society expects women to enhance their physical attractiveness. Forty-five percent of women feel women who are more beautiful have greater opportunities in life. More than half (59%) strongly agreed that physically attractive women are more valued by men. More than two-thirds (68%) of women strongly agree that “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve.” Over half of all women (57%) strongly agree that “the attributes of female beauty have become very narrowly defined in today’s world.” Women feel they are surrounded and bombarded with images that are unrealistic. The majority (76%)
wishes female beauty was portrayed in the media as being made up of more than just physical attractiveness. Seventy-five percent went on to say that they wish the media did a better job of portraying women of diverse physical attractiveness, including age, color shape and size. In conclusion, the study also demonstrates that authentic beauty is a concept lodged in women’s hearts and minds and seldom articulated in popular culture or affirmed in the mass media. As such, it remains unrealized and unclaimed— an idea of beauty that is a narrower, functional definition of “physical attractiveness.” In turn, this affects the younger generation and makes them feel extremely pressured to feel this way. The results that this research yielded were very informative and helped me empathize with my audience and understand the reason behind the problem. As for my secondary research, I read books and watched documentary films in order to gain a better understanding of the emotional aspect of the problem space.
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Chapter 03 Development
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/03 DEVELOPMENT _ thesis video proposal _ visual moodboard _ identity development _ user testing & feedback
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Chapter 03 Development
“ It’s hard to be happy with how you look when there’s this unspoken understanding floating around in woman-land that we’re supposed to be constantly armed with self-criticisms — and excited to use them.” — Kristen Tsetsi, Body Image Thought Leader
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THESIS PROPOSAL video
SOCIETY & MEDIA BOMBARDMENT
PHOTOGRAPH ON RESUME IS MANDATORY
There’s something terribly wrong when 6-year-olds are using makeup, while their mothers spend the equivalent of a college education just keeping their faces intact.
ARE WOMEN WILLING TO MAKE DRASTIC CHANGES JUST TO OBTAIN THE APPROVAL OF SOCIETY?
Chapter 03 Development
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VISUAL MOODBOARD
Chapter 03 Development
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PROJECT TIMELINE
Chapter 03 Development
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Chapter 03 Development
insight 01 —
Prevalence of cosmetic procedures is making women look very similar to each other. outcome 01 —
Make a parody of the before and after ads to show the homogeneity resulting from extreme surgery.
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Chapter 03 Development
insight 02 —
Obsession of using beauty apps to alter themselves before sharing on social media. outcome 02 —
Have a platform to help people feel comfortable about their natural selves on social media.
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Chapter 03 Development
insight 03 —
Unhealthy demand for surgery causing women to constantly criticize themselves. outcome 03 —
Create a community where women empower each other to be more positive and approving of themselves.
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identity DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 03 Development
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visual language
The audience for this campaign are young women who are extremely techsavvy. This style guide serves as a foundation for all communication — keeping a unified design while still allowing room for flexibility. The foundation defines our typography, icons, patterns, colors and information architecture. The idea is to keep these elements modern and contemporary so as to connect with a youthful audience in an effective manner.
Proxima Nova // Regular
A B CDEFGH IJKLM NOPQRST UVW XYZ a bc de f ghi j k lmnopqrstuvwx y z 1 23 4 567 890 !”/ & [+]% = Proxima Nova // Bold Small Caps
a b c d e fg h ijkl mn o pq rstuvwx yz 1 2 34 5 6 7 89 0 !”/&[ +] %= Novecento // Demibold
ABCDEFGHIJKL MNOP QRSTU V WX YZ 123 4 56789 0!”/&[ +] %=
Chapter 03 Development
Shapes & Patterns
Color Palette C 99
R 43
C 0
R 239
M 95
G 49
M 90
G 64
Y 25
B 112
Y 59
B 87
K 13
K 0
C 82
R 18
C 12
R 222
M 36
G 131
M 36
G 166
Y 79
B 198
Y 79
B 82
K 0
K 0
C 56
R 115
C 0
R 65
M 48
G 115
M 0
G 64
Y 47
B 115
Y 0
B 66
K 13
K 90
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USER TESTING/FEEDBACK
_event
_mobile app
_website
_video
Chapter 03 Development
It doesn’t matter what part of the world you go, lighter skin is always considered better. If you are light skin you are either a celebrity, an actor, a Congressman—just a higher class. If you are dark skinned, you are helping the higher class as nurse, caregiver or a driver. All their life, people avoid outdoor activities, pool parties and going under the sun in order to keep their skin fair. The Royal families from the Renaissance and Victorian period, were always in their castle and never in the sun so they were white. People are always trying to emulate the ones who are more powerful. Bleaching and whitening creams are highly common beauty products. It seems that lighter skin people have a much easier life. Things just happen to them without trying too hard. Asian people are heavily influenced by pop culture and models. The standard of beauty is always changing but there is a definite pattern in the way society thinks about beauty at one given time. It is ingrained in our culture and that idea of outer appearance is passed from
one generation to the other. This is not just among the girls but even boys in Korea strive to have a certain kind of look. Korean men try to have a delicate face inspired by the Japanese manga and the media of ‘beautiful flower boys.’ Globalization and colonization played a major role in spreading the western standard of beauty to other parts of the world. People are always trying to emulate the powerful. Television, beauty models, advertisements, job market, society and all of these things affect the way people think about themselves. Body weight is always on every woman’s mind. They are always trying to maintain a slim skinny figure so as to look beautiful. Weight is the biggest issue for Caucasian women and while growing up parents keep reminding them the importance of being slim all the time. In order to do so, they go on a diet, spend hours at the gym and stress about doing it all over again the next day. Television and media perpetuates the perfect body figure as 90-60-90 and that makes teenage girls take extreme steps.
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“It’s easy to navigate, the colors work well for the target audience. I felt a little uncomfortable answering the questionnaire. I feel that many girls would avoid taking part in it.” — User Testing Participant #1
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“At the first look, the images of the girls have a very strong impact. A comment section or a social feature would help people share the images with their friends and family on social media.” — User Testing Participant #2
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“The before and after concept is very cool. I have seen people who look very much alike after undergoing plastic surgery. It’s a great site for young people to see why they need to accept their true selves.” — User Testing Participant #3
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“I am very excited about this topic. I think Asian girls need a different perspective and having something like this in the world will make them rethink the standard of beauty.” — User Testing Participant #4
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/03 DESIGN SOLUTION _ photosession & manifesto _ responsive website _ social media campaign _ interactive event & app
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ABOUT 100%YOU
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Reason: The standard of beauty is changing the face of Eastern Asia. Literally. The Western idea of what is beautiful has infiltrated Asian culture and influenced how women view themselves, making them feel unworthy, unlovable, and ugly. Vision: To challenge standardized beauty norms portrayed by the media by letting people experience the result of extreme cosmetic surgery and allowing them to appreciate the uniqueness in their natural features. Mission: To get young Asian women to change their perception of beauty by disregarding the monotony of the societal standards of beauty dictated by the media and get them to appreciate their unique and natural selves. We Believe: You are strong, confident and filled with love. You are forever a work in progress but confident in your own skin. You take a stand for loving yourself and loving others. Y ou bring out the best in people and genuinely care. You lift people up and inspire others to do the same. You celebrate the women in your life and appreciate their beauty. You share your love and give back to the community. You’re leaving this world better than you found it. You’re brave enough to be vulnerable. Y ou speak honestly so you can be seen for who you truly are. You are unique. You are 100%YOU.
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MANIFESTO
The 100%You Manifesto captures the soul of the movement and is an anthem for every woman to take pride in. It encourages women to be their true selves without having any obligation to adhere to societal standards of beauty. It gives them the strength to fight the unwanted, to be fierce and stand up for themselves as well as for other women in their community.
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APP DEVELOPMENT
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Photo session
For the 100%You event, we invited young Asian girls from China, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand and Japan to participate and celebrate their unique beauty. The event gave them a chance to see beauty through a different lens by taking part in a photo-session. It was a place for young women to get their voice heard and show what makes them beautiful and one-of-a-kind. These natural portraits were then compared with photo-manipulated ones, showing these women the results of extreme surgery and getting them to appreciate the unique imperfections of natural human features.
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website
The 100%You website opens to a full-screen portrait of a woman with a slider in the center that can be used to drag the mouse to the left/right direction to see the ‘before-after’ states of cosmetic surgery. This creates an interactive experience, intriguing users to learn more about the movement. Scrolling further down reveals a larger gallery of photographs with the same functionality, amplifying the first insight that plastic surgery is making women look very similar to each other. The idea is to make a parody of the before-after ads that takes some of the glamour away from the cosmetic procedures. At the end, users will see a call-to-action that asks them to take a pledge and show their support for the 100%You movement.
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responsive design
The website experience has been built to cater to different levels of involvement. There are additional pages with information about the origin and my personal inspiration behind starting the 100%You movement. It includes some of my experiences, that helped me strike a one-on-one conversation with the audience. The ‘About’ page has been sprinkled with insightful infographics to help the viewer realize the extent of the problem through hard facts. Most of the women that form the core audience for the 100%You campaign are extremely mobile-savvy and active on the social media. Hence, a primary design consideration was to have the campaign elements translate seamlessly over different screen sizes through responsive web design.
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#100PERCENTME
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SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
The next stage, which is derived from my second insight, was to create a platform for women to take pride in their ethnic features and share it on the social media. And the way it works is very simple. A person opens the website, writes two things that makes them unique and uploads a photograph. The website automatically combines their photograph and text to generate a unique image that they can share on any social media channel. The campaign uses a photo filter overlay to make all submitted photographs feel like a part of the 100%You family. This helps the audience to pause and think of their unique features, take pride in them and share them with their friends and family.
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interactive Event
Through the Circles, there can be local events to showcase and propagate the 100%You movement. These events will take the digital content and present it in a physical space. The photographs of local women who participated in the movement can be displayed during these events. Viewing the before-after images of women in a large scale printed form can be highly impactful, triggering a conversation around this topic. The tools required to create these events and exhibitions could be made available through the 100%You website and app. This way, any local entrepreneurs or communities can conduct these events in their respective countries/cities.
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100%You Tracker
This tracker exists in the form of a poster that can be mounted on your home or work wall. The poster comes with a set of four colored pens and each color represents a specific mood, with each day represented by a circle. At the end of every day, you can reflect on your thoughts and feelings and mark the appropriate dot on the poster. This simple routine does more than help you pause and think about how you are doing. It also gets you to better understand your mood cycle throughout the month. This graphical representation of your mood acts as a mini personal diary of life experiences and helps you be conscious of your emotional well-being.
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mobile app
The app will be an extension of the website, and will have two primary features. The first feature is writing about moments that made your day special and beautiful. You can then choose to either share these moments with the 100% community or keep them in your personal archive. You can also join a local Circle, to meet likeminded women and take part in events and activities. The second part is a daily tracker that will keep tabs on how you are feeling each day. By answering a couple of simple questions, you can check how you’ve been doing emotionally over the past few weeks or months. Its very easy for women to criticize themselves. Having such an app will spark positivity that they can carry within themselves everyday. I used the same visual language as the rest of the campaign, and created an end-to-end app experience demo on Invision.
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Promotional video
Video is one of the most pervasive mediums of modern times. Though television is dead, it has been replaced by YouTube and Netflix. People still prefer to get their scoop of the world visually. It is the same reason that spurred me to create this video. Within a span of five minutes, I am able to explain the ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘what’. I am able to capture the core values of the 100%You movement, show the final deliverables and the design thoery employed throughout the movement.
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“ The toughest but most necessary change will not come from men or from the media, but from women, in the way we see and behave toward other women.” — Naomi Wolf, Author of ‘The Beauty Myth’
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FUTURE PLANS
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100%You movement has been ever-evolving, with the website and social media campaign being live and getting an overwhelming response from the Asian community. This campaign has vast potential and there are two major directions in which we can expand. First, we can give the materials and guidance for the creation of local Circles in major cities. In these Circles of trust, people can voice their personal experiences and empower each other to be more optimistic about their physical selves. And secondly, we hope to provide language support, so that the website can be translated into different languages and be well received in all parts of East Asia. Although, the problem of plastic surgery is most averse in Asian countries, 100%You strives to reach out to other cultures across the globe and spread the message of self-love and acceptance to each and everyone. Website: hundredpercentyou.com
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special thanks
A big thank you to all the beautiful humans who participated in the photo sessions and supported the 100%You campaign. Thank you to my dearest friends and countless students from the Academy of Art University for their precious time, energy and willingness to help me see this project through. This would all have been for nought if it weren't for my husband and his unconditional love. He saw beauty within me where I saw ugliness and darkness. It was his constant encouragement and love that I learned to accept and love myself. His support is the reason that the idea for this campaign sparked in my mind. Thank you to all my dear advisors from AAU. It would have been nothing short of impossible to have made it this far without your wisdom and support.
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Faithful friends & family Mom & Dad, Aai & Baba, Rahul Sawant, Rajvi Shah, Riddhi Sawant, Tejas Hingu, Stephanie Fernandes, Swagat Patel, Ying Wang, Geo Monjes, Tim Murakami, Ziv ChiaWen Tsau, Fanny Yu, Jolin Tsai, Pear Weerawong, PeiHua Lee, Huilin Miao, Eri Takatsuka, Vivi Hsu, Bella Huang, Vanessa Lin, Hanisha Amin, Elizabeth Hemingway, Dudley Duberry, Tim O’Connell, Raji Punjabi, Parko Premvaranon, Andy Wu, Amanda Fetterly. Special credits: Web developement: Swagat Patel, Tejas Hingu Photography: Tim Murakami, Ziv ChiaWen Tsau Copywriting: Stephanie Fernandes Art Direction & Animation: Rahul Sawant
MFA Thesis by Shaily Shah portfolio/ shailyshah.com thesis/ hundredpercentyou.com school/ Academy of Art University course/ Graphic Design directors/ Phil Hamlett, Jeremy Stout, Carolina de Bartolo, Hunter Wimmer typefaces/ Proxima Nova, Novecento, Bodoni printing & binding/ Blurb.com