1) What do you consider to be your medium, style, and services of choice? Describe why you feel that is the case.
I consider my medium of choice to be predominately motion design. I am still finding my footing in terms of developing my style, but at the current moment I would say that my style is light, modern, and whimsical. I tend to use expressive color palettes in my work, use silly characters, and try to inject some sense of light-heartedness into many projects. My services have varied in the few freelance jobs I've had. I've done logos for local entrepreneurs, lyric videos, album artwork, digital artwork commissions, and others. I think that people and potential clients are beginning to see that I have a developing style, and they want that style represented in something they want created. I find that my style is influenced by my Korean heritage and the whimsical designs I have created are representative of Korean imagery I've been around for my entire life.
2) To which customers will your products and services most appeal?
I feel like companies and clients that use expressive media and have a lighter presence in the industry could enjoy my services. I think that companies that cater to a younger / young adult demographic would connect to my work and style. I would love to create lyric videos, album artwork, print & digital work for budding modern artists. I enjoy younger cosmetics brands like Sephora, Tatcha, Benefit, Urban Decay, LUSH, Colourpop and many more brands all use modern design trends that I think are similar to my style.
3) More unique = Less competition
I find that since I don't know what my niche exactly is yet, I don't have a clear idea on what I can provide to clients. I think this goes back to having confidence as a designer that we discussed in class in that I don't know exactly how I want to brand myself yet. I do know that I like to approach my design research and work with a level of consciousness and empathy towards the audience I am catering towards. I try to be mindful of current events and social issues and I find that my Asian-American background influences my view on design and the world. Perhaps this can weave into my niche and I think this approach can differentiate my brand and approach from other competitors.
Some problems I would like to address in my design work
Thoughtful / accessible design
Present thought-provoking work or ideas that challenges people
Inspire people
Inspiration that leads to action
Raise awareness on issues
Create promotional materials for cosmetics that promote healthy images for women, men, etc.
At the moment, motion is my medium of choice and I want to be able to present ideas through motion that can educate and challenge people. Social justice and social/political issues strike a chord with me, so I think I may want to create informative pieces and materials to educate people. In terms of cosmetics and beauty, I also want to create promotional materials that celebrate diversity. But again, I am unsure of what career route I want to pursue.
4) Conduct a bit of secondary research to see just how competitive your chosen market is. Create a list of links with short sentences describing how competitors are approaching their niche to address the kinds of problems that interest you.
Cosmetics and beauty are a $445 billion industry and many companies are seeking branding and design specialists. There are so many different types of cosmetics companies, and many cater to younger women like myself. I feel like my view and experience working in the beauty / cosmetics industry give me an edge over the competition.
There are also a lot of motion designers out there, but I think that information design which is another market I am interested in could be a niche for me. Informational materials come in many forms, especially print. I think being able to create informative motion pieces as well as print materials or posters could be interesting and more of a specialty role. I did a search for graphic designers specializing in information design, but I was left confused. Many freelance graphic designers show that they are a jack of all trades which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I found that many lack a niche.