Bouroullec | Eptome French Artist

One of my favorite artist and designer is Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec brother. They are famous for designing the Samsung Serif TV in 2015. It was a complete shock to the world as its design was much more contemporary interior furniture than a hi-tec consumer elctronic. I believe the serif TV pioneered this new direction in consumer electronic design trends. It’s usage of soft and textured fabric back panel has given the simple flat rectangular panel an emotional connection to something you want to keep close to your cozy soft and gently draped curtains. It’s side panel design that is inspired by one of the most traditional type font style; serif also conveys a warm & gentle connection to a contemporary furniture.

Bouroullec brother’’ design is always so emotional and different than other designer’s work. It’s somewhere in-between art and design. It’s has the functional benefits but, more importantly it is a masterpiece art. It has the charming attraction that makes collectors wanting to keep at their most intimate place. It’s timeless and trendy at the same time. Perhaps, Bouroullec is the eptome French Contemporary artist.

is recycled plastic the ultimate solution to sustainable packaging in beauty industry?

From our new government policy to multi-national corporations, everyone is demanding more sustainable and environmental products, and services from businesses. Even financial investment industry is focusing on investing their money in companies who are playing in the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) field. European Commission decided to ban all throwaway plastic packaging by 2023. Under this new EU rules, European states are expected to recycle 90 percent of their plastic bottles by 2025. These new sustainable packaging regulations and new policies are reshaping the refined and rigid beauty industry. From small business to global corporations are demanded to change their process and supply chain in order to transition to more sustainable products and services.

During these early stage of the sustainable discussions, plastic is on the hot seat. Everyone is looking at plastic as main material to transition away from or transform the manufacturing process. As everyone is looking into plastic as the main source of evil to environment, it is critical that we really don’t loose sight on carbon footprint impact of plastic vs. other alternative material such as glass or paper. Plastic has so many manufacturing and logistic advantages that reduces the carbon footprint impact compared to alternatives. And, this is why it is almost impossible to stop using plastic as main packaging platform anytime soon.

There are two different types of recycling process within plastic packaging; chemical recycled plastic and mechanical recycled plastic. The mechanical recycled plastic is essentially using already produced and distributed plastic packaging and reusing those materials back into the manufacturing process such as injection molding. It is the more immediate and cost effective solutions to sustainable plastic manufacturing. However, it has some disadvantages such as discoloration, lack of quality control and aesthetic limitations. On the other hand, chemical recycled plastic is more time consuming and expensive to implement. But, this chemical recycling process can essentially make the post consumed plastic packaging back to its original resin compound form. The only question is how much carbon footprint do we save during this post process to transform these packaging back to its original resin form. Also, the post consumed recycling infrastructure needs to be improved vestry in order to reduce the cost of this process. regional municipal waste industry needs to transform their business quickly in order to make this chemical recycling a chance to compete for ultimate solution to sustainable packaging solutions.

Korean makeup beauty brand, Clio Cosmetics recently launched its new Prism Highlighter Duo in 30% certified recycled content that includes, Eastman’s post consumed recycled plastic. Eastman is stating that Clio cosmetic is using their molecular recycling technologies called Cristal Renew. Even though Clio cosmetic is a rather smaller player within the cosmetic industry with small footprint in the global market, it is interesting to see global specialty chemical company partnering with beauty brand to launch chemical recycled plastic packaging. I am thrilled to see more beauty brands partnering with plastic chemical and manufacturing companies to innovate and implement this new technology.

Maintaining your creativity.

I randomly picked up a book from Barnes & Nobles last week. The book is called ‘Creativity Sucks’ by Phil Hansen. This book cover is not particularly well designed. The main cover has hand written white chalk on blackboard like typography. Also, the book has many illustrators or visuals that is hand drawn with pencil like textures. I have been drawn to this book because I resonate so much with this topic. As a creative designer and educator, I have constantly felt the creative blocks. I have ran into this barriers to inspiration, inability to access my most creative thoughts. I have felt un-inspired. For the past several years, I felt like my duty was to manage all my workloads and reduce noise from cross functional members. I felt like I am asked to just get projects done and push through. I was so used to this day to day task. I got really good at it as well. But, I felt like something has been taken away from me. My ability to think independently and create something that is new, innovative, breakthrough, and inspiring. The joy of creating something from scratch has been missing. I am now able to feed my creativity once again. I am able to feed my creativity soul with some new ingredients. I can’t wait to see where this new beginning will take me.

New Beginning.

This is the Inauguration Day. Joe Biden will be sworn in as our 46th president of the United States of America. It’s the beginning of the new day.

I am relieved to witness the smooth transition of power. I am also very glad that unity will be the new agenda from our government opposed to anti-globalization and dividing the country. As much as I am excited for the new start for our country, I am also very excited to start a new phase in my creative career as well. As I am no longer a full time package design director at Clinique, I have some space and time to calibrate my career trajectory and re-build my next chapter. I will miss so many things from my previous work. I had some of the most talented creatives from their field of expertise. I collaborated with cross functional leaders who works with passion for excellence in their duty. I have worked with engineer, developer, formulator, material scientist, injection molding expertise, and branding and content creators. I have learned so much during my tenure at Clinique. I have witness how global in-house creative team maintain clear and compelling brand voice and communication. I have been part of 360 creative content creation for holidays, Chinese New Year, and many seasonal moments. I have worked on sustainable packaging strategy task force team.

I am ready to take everything I have learned during my previous work and transform myself once again. I am filled with excitement. I can’t wait to build my own future once again.

The benefits (and pitfalls) of working in-house.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Amet aliquam id diam maecenas ultricies mi eget mauris. At auctor urna nunc id. Eu lobortis elementum nibh tellus molestie nunc non blandit. Dui sapien eget mi proin sed libero. Dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit ut aliquam purus sit. Sed ullamcorper morbi tincidunt ornare massa eget. A condimentum vitae sapien pellentesque habitant. Cras tincidunt lobortis feugiat vivamus at augue. Habitant morbi tristique senectus et. Consectetur purus ut faucibus pulvinar elementum integer enim. Iaculis urna id volutpat lacus laoreet non curabitur. Tellus integer feugiat scelerisque varius morbi enim nunc faucibus. Velit sed ullamcorper morbi tincidunt ornare massa eget. Quis blandit turpis cursus in hac. Elementum facilisis leo vel fringilla. Tincidunt arcu non sodales neque sodales ut etiam sit. Vitae nunc sed velit dignissim sodales ut eu. Et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas integer.

Putting yourself in the client's shoes.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Amet aliquam id diam maecenas ultricies mi eget mauris. At auctor urna nunc id. Eu lobortis elementum nibh tellus molestie nunc non blandit. Dui sapien eget mi proin sed libero. Dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit ut aliquam purus sit. Sed ullamcorper morbi tincidunt ornare massa eget. A condimentum vitae sapien pellentesque habitant. Cras tincidunt lobortis feugiat vivamus at augue. Habitant morbi tristique senectus et. Consectetur purus ut faucibus pulvinar elementum integer enim. Iaculis urna id volutpat lacus laoreet non curabitur. Tellus integer feugiat scelerisque varius morbi enim nunc faucibus. Velit sed ullamcorper morbi tincidunt ornare massa eget. Quis blandit turpis cursus in hac. Elementum facilisis leo vel fringilla. Tincidunt arcu non sodales neque sodales ut etiam sit. Vitae nunc sed velit dignissim sodales ut eu. Et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas integer.