ASHLEY TSENG
WORK Creative Strategy, Website Design
Branding, Website Design, Print Design
Design Systems, Website Design
Branding, Print Design, Motion Design
Publication Design
Exhibition Design
ARCHIVE
INFO
Work 1
Addiction Tokyo
Creative Strategy, Branding, Website Design
The Ask
Addiction Tokyo, a Japanese cosmetics brand under the Kosé corporation, asked Merkle to ignite brand heat in the U.S. market by engaging and inspiring first-time visitors who are just discovering the brand through digital platforms.
The OutcomeIn phase 1, we crafted and proposed a repositioning strategy and revitalized creative direction, including new, uniquely-treated typography and a bolder color palette, to inspire and empower everyday artists to express their creativity with Addiction Tokyo's products.
In phase 2, we designed and implemented enhancements and new features to their current website that addressed the brand’s more urgent need to increase revenue and sales, while also improving overall user experience to build customer loyalty.
TeamMerkle / Dentsu
This project had two phases with distinct objectives.
Initially, we were asked by Addiction Tokyo to create future concepts for the brand. Addiction Tokyo, a Japanese cosmetics brand under the Kosé corporation had recently launched in the United States back in September 2023, and needed expertise on the American beauty and cosmetics market.
Phase 1 aimed to develop future state branding and design concepts for Addiction Tokyo’s U.S. brand that aimed to be distinct yet still cohesive with the global brand based in Japan.
Phase 2 focused on simple yet effective enhancements that could be made more immediately to the current Addiction Tokyo website in order to drive revenue and customer loyalty.
In Phase 1, we were tasked with generating a selection of future state branding and design directions to best position Addiction Tokyo in the U.S. market.
With this final direction tag-lined “Be Your Own Muse,” we crafted and proposed a repositioning strategy and revitalized creative direction, including new, uniquely-treated typography and a bolder color palette, to inspire and empower everyday artists to express their creativity with Addiction Tokyo's products.
Billboard design playing with warped type and showcasing the brand’s eyeshadow shadesBillboard design using close-up shots of facial features to play with scale and highlight bold pops of colorInstagram grid and story mockups to promote the brand and show how their products look on real peopleWebsite designs for homepage, product landing page, and product detail page in desktop and mobileIdeas for TikTok ads and content to boost social medial presence
After future state work was put on hold, Addiction Tokyo asked us to implement a second phase of the project that would focus on site enhancements that could be designed, developed, and released within a relatively short amount of time.
This phase aimed to achieve quick wins that would address the brand’s more urgent need to increase revenue and sales, while also improving overall user experience to build customer loyalty.
“Shop the Look” module — show products applied on real people and inspire creative expression Product tile matrix — create cohesive ecosystem that makes product/shade selection easierOrders grid view — for users to quickly manage current and past purchasesProduct listing page — show available shades as default to make it easier on the userProduct Detail Page (desktop) – simplify image carousel and incorporate videos and social media contentCart — encourage users to purchase additional products by adding “free shipping” progress bar, “pair this with” product recommendations, and “you may also like” product carouselGlobal search — implement auto-complete feature for suggestions and offer relevant product recommendations
We introduced a new palette builder feature to the website that allows customers to select eyeshadow and blush shades to customize their own compact or choose from a selection of curated palettes from the brand.
One of the brand’s unique offerings is its wide range of eyeshadows, with over 99 shades. This new “build your compact” feature promotes the brand’s dedication to artistic expression and encourages customers to try more shades.
Addiction Tokyo is a brand that takes great pride in its identity as an artistry-driven brand and has key values of makeup as a medium for self-expression and self-discovery.
The brand’s creative director is Kanako Takase, a world-renowned makeup artist with an impressive career in the beauty and fashion industry. Addiction Tokyo is also a brand loved by makeup artists in the fashion world, so there is great opportunity for incorporating high quality inspiration content to the site.
To better align the brand’s online experience with the key values of self-expression and self-disovery, we wanted to redesign the “recreate the look” makeup tutorial template by cleaning up the interface and incorporating more photography and video content.