Shine Advisor - Ideas on Packaging, Design and Possibility

Beauty is such a fun market to play in, and a smart one to play in too. Lipstick and nail polish, though not considered true economic indicators anymore, are still some of the most stable consumer items, seeing healthy sales even through financial recessions. Beauty is a small-ticket indulgence that can be scaled up or down as consumers flow through lifestyle transitions. Why is beauty so fun? Because it’s full of emotion. It’s vibrant. Moody. Dramatic. Playful. It has personality, because it exists to inspire . Celebrities are often called on to show off the products, serving as aspirational role models for glamour. But strangely, as much fun as this segment is in terms of brand imagery and inspiring, dramatic advertising, the cosmetics retail aisle for these products feels disjointed and definitively uninspiring.  Why is that? Part of the challenge is the nature of the packaging; beauty products come in small sizes that collectively form a busy mosaic in the aisl

Industry is taking a closer look at refills in an effort to truly close the loop on material usage. Several large and influential companies are making an incredible investment in a cradle-to-cradle model, honoring the significance and urgency of the environmental waste issue. Putting aside the driving need for solutions to the unsustainable material usage and waste problem, I’d like to take a look at the renewed attention behind refills as a consumer product model. The Refill Dilemma I’ve developed refill concepts for healthcare and personal care a number of times in my industry career, and the projects always took the same detour back to custom, one-time-use packaging. Our team believed consumers wouldn’t go for the refill approach. The complexity of managing a durable container that had to be kept clean and somehow stand up to daily, on-going use was a step too far from the easier, and often less costly option of standard packaging. A refill model requ

Blog Series — Find a Translator to Turn Technology into Strategic Gold In this four-part series I’m exploring the ways to bring powerful differentiation to market with more seamless processes: building a strong bridge of communication between R&D and Marketing, exploring and leveraging product claims, using both the left and right brain in development, and ensuring a continuous influx of fresh technology insights. Part 4: Keeping the Future Fresh The best way to continue reaping the benefits of fresh thinking is to continually immerse in it. When you commit to knowing the tide and trends of the marketplace, you soon become expert at scanning the landscape. When something truly novel enters the frame, you recognize it immediately and jump on it before your competition even realizes the ramifications. Keeping the future fresh is about creating intersections for ideas. Feed your innovation landscape a rich mix of inspiration to enjoy more “aha!” moments. As