Since I promised to write about my senior project here on the blog…
Introducing: Re:Craft. A platform for crafters and DIYers where they can share their art, connect with other artists, sell their craft projects, and many more.
Initially, I was supposed to do an animal/pet adoption app, but I had to scrap it off the table after seeing a newly launched local app that does the similar thing. My number one worry was always how I’m going to defend the uniqueness of my project. So I thought of something more unheard of, locally. And since I have a knack of thrifting and transforming the heck out of it, I decided to use that as a concept, as I was running out of time back then.
MY ARGUMENT:
In recent years, there’s been an increased interest in DIY crafting. In fact, the size of craft and DIY industry in the Philippines today is a staggering $30 million up from $18.7 in 2016. But in a recent study, while 73% of respondents showed interest in DIY, it recedes to a decline of 24%, making it 49% of respondents who really do DIY themselves.
While there are a ton of DIY and craft platforms, there’s no denying that there’s still a lack of accessibility to DIY locally. Today’s DIY culture offers a wide array of platforms for crafters, but each has a disadvantage over accessibility; Workshops demand a lot of planning and scheduling (which really drags the whole mood altogether), DIY bars demand a relatively pricy accessibility (plus you don’t get to keep the materials), and DIY websites are scattered here and there (heck, even Pinterest is one whole mumble jumble of a mess sometimes).
The app is essentially Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Etsy, and a little bit of BuzzFeed all rolled into one.
Aside from being accessible as an app on your phone, Re:Craft is also social. Provided with your own profile, upload and share your craft projects with friends! With detailed craft posts where you can share the materials you used, the procedure, etc., share your creative genius-ness with other crafters. You can follow other users, like, share, and comment on their posts, ala-Instagram. leave them a message with the built-in inbox/chatroom. You can even list your project as an item for sale, and check out other for sale items on the Marketplace, ala- Etsy, and check out how-to videos on Re:Craft TV, ala-YouTube.
Lastly, Re:Craft also has Re:Blog that features a news feed/blog page that features various news and articles on arts, crafts, and its impact on the environment (upcycling, recycling, fast fashion waste, etc.)
For the branding, I opted for a 70’s/80’s look as thrifting and upcycling really grew popular on this era (there was the recession in America, and the Hippies against huge companies and mass production, etc.) I made it very fun to embody the creative energy of DIY and crafts, while still balancing it with a clean and professional layout.
Here are some of the marketing stuff from this projects too:
SOCIAL MEDIA (Awareness)
Re:craft will keep an active presence in other social media outlets, like Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, etc. to keep a buzz on the cyberspace. Additionally, Re:craft will keep a close partnership with art and crafts supply stores to have an active presence in the existing market’s routinary circle.
THE RE:CRAFT BAR (Influence)
The Re:Craft bar is an annual crafting/DIY event, where all materials will be provided for everyone to go all out on. DIY anything and post on the app with the tag #recraftbarchallenge, and share/link to at least one other social media. The most like and share count wins a prize!
DIY OF THE MONTH (Influence)
One of Re:craft’s main features, is the DIY of the Month Starter Kits. Monthly, there will be a featured DIY project, in which the materials needed are stored in a starter kit box that are available for shipping right onto your doorstep so you can get your craft on!
CONTENT (Capture)
New stuff will be posted every week in the app blog and videos section, including a bi-monthly featured artist video, where featured artist will be interviewed while crafting a project. The item will then be sold/auctioned in the Marketplace.
The main goal of this project is to make DIY and crafts more accessible, to encourage and cultivate a more creative and self-sustaining community. By encouraging people to create than purchasing (that will eventually be thrown away), landfill waste will hopefully lessen, and eventually help build a healthier environment.
(read the full detail on this project at my portfolio site!)
This was a quick brand and app design project for a design class that my friend Patrice and I teamed up on. We were tasked to create and design an app that works like Tinder for artists.
We came up with Astirisk with the idea of an app that can be a quick swipe-left-swipe-right concept of Tinder, while being a show and tell platform for designers like Dribbble and Bēhance.
Astirisk is a place where designers can connect with fellow artists and even non designers who are looking to collaborate with different artists. Whether you’re an online magazine company looking for a graphic designer, or even a photographer looking for a makeup artist––Astirisk serves as a pool for all kinds of artists looking for a collaboration.
⚠️ (Photos are not mine and were used only for this project in class for visual presentation. I do not claim any rights to the photos in any way. Credits go to their respective owners. Similarly, the app does not exist in any app store. This was only created for a design class.)
Co-created with Patrice Catindig.
A side note: A friend of mine pointed out a funny coincidence which was that why do I keep working on projects named after punctuation marks (Comma Apparel & Astirisk) hahahaha