For my first week of studying Media Innovation we were challenged with coming up with a new creative idea centred around creative audiences. I wanted to create an app which would help my target audience and be useful - I came up with a idea centred around an app which utilises the consumers phone camera to take multiple photos to compile an accurate skin colour match to help make-up wearers find foundations or concealers that work with their skin tone, working with brands and stores such as Boots to provide links to products and reviews.
My target audience is people aged 15-25 years old who are interested in makeup - as I feel this age range engage most with makeup in their spare time but don't necessarily have the funds available to continuously try out new products without being able to sample or try them out. Therefore, these individuals would be interested in an app which would allow them to try out different colours and tones on themselves for free. Most apps or tools available on the market only use images of the users faces to compile colour matches, which can lead to a mask effect where the face is a different colour to the neck and chest; to improve on this my app would colour match using the neck and chest as well as the face to be more accurate.
The skills needed for this idea
App building
Marketing
Social media presence – making potential users aware
Financing – such as hosting the app on app stores
To build an app I would need to learn the code required for both Apple and Android devices, or hire a developer. The most popular coding languages are C++, Ruby, Javascript, Java, Python and Swift – there are platforms available which help you build an app, however most of them are not free and require a monthly payment for use of their software.
Additionally, the process of creating an app requires planning for layout, graphics and format to ensure users can easily navigate and experience the app, the integration of camera usage is a key feature and needs to be easily accessible. For the initial release the app should be kept simple with non-core features removed, as they can be added in a future update – this should help to reduce cost and time spent getting it ready for the market, this would allow me to gain user feedback and adjust my ideas for future updates. User feedback in the form of reviews is also essential as it'll highlight any issues that may have been overlooked or features which could be changed, simplified or design features which require some overhaul.
However, before the app could even be considered being publicised extensive consumer research, market research and testing would need to be undertaken - to ensure my product fills a gap in the market and provides a user friendly interface, which will make my product more appealing and marketable. Marketing would also be key to the success of a beauty based app, my primary approach to the marketing would be to reach out to beauty bloggers and YouTubers to mention my product in a sponsored post on social media or feature in a video; this is currently a very common way for apps to be marketed, as it allows the creators to choose content creators who represent or produce content for their target audience.
Another thing to consider would be the integration of analytics to help track user engagement and downloads – there are tools available for this such as Flurry, but it would require the help of a developer or further learning about code; which would increase cost and time.