Reimagining the Face Painting Experience for Young-at-Heart Adults

Entrepreneurship | 3 months | Aug - Nov 2021

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Entrepreneurship

Brand strategy

Service design

Web design

Face painting is not just for kids, but adults are often hesitant about getting their face painted.

Deliverables
Website design
Social media strategy
Service design
‍Business card redesign

Timeline
Aug — Nov 2021

Background
I started “Lina's Face Painting” in 2016 with a simple palette that grew into a weekend venture. As a smile-maker, my mission is to build inclusive experiences to bring face painting to everyone, including those who are young-at-heart.

‍Challenge
The event entertainment industry primarily focuses on kids. It's rare to see adults participate. I took on the mission to reimagine the face painting experience for people of all ages, by redesigning the brand identity, website, business cards and the service experience.
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Outcome
The rebrand introduced me to 22 events in 3 months, where 30 adults (and over 230 kids) were painted. As a result, the monthly revenue increased by 3x and referral rates by 2x compared to 2016 when I first started.

Industry offerings

Many companies in Canada offer entertainment services and rentals for children between pre-school and elementary school. Some offerings include mascots, bubble show, bouncy castles, just to name a few.

Most businesses are family-owned

Most businesses are family-owned with 3+ employees, offering popular options such as face painting, balloon twisting and magic shows. Most entertainers are millennials, moms and dads whose children are in high-school / post-secondary.

Untapped market

While most services listed are not labelled for children, only children participate in them. Other age groups (parents, grand parents, siblings etc.) are often observing or taking photos for the younger ones.

Opportunity

As body painting (such as temporary tattoos, henna) are gaining popularity, there are no reason for adults not to participate. As someone with a fine arts background, I'm curious about exploring non-traditional designs for young adults and adults, who are young-at-heart. As a Gen Z myself, I'm well-positioned to connect with guests of all ages.

What's stopping older kids from getting their face painted?

To answer these questions, I spoke directly to the guests while painting them:

Turns out, most of my guests were girls younger than 10. Was this a coincidence?

I wanted to get a holistic understanding of the market. Over the next 5 events, I captured the demographic. Then, I looked at how face painting services are advertised, and collected testimonials from other face painters.

Research methodologies

Testimonials

Findings

Older kids prefer mature or delicate designs that look cool or 'instagram-able'.

Most adults said it was their first time getting face painted because they felt like they were "too old to get their face painted".

To most face painters, painting quickly is more important than engaging with the guests.

There seems to be an appeal...

So how might we make the face painting experience as exciting for adults as they are for kids?

Solution highlights:

I noticed that the booking process has the most friction. Adults who reach out to me are often wondering about the paint safety, how many hours to book, the booking process, and whether all the guests can be painted during the booked hours.

Opportunties

Inform safety, and booking procedures through the website
Acquire new customers through Instagram
Easy referral through business cards
Optimize the painting experience for efficiency

I wanted the website to be visual-heavy, and embodying the words playful, authentic, inclusive and safe, while offering a simple booking process. The gallery will consist of authentic photos of our guests with diverse backgrounds. The copywriting will emphasize "inclusion".

Challenges & Constraints

Unfortunately I could not implement all the designs due to technical limitations. Moreover, August to November is a peak season for face painter so it was important to get the website up quickly and tested with users.

I created the logo in a doodle-style of illustration for simplicity and to connect with more matured audience without losing playfulness.

Horizontal

Standard layout that is familiar to our audience, easier to navigate information.

Vertical

Modern, un-ordinary layout and attracts younger audience.

Hybrid

The back is horizontal to help guests parse information quickly, the front is vertical to stand out from traditional face painting services. I received feedback from our clients that they prefer this design overall. A little un-ordinary and fun, but still user-friendly!

Re-evaluating the metrics

Annual revenue increased by 3x since 2016
Referral rates increased by 2x since 2016
Instagram following grew to 60 through content creations.
Adult count increased to 11% of all guests from 3% prior.

continue to monitor revenue and referral rates, as well as demographic distribution.
tap into other markets by partnering with indoor playgrounds and community events.
continuously monitor upcoming trends (movies, social media) to generate new designs.
pilot tattoo stream and get feedback from guests.

Reimagining the Face Painting Experience for Young-at-Heart Adults

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