Wan Mohamed Afiq
Ikigai
During the start of the semester, the class was briefed an assignment where we would have to create a digital marketing campaign for lifestyle brand Ikigai. Ikigai offers products ranging from furniture, toiletries, home goods and clothing.
Understanding their values as a brand, it was important for me to understand what Ikigai means. Ikigai came from a Japanese concept that generally means “the reason for your being”; ‘iki’ means life, ‘gai’ is your values and worth. The concept of Ikigai looks to find the purpose of life through an individual understanding the things that bring value and joy in one’s life and what one can do to bring value to the source of said joy.
Problems
The brand was introduced on September 2020, and they are lacking exposure for them to increase interest in their brand. Being introduced during the pandemic, the brand’s lack of online presence has hindered their growth as many consumers had to opt for online shopping as in store shopping has been discouraged for the safety of the community. Ikigai’s only form of advertising has been their in store advertising done in their only store in Malaysia; a narrow reach for consumers to find out about their brand.
Ikigai looks to solve the aforementioned problems with a Digital Marketing campaign that focuses on the use of new media. As part of their digital campaign would want to create an online presence through the use of social media, banner ads and a website for users to be able to purchase products from. Based on the assignment brief, each individual member has been tasked to work on 3 social media posts, 3 banner ads and develop at least one page for their new website.
Design Approach
Approaching the design for this campaign, I have decided to go into direction of selling a lifestyle instead of the actual products. I wanted to show the audiences of Ikigai that the use of products could transport them to a utopia, where the products can open them up to focus on the important things in life: their relationships, well being and careers.
Aligning the designs with Ikigai’s brand values and promises, I have decided to go for a design language that is practical, minimal and simple; narrowing down the design elements to its utmost pragmatic form.
Banner Ad 1 - Live in Tranquility
Banner Ad 1 - Live in Tranquility
For the first online banner ad, I wanted to show the contrast between the hustle and bustle of living in the city and the calmness and tranquility of being at home. Emphasising the idea of the home being a sanctuary for modern people to get away from the noise and stress of the city.
For the copy of this ad, I have tried to speak to the consumers of Ikigai on the same level, using language that is understandable but with nuance. Although the word “tranquility” is not usually heard in everyday conversations but the word itself seems to provide the nuance I mentioned before; describing the sanctuary a home is supposed to be, quiet and peaceful.
Banner Ad 2 - Less is Enough
I have went on to create an ad that is simple in concept but at the same time believe that it is practical for the brand. For this ad, I wanted to depict a window into a beautiful life with the help of Ikigai. Thus, the ad will feature a slideshow of rooms that is supposedly furnished with Ikigai; a clean and minimally furnished room, creating an environment that is comfortable and liveable with only the necessary items one would need.
The copy “Less is enough.” is a play on the saying “Less is more”. The idea of minimalism and Ikigai is not about having more with less, but to have just enough for one to live life. Thus, enforcing this idea to consumers that they can remove all of the impulse derived from materialism just by having necessities in their lives, so that they can focus on other more rewarding matters in life.
Banner Ad 3 - Choose Comfort
For my final banner ad, the ideation came in a straightforward and direct manner as opposed to the other 2 ads. This ad was more focused on the copy rather than the actual design of the ad. I wanted to try to communicate with the audiences of Ikigai on a personal level, depicting a relatable situation for them to gravitate towards and remind them of the little moments in their daily lives.
Personally for me the chosen copy of this ad perfectly describes a relatable experience everyone has had before, which is the feeling of wanting to stay in bed for a little longer. The copy is sort of an encouragement for audiences to stay in the comfort of Ikigai beddings and comforters. Implying that Ikigai beddings are worth staying in bed for longer.
Social Media Post 1 - Eid Mubarak
For the first social media post, Ikigai will be celebrating Eid Mubarak, which would be posted on the day of the celebration. I have found that the essence of Eid Mubarak is the food. As the celebration involves the slaughter of an animal that would be shared among the muslim community, emphasising the values of togetherness and sharing during the celebration. Hence, the spread of food on the table that would be used to celebrate the occasion.
The copy featured on the would want to emphasise the values of sharing and togetherness, as it is an important aspect of the celebration. And at the same time Ikigai can include themselves in the values of togetherness, with their product offerings.
Social Media Post 2 - Tutorial Webpage Promo
![ikigai social media tutorial [Recovered].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/215d34_68778f6911aa407da1be0f142030d4e6~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_572,h_594,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/ikigai%20social%20media%20tutorial%20%5BRecovered%5D.png)
Next, to promote our tutorial page on the website which I will get into later, I have dedicated a post to inform users about it. During my ideation process,I have chosen the design style of an instruction manual as a visual context for users to relate to when we are describing furniture assembly.
Having this post on Ikigai’s social media accounts, can project Ikigai as a helpful brand that would want to ease their consumers as much as possible. Furthermore, with awareness of this feature on their website, this could drive more traffic into the Ikigai website.
Social Media Post 3 - Free from ambivelance.
The final post I would like to show would be an ad for Ikigai. This post serves as a reminder of what the brand stands for. Thus, the design is heavily based on the caption that is accompanied by the post.
Caption:
Remove ambivalence from your life to make way for the things you care about with IKIGAI. Our affordable prices and durability helps you have your attention to what’s important. Adopt the IKIGAI lifestyle today.
I wanted to show how, with Ikigai, users would be able to reach their full potential of showing their warmth, love and empathy towards their family, being able to focus on the things that are more important in life; symbolising their freedom from the noise and stress of the world.
The image used for this post is a depiction of consumers adopting the Ikigai lifestyle; being free from the noise in life and being able to focus on their own happiness.
Website Development - Homepage
The final outcome of the landing page is that I have tried to make it very clean and legible to ensure that users are not overwhelmed with too much information; only providing information that is useful for the brand and the users. So to ease users to quickly find what they need, they will be greeted with buttons that would direct them to the type of item they need whether it would be furniture, clothing or lifestyle items like toiletries and such. And if they want to browse the website to see what the brand is offering, they can scroll down to see the latest collections from Ikigai, in this case, it would be Ikigai Wooden Tableware.
Website Development - Tutorial Page
As mentioned before, for an added page for the web presence for Ikigai, my group agreed on having a tutorial/ help page to become a place where Ikigai can insert all of their helpful contents in one place.
The tutorial/ help page is for users to browse through for help in product assembly or just for inspiration for them to decorate their homes. For Ikigai this would be place where they could place all their hygiene content to retain audience engagement, through articles and videos regarding minimalism and home decor. The website maintains the same idea as the landing page, which is easing users to find what they need, with buttons to direct them to what they need. And if their issues are more specific, they can use the search bar. And if they just want to browse and see new content Ikigai has posted, they can simply scroll down to view them.