LSN : News : Augmenting isolation with virtual homeware

Creators AR is a marketplace for digital artists

Creators AR, Israel

Israel – Creators AR is the first Etsy-style marketplace for people who design and build augmented reality (AR) filters.

Pioneered by Leaders Group, a large-scale influencer marketing agency, Creators AR hopes to drive the future of digital content creation with its launch of the online marketplace. Serving brands and agencies, it is positioned as a one-stop-shop for AR filters and bespoke digital designs from global artists, making professional and imaginative filters accessible to anyone.

Featured artists create a profile and list their price per filter, while brands have the option to buy ready-made filters or commission artists to design customised assets for use on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

‘Creators AR enables us to actually communicate with the people creating the most viral content on the internet… skilled artists using augmented reality and real-time visual effects to design IG-filters that spark conversation and engagements,’ says Eran Nizri, founder and CEO of Leaders Group.

With digital creativity flourishing during the Covid-19 pandemic, brands must navigate how they effectively represent themselves while also entertaining audiences. To learn more about the future of digital consumer touchpoints, explore our Programmable Realities macrotrend.

Augmenting isolation with virtual homeware

Air Max Day Sofa by Crosby Studios

New York – Crosby Studios has created an augmented reality (AR) sofa for people to experience a sense of comfort during social isolation.

The digitally rendered sofa was created to celebrate Air Max Day, an annual celebration of Nike’s iconic shoe. The design comprises digitally upcycled Nike puffer jackets, which Crosby Studios is encouraging people to insert and view in their own surroundings during self-isolation, by way of an Instagram AR filter.

Designer Harry Nuriev says he created the installation ‘to encourage social connection while remaining physically distant, negating the reclusive attitude associated with social distancing’. It reinforces Air Max Day’s ethos of global community-building, while making design accessible in an era of self-isolation.

Designs like the Air Max Day Sofa reflect the artificiality of the digital world as it combines with our everyday interactions. For more on what this means for branding and design, read our Mirrored Realms Design Direction.

Covid-19: Lollipop’s cocktails support bar staff

London – A new scheme by the immersive hospitality group delivers professional cocktails to customers’ doors.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the new service from hospitality group Lollipop enables customers to drink bar-quality cocktails without leaving their home.

Bottles of the ready-made drinks – which include flavours such as cucumber, gin, elderflower and mint, and brandy, rum, peach and tea – can be purchased individually, in boxes of six or 12, or in a monthly subscription box priced at £25 ($30, €28). All are delivered with pouches of garnish for a finishing touch.

The initiative is designed to help shoppers support Lollipop’s portfolio of bars throughout the lockdown period, as it allows Lollipop to retain staff while its bars and restaurants are closed, while also maintaining a connection with its customers.

As drink brands adjust their services to life in isolation, look out for our forthcoming Virtual Happy Hour microtrend, which explores how drinking alone is becoming increasingly social.

Cocktails by Lollipop, London

Stat: The US beauty market could see its biggest decline

America’s cosmetics and toiletries market is set to record the sharpest decline in 60 years, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new forecasts by Kline.

While the previous biggest market dip was 0.8%, during the recession in 2009, the management consultancy has been forced to revise its £60bn ($75bn, €68bn) forecast due to the unfolding crisis, and now expects a 2.5% decline in the market in 2020.

‘The cosmetics market will undoubtedly suffer in 2020 and in the years to come, but we expect it to recover within three to five years as it has in all past recessions,’ says Carrie Mellage, vice-president of Kline’s consumer products practice. ‘Compared to other industries, the beauty market is fairly recession-proof, and its products will continue to be desired by consumers – both for meeting basic needs as well as an indulgence.’

Like all industries, the beauty sector will navigate new paths the coming year. To keep pace with the changing beauty market, explore our dedicated vertical.