Need to Know
05 : 08 : 22

LATAM – Recognising the visually driven behaviour of Gen Z audiences, the music streaming platform’s latest campaign is putting a spotlight on its young subscribers. The campaign, by Brazilian media agency Soko, uses stop motion, 3D and 2D mediums to create animated films and out-of-home (OOH) adverts.

Aligning with familiar life stages of Gen Z audiences, the work draws on topics such as falling in love or sitting college entrance exams. Soko also chose to work with artists that are currently most popular with Gen Z in Latin America, including Fa & Fon, Fromm, Alexandre Louvenaz and Juan R Lage. Fabiana Falcão, design and creative director at Soko, explains the process of selecting artists, saying: ‘We searched from 2D artists to more experimental ones who speak to Gen Z’s maximalism and irony.’

In this way, Spotify tunes into the emotional narratives surrounding music, as well as important scenarios for this generation. By communicating a strong visual narrative, the platform promotes its audio content in a way that appeals to Gen Viz.

London – Music organisation UD is redesigning its website, social media accounts and merchandise to ‘avoid the tropes of Black music culture’ and to combat racial tokenism. The rebranding, which was completed by digital agency Templo, aims to shatter the harmful stereotypes of Black music culture and embrace its contemporary aesthetic.

Due to the racial connotations of the word ‘urban’, which is frequently used to describe the music of Black artists, Templo changed the name of the company from Urban Development to United Development. Pali Palavathanan, the creative director of Templo, describes the project as, ‘a precious opportunity to readdress some of the preconceptions about black music culture and what people of colour want and need to see in the brand that represents them.’

The designers behind the rebrand drew inspiration from their own personal experience as ‘people of colour growing up on council estates,’ to inform the design. The result is a powerful example of Intersectional Design that recognises the subtleties of the subject at hand.

Despite the cost of living crisis and rising inflation, a report by YouGov reveals that consumers are still willing to sacrifice comfort and ease for sustainability. According to the survey, more than one in seven people in the UK would be willing to move if their home town or workplace don’t become greener.

Indeed, sustainability ranks as a top concern among many important life decisions. Nearly a third (31%) of those polled said they wanted to work for the nation's greenest company, while 44% said they wanted to live in the UK's greenest city. To help cities become more sustainable, respondents identified public transport as a key priority. According to the study, 41% of respondents believe that local public transport needs to be improved to reduce their neighbourhood’s carbon impact.

While many analysts are quick to assume that consumers sacrifice sustainability in the face of rising costs and prices, this survey suggests otherwise. Indeed, sustainability will soon become a key metric of Urban Wellness, as the climate crisis continues to affect our health and wellbeing.