EVELYN:

Storytelling with Lester Lee

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We begin every week’s session with the same question, “Okay, who is going to start first?” and the best moment is the one where we all look at each other and wait for a response. This week, Evelyn was eager to go first. Her infectious enthusiasm got us all pumped up to find out what or who she will be sharing about. We were taken to Lester Lee’s website and immediately expected Evelyn to dive right into his works. Instead, she took a pause and told us that Lester Lee used to be one of her lecturers in school. “I really admire what he and his wife Charmaine are doing. They are goals,” she said with gleaming eyes.

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The ‘Ken’t Go Rong’ wedding video is one of Evelyn’s favourite videos from Lester Lee. A wedding video that is true to the bride and groom’s personality really makes you feel things. After exploring their works, we can tell that the team at Lester Lee takes pride in their method of storytelling. Another favourite that we all thoroughly enjoyed was ‘How to find a kiwi’, which was a personal project done by the adventurous duo when they were travelling in New Zealand. We never knew how much having a narrator in a film could easily make us feel like we were part of the journey.

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Beyond aesthetic enjoyment, Lester Lee’s works bring to the table a heartwarming experience; the kind that makes you laugh and cry at the same time. “Their style is very original and the attention to detail is very obvious,” Evelyn adds at the end of her sharing.

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NELLA:

A Wholesome Experience with Korean Englishman (and JOLLY)

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It is always interesting to see what kind of YouTube channels we each subscribe to as you get to explore a person’s happy place through their subscriptions. This week, Nella introduced us to a channel that (she feels) uploads wholesome content. Before we dive in, you need to know that in her first week at Aquí, Nella heard us talk a lot about Billie Eilish (guilty). And that was what made her want to share this video with us:

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Created by Josh Carrott and Ollie Kendal, Korean Englishman is a YouTube channel (with 3.73 million subscribers) that promotes the Korean culture in the United Kingdom. Jolly is, as quoted on Wikipedia, the “sidekick channel” to Korean Englishman. The video that Nella shared with us was of Reverend Christopher Lee (close friends of Carott and Kendal) reacting to Billie Eilish. We must admit, that was really some wholesome content.

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In the video, Reverend Chris expresses his thoughts and emotions while watching a few of Billie Eilish’s videos. We go through a roller coaster of emotions with him as we observe his facial expressions. Their interactions are very real and humane, a pattern that you pick up in most of the videos on Korean Englishman. Is that what wholesome is - authenticity? We asked one another what wholesome actually means, but we cannot quite put our finger on the exact definition. To try and sum it up, when we describe something as wholesome, it probably means that it instils a sense of fulfilment or happiness in us, the kind that makes your heart go “Aww…”  Vox did a much better job at trying to explain this, so feel free to click on this link to a whole article about the wholesome culture if you are interested.

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MARIA:

Hair Positivity with Prose

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Maria began her sharing by telling us how she had always wanted to have thin and straight hair. She exclaims to the team, “I love and want all of your hair!” Well, for the record, the rest of us would like to express our love for Maria’s curly hair that she carries so fabulously. Anyway, she mentioned that she recently came across the Instagram page of the hair care brand Prose, and felt really inspired seeing photos of people who were rocking different hair types. Riding on that inspiration, she has recently decided not to straighten her hair, just to be reminded of how it feels.

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Prose is a hair care brand that customises products to each individual, respecting and providing for everyone of different hair types. “We created Prose as an answer to mass-produced products that were designed to cater to everyone, but benefited no one,” as stated on their website. Well, cheers to that! The brand might seem like one of those who joined the bandwagon of creating personalised products, but the approach that they have taken to market themselves really set them apart from the others.

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The brand identity was developed by Red Antler. On first look, we did get reminded of Aesop’s branding, but slightly less clinical and a lot more breezy. The tone of voice used in their online content emphasises a lot on authenticity and individuality, in line with the brand’s messaging. Overall, it just makes us feel like celebrating ourselves for who we are through the magic of hair care.

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“We crafted a brand that exudes beauty, but is anchored in precision. From gorgeous photography that elevates each botanical ingredient to custom product labels that celebrate and explain the inputs for every person’s bottle down to geography and eating or exercise habits, we were able to weave an irresistible story around customized hair care.” — Red Antler

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YU TING:

Falling in love with Hinge (or Hingie)

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Sometimes after spending a day at the office, all we want is literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air. Well, if you are reading this and you feel the same way, then you are (virtually) at the right place. Last week, Yu Ting came across an article on Dezeen featuring the brand identity for Judy that was (also) developed by Red Antler. She then explored the company’s website and stumbled upon the campaign they created for the dating application Hinge, which to her was a breath of fresh air.

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“Through Hingie’s death, we’re letting singles know that Hinge is dying for them to find love,” says Nathan Roth, chief marketing officer at Hinge.

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Not only did the tagline send chills, but also when a big dating app markets themselves as the “Dating App Designed to Be Deleted”, you immediately feel special and cared about. How do you not feel moved after watching Hingie the fluffy mascot (that resembles their app icon) die after users have found love? It is in itself an act of love that the Hinge marketing team and Red Antler have perfected. If any of you are sad to see Hingie go, do not worry because it continues to live in a merch shop and on its Instagram account.