TRASHCANDYLAB
2019-2022
In 2018, I decided to pick art back up again posting casually on Instagram and X (Formerly Twitter). Mostly posting paintings, I gathered a small audience of 50 followers. Although I wasn't fully open to monetizing my hobbies, a close friend convinced me to design merchandise.
Soon after, with consistency and utilizing a cross-platform strategy, I grew an audience from 50 to 5,000 followers on Instagram within a year. My art continued to gain traction as more small businesses began to pop up within the K-pop community. At the end of my run, I had designed more than 30 products, averaging in 326 orders per launch with consistent engagement and revenue.
statistics
*at its peak.
merch design
Brand Strategy
Beyond the community aspect, I fostered positive relationships with my audience through engaging, interactive content to promote products that reflect industry trends and KPIs. Using Adobe Photoshop, I designed over 30 enamel pins, jewelry, and bags. Based on performance, polls, Q&As, and surveys, these indicators would lead my decisions on which products to produce.
In addition to managing audience engagement, I oversaw production and quality of my products communicating with overseas manufacturer. It was my job to design products, track business expenses, promote launches, and process orders. Through this strategy the business saw a 58% revenue growth and 31.1% increase in storefront impressions.
cross-platform strategy
project manager
2018-2020
Before delving into an online business, I spent much of my time connecting with fan communities in late 2017. I built a platform on X (Twitter) by sharing my art and opinions which connected me to many of my closest friends and has brought me many opportunities. I was often active in fanbase accounts with as many as 10k+ followers to smaller accounts, supporting organic growth and contributing my artistic skills for marketing campaigns and fan engagement projects.
These fanbases included: @USA_INNERCIRCLE, @WAYVUNION, @NCTinLA, and @USuperM_Project.
project involvement
WINNER
banner project
In 2019, I joined the @USA_INNERCIRCLE creative team to contribute designs and help improve project outreach. I was assigned to design banners for the Dallas and San Francisco stops of WINNER's first USA tour. During the ideation process, the creative team wanted the designs to resonate with fans to create a memorable experience. This is when we decided to design the banners based on local monuments namely the Dallas Skyline and San Francisco Bridge.
banner designs
Dallas Design
SF Design
WINNER with my designs!
SuperM Banner Project
As a Project Manager, my role was to boost awareness and encourage fan engagement through marketing campaigns on Twitter and Instagram. I partnered with two creators to expand and better target our audience segments for a successful launch. I served as an Artist and Funds Manager, focused on production, content creation, and budgeting.
Another responsibility was to design assets and generate interest in our projects by designing social media posts. I also made sure we stayed on track by following up with the team for creative assets and copy.
cross-platform strategy
By analyzing insights to build 3,000 followers on my personal X account averaging at 25k+ impressions and 4k engagements per post, I used a cross-platform strategy to promote our fan engagement project. Through a combined effort between @staypeachyco, @cytaoplasm, and myself (@trashcandylab), we reached over 30,000 online users with our campaign.
Overall, our goal with these projects was to enhance brand presence and create a special experience for fans. With consistent interaction and promotion, we were able to raise $2,100 under 17 days towards producing banners for an event in Dallas and Los Angeles. We printed 30,000 banners to be passed out including our brands on the back leading to further exposure.