Meitu and Dior team up to customise app UI design

Where digital personalisation fashion meet...​

Meitu, the publisher of the Chinese selfie photo enhancement app BeautyCam has moved into the high-end lifestyle sector by entering into an agreement with fashion giant and French-headquartered Dior.

Announcing the pair’s newly-formed relationship in Hong Kong on 1st March, the duo rolled out a new customised user interface (UI) design — their first in partnership  — for Valentine Day’s 2018.

The UI design, entitled “Miss Dior” is an example of how industries are merging​ to appeal to the Millennial and Gen Z demographics. As these generations’ consumer demands revolve around the importance of individuality and the ability to self-determine themselves​, UI personalisation combines these preferences with the high usage of mobile and sharing culture embraced by social media and app technology.

Seasonal selection​

Following its adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) this Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year​, the two heavyweights selected Valentine’s Day as part of its first customised UI design to draw upon the popularity and sharing opportunities associated with the celebrated event.

Its first rollout saw Meitu follow its mission of “inspiring more people in expressing their beauty”,​ along with incorporating Dior’s “classical style into the new UI with a pink touch [which] changes the selfie button into an icon of Miss Dior perfume bottle”​, a recent press release stated.

Rising reach​

"The cooperation between BeautyCam and Dior marks a new page for a camera app customising UI design for brands. The design not only adheres to Dior's unique aesthetics and corresponding marketing materials but meets BeautyCam's users' pursuit of beauty and fashion,"​ revealed Xinhong Wu, founder and CEO of Meitu.

Wu went on to state that the opening page and homepage icons also brought exposure. After two days, the new UI saw a surge of exposure outreach to nearly 250 million audience members and gained approximately 2.5 million clicks.

As part of its campaign, BeautyCam also ran a UGC (user-generated content) activity on Chinese social media platform Weibo, encouraging users to share their experiences of giving gifts to their loved ones.

Previous pairings​

Although it is the first time that fashion house Dior, has teamed up with BeautyCam, there are similarities between their launches and strategies. For example, Dior released its Addict lip gloss products in October 2017, when BeautyCam also unveiled a selfie AR 'tattoo kiss' feature in its app. The AR filter, powered by facial recognition technology, enables users to try out different lip colours.

Meitu has also worked with other luxury brands including Gucci, Mac and Nars to build upon the relationship between beauty from within and fashion."BeautyCam encourages female users to pursue beauty with confidence,"​ said Xinhong Wu, founder and CEO of Meitu. "Well-designed commercialisation does not harm the user experience; rather, it enriches the experience. We've maintained good relationships with high-end luxury brands to bring users more diverse features,"​ added Wu.