Thesis: the Introduction

"All about standing out, yet fitting in."

A short, paradoxical, but very true sentiment on the Millennials' mindset toward fashion, really gets me thinking. I'm mid-paragraph in a long article... One of many long articles opened up on one of many tabs opened up on many Google Chrome windows. I'm currently doing researching for my Thesis on a fast-fashion brand, 8seconds.

I thought I'd take my final year in Advertising at OCADU and document my Thesis Project through it's own segment on this blog. I know this will be a huge commitment, on top of the ACTUAL huge commitment that is Thesis. However, as I sit here at 3AM with roughly 40 tabs waiting to get picked-at and jotted-down, I can't ignore this urge to share some thoughts brewed by this research process.

Among one of the 4C's of advertising/marketing research, is CONSUMER. Googling the 8seconds brand's target market, comes up with a lot on Millennials, or Gen Y. And research on the Millennials comes up with a lot on topics other than fashion. A look into the Gen Y's future economic and cultural landscapes proves more insights than a list of what today's 20-30 somethings find "YAS" and "NAH". 

It's pretty interesting how a program people think only churns out 'jingles' and clever 'slogans' actually opens up learning potentials in social science fields like human psychology and behaviourism; topics I often explore in my fine art photography works. Perhaps this can explain why I've voluntarily written down (currently) 32 pages of notes typed single-spaced in 10pt Avenir Next. I've always been and will always be fascinated by how people think & behave and why. Although I've only scratched the surface of social science, it's an itch I've wanted to scratch for a while, especially within the context of communication arts. 

This is just the intro, but I hope to continue keeping myself, and YOU intrigued by these personal insights I can find in every nook and cranny of the various facets of this Thesis Project. At the end of the day, an ad is just an ad, but what you learn from making an ad, is a journey of its own.