The first stop of the 2024 China Advertising Youth Imagination Program will be held at the School of Design of East China Normal University in March.
With the purpose of "reaching young people, inspiring young people, achieving young people, and glorifying young people", the China Advertising Youth Imagination Program is not only a platform for young people to test and grow, but also a platform for the incubation and delivery of industry talents, and an aggregation platform to promote multi-party circle-breaking exchanges and the integration of industry-university-research innovation. In the unity of knowledge and action, we will link the efforts of all parties, optimize the docking mechanism, and contribute sustainable "talent power" to society and industry.
On March 28th, the School of Design of East China Normal University invited Ms. Wu Pinhui, Global Executive Director of Fast Retailing Group and Chief Marketing Officer of Uniqlo Greater China, to share a wonderful course with the theme of "Innovation and Practice of Sustainable Development - How to Design and Create Market-leading Consumer Value and Business Model for Brands", and put forward her own views and suggestions on the future market's requirements for designers and the cultivation of comprehensive literacy of design talents, as well as design and life.
At the same time, the School of Design of East China Normal University has also invited Ms. Wu Pinhui as a visiting professor of the school, and will continue to participate in student interaction in the future to help young people grow.
As Wei Shaonong, Dean of the School of Design of East China Normal University, said: "The true meaning and charm of education lies in the face-to-face communication and discussion between teachers and students, which is a way of communication between people with wisdom and emotion." ”
China Advertising interviewed Wu Pinhui, Global Executive Director of Fast Retailing Group and Chief Marketing Officer of Uniqlo Greater China, and collected the thoughts of teachers and students from the School of Design of East China Normal University on this sharing, and made a review of this spring agreement. While gaining insight into the deep meaning of UNIQLO's sustainability, we also saw a more three-dimensional and vivid brand attitude that takes social responsibility as its own responsibility.
Wu Pinhui, Global Executive Director of Fast Retailing Group and Chief Marketing Officer of Uniqlo Greater China
I have always felt that young people are an important asset to the future of the world, humanity and the country. How can we better build and create beautiful and sustainable values in the future from the perspective of individuals or enterprises, and help these young people find creativity in the right direction through the platform of enterprises or personal empowerment? I think this is the greatest value of the Future Design Academy.
Design, it's not just about creating a tangible commodity or experience. We need to think more about how design can create a sustainable sense of happiness and a better sense of survival for human beings, for life, for life? I always believe that design is the greatest force for change and creation, so with the thinking of design, we can promote a better life for the whole society, the whole country, including our next generation.
Wei Shaonong, Dean of the School of Design, East China Normal University
In my opinion, design is not only a profession, but more importantly, it is about life. Professor Wu has had an exchange with our students about his life and design-related experiences, and I think this is a very rare opportunity.
"If you want to understand UNIQLO's sustainability philosophy in depth, you need to start with the story of Uniqlo's founder, Mr. Masashi Yanai. What is the driving force behind running from a small clothing store to an internationally renowned brand?
I've been thinking about what I'm making clothes for, and if I want to contribute to society, I can only do it through clothes – changing clothes, changing common sense, changing the world, making people's lives better. Mr. Yanai believes that running a business requires the happiness of the people around him, and sustainability is the key to this, and this philosophy has always been in the DNA of UNIQLO's design philosophy. At the beginning of the course, Wu Pinhui shared a small story.
Ingenuity design brings sustainability into life
"Design is simply about understanding the essence of human nature. Wu Pinhui summed it up succinctly.
UNIQLO's product iteration process is a vivid embodiment of this concept: a deep understanding of the nature of consumer demand, so as to give more added value to the product on top of the original price. It seems that the appearance of the product is similar, but in terms of function, it realizes a richer and more diverse choice, and continues to innovate and evolve on the basis of the original. Behind this continuous evolution is UNIQLO's in-depth insight into the product line and the combination of exquisite craftsmanship, each product is born to more accurately meet the diverse needs and expectations of customers.
How can design make clothing not only a symbol of fashion and beauty, but also a cross-scene and environmentally important significance?
For example, compared to traditional sunscreen clothing, which only focuses on ultraviolet barrier, UNIQLO's fabrics not only effectively block UV rays, but also have excellent breathability, allowing wearers to enjoy strong sun protection while feeling comfortable. Ultraviolet rays are the main cause of skin aging and lesions, and it is of great significance to make sunscreen clothing daily for people's health protection. Therefore, in terms of version, UNIQLO has designed slim tailoring, developed soft fabrics and integrated fashionable colors, pioneering so that sunscreen clothing can not only cope with outdoor activities, but also integrate into daily wear, so as to achieve multiple wear. This year, UNIQLO launched a new 46% recycled nylon sustainable sunscreen clothing to provide consumers with more eco-friendly options.
In addition, UNIQLO's AIRism cooling technology series uses special fabric design to help consumers solve the stuffiness and discomfort caused by poor sweating in hot weather, and improve the comfort of summer wear.
Jian Yingjun, a 2021 product design student at the School of Design of East China Normal University, was greatly touched by this unconventional design thinking: "By thinking backwards about people's conventional behaviors, the designer uses innovative composite materials to indirectly reduce the use of air conditioning while regulating body temperature, thereby contributing to environmental protection." I was inspired by this clever combination of design, technology and environmental protection. ”
Shi Xinyi, a 2023 fashion design student at the School of Design of East China Normal University, said: "I used to think that sustainable development was very far away from me. Seeing UNIQLO's technical fabric design, it can allow people to lower/raise the temperature of the air conditioner by one degree after wearing it, so as to achieve the purpose of environmental protection. This made me realize that each of us, especially the design students, should make meaningful designs for the cause of environmental protection and society, and reflect the social value of designers. ”
In addition to the Cool Tech series, UNIQLO's sunscreen clothing and sports collections also use sweat-wicking and quick-drying fabrics. According to the needs of users, UNIQLO has developed products suitable for different scenarios in combination with technology extension, bringing consumers a more comfortable and practical wearing experience. Increasing people's happiness with ingenious design and integrating environmental protection into people's daily wear is a concrete extension of UNIQLO's sustainable philosophy.
Love, humanity and creativity have always been the core values of design
In today's environment, young people are often filled with anxiety and uncertainty about the future. In the face of employment anxiety and the rise of artificial intelligence in the future, where should young people go? How to better face the challenges of future technology in the field of design, and empower design with sustainable concepts, so as to drive a positive change in social consumption values? In Wu Pinhui's view, this is a very important proposition for students in the School of Design.
The ancients: Altruism is long-lasting, and one of the most important aspects of UNIQLO's sustainability philosophy is to carry out "corporate activities that are beneficial to society as a whole." In the sharing, Wu Pinhui introduced UNIQLO's "PEACE FOR ALL" T-shirt project to the students.
In 2022, with the vision of "Spreading Love and Warmth, Wishing World Peace", UNIQLO launched the "PEACE FOR ALL" project. Invite celebrities and organizations around the world to create around love, warmth, and peace, and display their creations on T-shirts to pass on to more people. Since its official launch in June 2022, the "Love" T-shirt collection has sold more than 3.2 million pieces worldwide, with a portion of the proceeds being used for donations, committed to spreading the power of love and helping social development with tangible actions, with a total global donation of more than $6.45 million to date.
Young people are undoubtedly a very important carrier for spreading the values of love, sustainability and positive energy in society. Wu Pinhui said: "This time I walked into the campus of the School of Design of ECNU, on the one hand, I hope to convey the brand concept of UNIQLO to more young people, and on the other hand, I also hope to convey love and ignite youth by stimulating the vitality of young people. We hope that the students of the School of Design can express this love through design, whether it is through a visual work or a story, which embodies the creativity and imagination of young people, and conveys the energy that youthful vitality brings to life. ”
"While pursuing economic benefits, enterprises should actively assume social responsibilities and pay attention to environmental protection and social justice. This concept not only contributes to the long-term development of the enterprise, but also has great significance for social harmony and stability. Chen Jinjia, a 2023 student majoring in visual communication and multimedia design at the School of Design of East China Normal University, was deeply touched and said: "I will take this as a reference, strive to integrate the concept of sustainable development into my study and life, and assume my social responsibility as a designer." ”
No matter how innovative technology is, love, humanity and creativity are always the cornerstones and soul of design. Clothing is not only a representative of fashion and beauty, but also a carrier of emotion and energy. Young people are the future of society, and we need to create the next era of love through them. Therefore, Wu Pinhui encouraged students to integrate humanistic elements into design to make design more in-depth and connotative, "Designers need to think deeply about how to solve social problems through design and convey love and humanistic care to the public, which is an important responsibility and value of design." ”
Individuality & Inclusiveness: Explore the future and create sustainable co-creation with young people
From the perspective of enterprises, young people are a highly valued group, and UNIQLO's rich products are also deeply loved and recognized by young people. In the future cooperation with the campus, Wu Pinhui said that UNIQLO hopes to communicate a young person's personality for this era through their vision, imagination and language through more cooperation in goods, services and projects.
"I want to expand the personality of young people to love that everyone can agree with, and this is also the corporate service philosophy of UNIQLO as an international brand: beyond ethnicity, beyond culture, beyond young people. We always believe in our corporate philosophy of 'change clothing, change common sense, change the world', and provide quality clothing for all people in the world, so that everyone can be happy, happy and satisfied. Wu Pinhui added in an exclusive interview.
Wu Pinhui told us that there are many young members of the post-90s and post-00s team at Uniqlo. At the same time, she emphasized that we should learn from young people, both from a business perspective and as managers, and look for points that can resonate with them. These resonance points may be values, visions for the future, or methods of creation. Starting from these similarities, we will inspire and encourage the younger generation to innovate and iterate more.
"I want to have more conversations with young people, and I can see a lot of new perspectives from them, including how young people see themselves, the world around them, and the future.
I think it's more important to inspire young people that design is to improve the future society and improve their lives, and that design is not limited to a certain commercial project, or just to pursue immediate profits. Wu Pinhui said.
epilogue
From Professor Wu Pinhui's introduction with both height and breadth, the students had a deeper understanding of how UNIQLO empowers and inherits the concept of sustainability, and also truly felt the love, humanity and creativity behind UNIQLO's clothing design. In the future, we also look forward to this sustainable seed blossoming and fruition, creating a better life with design.
Professor Wu Pinhui brought a professional and touching theme sharing to our school. As an ideological and political worker, I was deeply shocked by this sharing, which is not only a collision of ideas among designers, but also a vivid ideological and political lesson. Professor Wu told us with touching design stories that in order to become a good designer, we must understand the changes in the world, understand the environment we live in, and understand people's emotions and love, so as to design works with "love". The core values of design are love, humanity and creativity, which there is no substitute for AI. Professor Wu shared his own growth experience to inspire the students, and children from ordinary families can also rely on their own struggles to achieve their dreams, and age cannot stop the pace of continuous self-improvement.
I am very fortunate to have such an outstanding entrepreneur who is full of confidence in herself, full of tolerance for people, passionate about education, and full of love for society to become a corporate mentor and visiting professor of our college.
Wang Liping, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Graduate Counselor of the School of Design, East China Normal University