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Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team

[월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님
AMOREPACIFICJul 18, 2023
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 34_00
Editor C.
I’m a product designer in my fourth year. While I’m confident in what I know, there’s so much I don’t. I’m constantly curious about the lives and work processes of other creatives. How does everyone else make it work?
Prologue.
As you wander the 13th floor of our global headquarters, you might stumble upon a space filled with curious objects and busy-looking people. That’s the Next Space Team. We sat down with Ko Eun-young from the team, whose work spans everything from retail design to experimental exhibitions.
Q1. Hello, Eun-young. Could you please briefly introduce yourself and the project you are currently working on?
Hello, I’m Ko Eun-young, a spatial designer and VMD on the Next Space Team. I started in a space-related role at Laneige, then moved to retail where I was in charge of Aritaum spaces. Now, I’m planning exhibitions for an experimental space called ‘Story A.’
Q2-1. So when did you first join the Center?
I joined in 2015. Before that, I had always worked in visuals for the fashion industry, so cosmetics felt completely new to me. In fashion, my VMD role was more about styling and direction, but at Amorepacific, the same VMD title was primarily focused on production, so I was a bit lost at first.
Q2-2. What is the difference between direction and production?
Direction is more akin to styling. For example, you might fill a limited space like a show window with a few key elements to create an overall mood. But in the cosmetics industry, it’s different; we design and produce entire spaces from scratch to make sure each and every one of our products can stand out. Actually, that has changed a lot recently. The trend has shifted from highlighting individual products to showcasing a cohesive brand universe in an offline space. Since information about a product’s efficacy and ingredients is readily available online, the work I do now has become more similar to my old days in the fashion industry—projects with a strong focus on creative direction and storytelling.
  • Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_00_sld_00
  • Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_00_sld_01
2016 Myeongdong Laneige Flagship Store and
the 2017 Arietta Myeongdong. @Ko Eun Young
Q3. So you’re currently focused on work related to Story A. I find it a bit difficult to explain what Story A is. How would you describe it?
You’re right, it is hard to explain. Our team isn’t strictly divided by project, but somehow I just keep finding myself working on this (laughs). When people ask what Story A is, I usually just say it’s a place that presents different “universes.” The nature of offline space is constantly changing. In the past, a store existed solely to sell products. Now, the experience is paramount. As the concept of physically touching and trying products became more important, models like Amore Seongsu emerged. Today, spaces with even stronger, more immersive worldviews are appearing, which has forced offline designers like us to ask, “How do we survive?” By focusing on content that maximizes the experiences you can only have offline, the Story A model was born. It’s a more adventurous and experimental space. It might not show the product directly, but it shows you what the product is about. It might not sell you the product on the spot, but it makes you want to buy it when you see it somewhere else later. So, we call Story A “an offline platform for extraordinary experiences.”
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_01_da3_00
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_01_da3_01
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_01_da3_02
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_02_da3_00
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_02_da3_01
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_02_da3_02
You can experience the unconventional aspects of
Story A through their Instagram. @storya_official
Q4. I remember when you were preparing the ‘Bubble Gazing’ exhibition for Story A. I’m on the team next door, and I saw all of you gathered inside the mock-up room as it was filling with foam. It looked so fun and charming. It seems like the Next Space Team is always doing things no one has ever seen before.
The ‘Bubble Gazing’ exhibition wasn’t my project, but it was certainly a difficult one. Most of the things our team does are things we’ve never done before—we can’t just outsource the research to a partner. We have to do it all ourselves, which means a lot of legwork, from finding factories to sourcing ingredients. I recently worked on the ‘Vintage Makeup’ project, and that required a huge amount of hands-on effort. We set up the pop-up so people could try on old clothes and use vintage props, and I had to personally go to Gwangjang Market and Hwanghak-dong to select every item. The clothes from Gwangjang had that distinct naphthalene smell, so I had to wash them twice at home. My house was so cluttered with props that my husband finally told me to stop bringing them home (laughs). Things that were too expensive or couldn’t be found, I borrowed from my parents’ house—like the cassette tapes you saw in the exhibition. My parents never throw things like that away. My mom did insist I bring back her amethyst, but it’s still floating around an exhibition somewhere. Because we gathered everything ourselves, piece by piece, it really felt like an authentic, lived-in old house. It was fun to think about what was needed and to bring it all together, and I was deeply attached to the project. But it was also physically demanding. We’re still taking turns feeding the goldfish from that exhibition’s fish tank.
  • Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_03_sld_00
  • Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_03_sld_01
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_04_da3_00
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_04_da3_01
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_04_da3_02
Pop-up exhibition of trendy makeup. Using props I found by running
around, it captures the old-fashioned vibe perfectly. ⓒNext Space Team
Q5-1. Time for the official question from Monthly AC: what are your plans for the future?
That’s a question I think about constantly, and I really don’t know. My original goal was to work until the official retirement age. I’ve never personally seen a woman do it, but I was determined to be the one—no matter what, whether my kids became teenagers or any other challenge came up, I wanted to stay with the company to the very end. But lately, I share the same dream as every other office worker: finding a source of passive income. Actually, I’m in graduate school right now, in a design management program. My professor is always telling us stories about how some famous person is an alum, or how a former student with no plans graduated and started a wildly successful business. Hearing that gives me a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe I, too, can leave with something after I graduate (laughs).
Q5-2. You’re in grad school? After work? How did you make that decision?
When I think back on why I decided to go, I realize I used to live without much deep thought, and it showed. I struggled to express myself, especially when giving reports. I wondered if it was because I was getting older, or if it was something that happened after having a baby. A former team member saw me struggling and suggested I start reading. She was in a book club and said it helped her immensely. That was the turning point. During a four-month leave, I read about 16 books. Before that, I had this thought that since my husband had a job, I could always just stay home and raise my child if things got tough. But after reading, I had a sudden, strong realization that I couldn’t think that way. I decided I had to remain a part of society, to stay in my career, and that I couldn’t be so dependent. To do that, I felt I needed to upgrade myself, so I decided to pursue another degree. But now, I sometimes think to myself, “Wow, what have I gotten myself into?”
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_05_00
After a busy day at work, the day of a
graduate student begins again. ⓒGo Eun-young
Q6-1. So what is “good design” to you?
I think good design is ultimately design that helps the business. I once heard someone say that for design to have value, “it has to make money.” Design that you do just because you like it… isn’t that closer to art?
Q6-2. Based on that, you must have a lot to consider when planning content for Story A.
That’s right. I think it’s the same for every field in marketing. Our work isn’t in a domain where you can immediately see the results, like putting a promotion on a product and seeing how many units sold. No one demands immediate, tangible results from us, but we still try to find valid reasons for why a project needs to happen and why it needs to be done a certain way. Our achievement is creating reasons for customers to be interested in us. We confirm that by measuring how many people visited, how many posted on Instagram, and how much buzz we generated.
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_06
Reviews of the “Trend Makeup Exhibition” by customers who have
experienced the times.
The “Trend Makeup Exhibition” was also mentioned
in “Caret,” a Z-generation trend subscription service.
ⓒNext Space Team
Q7. Thank you for such fascinating answers. Is there one last question you wish I had asked?
“Are you having a hard time?” Something like that (laughs). I just wanted to vent a little: our team has it tough. We do work that no one asks us to do; we find it ourselves. And even when we do it well, we don’t get feedback like, “Good job finding that.” It’s much more common to hear, “Why are you doing this?” We believe there’s a valid reason, but it’s hard to get others to see it, and that can be disheartening. It’s a common challenge for most of the work done in the Creative Center. Of course, that’s not all we do. Our team also handles retail, like the Aritaum and supermarket renewals. We believe that by tackling both the essential, must-do offline projects and the new, experimental work we’ve never done before, our team grows, our perspective broadens, and that ultimately contributes to the company. So we have to work without losing that sense of mission. Anyway, thank you so much for taking an interest in what we do.
Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_07 Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 m_65_07
Mastering various challenging books with ease
to portray Eun Young’s transformation. ©Min Chae Hyun
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Eunyoung Ko, Next Space Team [월간 AC] 넥스트 스페이스팀 고은영님 65_sing_set

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