Tag: 3D printing technology

FOREO: MODA Digital Makeup Artist

Never got the hang of applying makeup with your own hands? MODA from FOREO is billed as a digital makeup artist that takes the “tutorial” culture online and turns it into an automated, 30-second application moment.

From a chosen look to a mapped face

The flow starts in an app: you select a style to emulate. That style can come from MODA’s image library, a celebrity photo, or a picture of a fashionable friend. MODA then scans facial features to align the look. In other words, it maps facial landmarks so placement follows the wearer’s features. MODA then adapts colors and shapes to suit the wearer’s skin tone and face shape.

How the device applies the look

Once the selection is set, the user places their face into the device and MODA “paints” the chosen look directly onto the face, described as using makeup ink that is FDA-approved. Here, “ink” refers to the makeup medium the device dispenses onto the skin. The proposition is speed and repeatability: copy a look, personalize it, apply it, done.

In consumer beauty tech, shifting makeup from manual skill to an automated service experience changes the value from “how well you apply” to “how fast you can experiment”.

Why this idea has an audience

Online videos teaching people to copy celebrity styles are already a mass behavior. MODA’s bet is that many people do not want more instruction. They want a shortcut. Because the device applies the look for you after scanning and personalization, “trying a look” can become as easy as choosing one. The real question is whether the applied result looks credible enough that people will trust it without extra tutorial time. This framing is compelling because it shifts beauty from a practiced skill to a repeatable service moment.

Extractable takeaway: When a category is stuck on “learn the skill,” the highest-leverage innovation is often a service layer that turns inspiration into a fast, repeatable outcome, not another tutorial.

What MODA teaches about beauty UX

  • Collapse inspiration to action. Let people pick a reference look and get to an applied result quickly.
  • Personalize by default. Use scanning and simple adjustments so the outcome fits the individual, not just the template.
  • Design for repeatability. Make it easy to re-run a look, tweak it, and compare outcomes without starting from scratch.

A few fast answers before you act

What is MODA in one line?

A device billed as a “digital makeup artist” that uses an app selection plus facial scanning to apply a chosen makeup look in about 30 seconds.

What makes this different from AR try-on?

AR try-on is an on-screen overlay that previews a look digitally. MODA’s promise is physical application on the face after scanning and customization.

How does a user choose a look?

Through an integrated smartphone app, choosing from a library or supplying a reference image such as a celebrity photo or a friend’s picture.

How does MODA personalize a look to your face?

It’s described as scanning facial features and then adapting the chosen reference look by adjusting placement, shapes, and color choices to better fit the wearer’s face shape and skin tone before applying it.

Who is MODA pitched for?

People who want to experiment with different looks quickly, especially those who do not enjoy the learning curve of manual application and tutorials.

Coca-Cola Mini Me: 3D-Printed Mini Figurines

After Volkswagen, Coca-Cola is the next brand to tap the 3D printing trend.

For the launch of its new mini bottles in Israel, Coca-Cola with their agency Gefem Team came up with a campaign that allowed anyone to create 3D mini figurines of themselves. To get one in real life, users had to work a bit.

So first users created the minis using a mobile app. Then they had to keep them happy by feeding it and taking care of its needs.

There was even a virtual supermarket within the app that you could visit to buy your groceries for your mini self.

Those who successfully participated were then invited to the 3D printing lab inside Coca-Cola’s factory in Israel, where they received the mini versions of themselves.

Why this is more than a 3D-printing stunt

The 3D print is the reward, not the whole experience. The real engine is the progression loop, meaning a sequence of small repeat actions that earn a bigger payoff. This is smart campaign design because it makes the physical output feel earned, not handed out. The real question is whether your campaign creates a loop people will return to before you ask them to share anything.

Extractable takeaway: Gate a physical prize behind repeat micro-actions and it stops feeling like a giveaway. It becomes a trophy with a simple story: “I earned this.”

  • Personal creation. You do not receive a generic giveaway. You create “you”.
  • Ongoing engagement. Feeding and caring builds repeated interactions over time.
  • Escalation to the physical world. The factory lab visit turns digital participation into a memorable moment.

The virtual care loop makes the prize feel earned

The app mechanic is intentionally effortful. You have to keep the mini happy. You have to manage its needs. Even the virtual supermarket reinforces routine and “ownership”.

That matters because it shifts the figurine from a freebie into a trophy. Something you earned by participating.

In consumer brands that run digital-to-physical activations, effortful repeat interaction is often what turns novelty into recall.

Why the factory lab invitation is a smart finale

Bringing people into a Coca-Cola factory adds legitimacy and drama. It also creates a content moment. A physical place, a “lab”, and a 3D print reveal that people can photograph and share.

  1. Access as a reward. The invitation itself feels exclusive.
  2. Proof of innovation. The brand demonstrates capability in a tangible way.
  3. Memory value. The experience becomes a story, not just a product launch.

What to take from this if you build digital-to-physical campaigns

  1. Make the reward personal. Personal outputs are more meaningful and more shareable.
  2. Use a progression loop. Repeated small actions can outperform a single big interaction.
  3. Finish with a real-world moment. Physical experiences create stronger recall than purely digital stunts.
  4. Let the brand environment play a role. A factory lab gives credibility and theatre without feeling fake.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Coca-Cola “Mini Me”?

It is a campaign in Israel where users created a virtual mini-self in a mobile app, cared for it over time, and then received a 3D-printed figurine version after qualifying.

How did users qualify to get a real figurine?

They created the mini using the app and kept it happy by feeding it and taking care of its needs, including buying items in a virtual supermarket.

Where did the 3D printing happen?

Qualified participants were invited to a 3D printing lab inside Coca-Cola’s factory in Israel, where they received their mini figurines.

Why include a virtual care mechanic?

It creates repeat engagement and makes the physical reward feel earned rather than given away.

What is the transferable lesson for campaign design?

If you combine personal creation with a progression loop and a physical payoff, you can turn a product launch into a longer-lasting experience.

VW Polo Principle: Crowdsourced 3D Prints

Volkswagen last year launched “The Polo Principle” ad campaign to convey the message that high-end innovations were now available to Polo drivers.

Then, to democratize the innovation process, they allowed people to actually design their very own 3D Volkswagen mock ups. The top 40 designs were chosen by a panel of judges and then put on display in Copenhagen, with the entrants receiving their (mini) 3D printed Volkswagens in the mail.

From innovation message to innovation participation

The mechanism is a neat escalation. The campaign starts with a claim: premium innovation is no longer reserved for premium models. Then it turns that claim into an action: if innovation is being “democratised,” people should be able to shape it. A 3D design tool becomes the interface for participation.

Instead of asking audiences to agree with the brand message, Volkswagen invites them to contribute to it, visually and playfully.

In co-creation campaigns, participation becomes persuasion when people can make something that physically proves the brand promise.

In enterprise marketing teams, co-creation only scales when the participation interface is simple and the payoff is concrete.

Why it lands: ownership beats persuasion

This works because creating something triggers a different level of engagement than watching something. Designing a mock up requires time, intent, and taste. Once you invest that effort, you become emotionally tied to the campaign. And when your design is selected, the brand is no longer a distant manufacturer. It is a platform that amplified you. Co-creation is most persuasive when the act of making produces an object people can keep or show.

Extractable takeaway: When you claim “innovation for everyone,” turn the claim into something people can make, so the audience owns a proof of the promise.

The Copenhagen display adds a public payoff. It moves the work out of the browser and into a real space, which signals seriousness and status.

The intent: make “accessible innovation” feel real

The business intent is to attach innovation to the Polo brand without sounding like advertising. Here, “accessible innovation” means making premium innovation cues feel reachable for everyday Polo drivers, not only for flagship models. The real question is whether your “innovation” story can be experienced, not just believed. User-generated designs create social proof. The 3D printed mini cars make the campaign tangible. “Innovation is available to you” becomes “here is something you made, and here is a physical object that proves it.”

Make co-creation tangible

  • Turn a message into a mechanism. If you claim democracy, build a democratic action people can take.
  • Reward with something physical. A mailed 3D print is a memorable artefact, not a forgettable badge.
  • Curate publicly. Exhibiting the top designs creates status and raises the perceived value of participation.
  • Use judges plus community. A panel can signal craft and quality, not just popularity.
  • Design for shareability. People naturally share what they created, especially when it looks good.

For more examples on brands using 3D printing click here.

A few fast answers before you act

What was the core idea behind the Polo Principle extension?

To move from talking about “innovation for everyone” to letting people participate by designing their own 3D Volkswagen mock ups.

Why add 3D printing to a campaign?

It creates a physical proof point. A printed mini model makes the experience feel real, personal, and worth keeping.

What role did the Copenhagen display play?

It gave public status to the best designs and signalled that the brand took the contributions seriously, beyond a digital stunt.

Is co-creation mainly an awareness play?

It can drive awareness, but its deeper value is emotional ownership. People remember what they helped create.

What is the main takeaway for brands claiming “democratisation”?

If you want the message to stick, build a mechanism that lets people experience the claim directly, and reward participation in a tangible way.