Sookmyung Students Win Gold at Young Ones 2026 and Bronze at the Clio Awards
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- Writer 커뮤니케이션팀
- 보도일자 2026-07-01
Students from Sookmyung Women's University have earned consecutive honors at two of the world's most prestigious international advertising competitions with an innovative solution that addresses both the hygiene concerns and color-accuracy limitations of shared lipstick testers used in retail beauty stores.
The student team "Lipsticker," consisting of five students from the Dept. of Public Relations & Advertising and the Dept. of Visual & Media Design, received the Gold Award in the Young Ones ADC Product Design category and the Bronze Award in the Student Fashion & Beauty category at the Clio Awards. The team members are Kim Hajin (Public Relations & Advertising, Class of 2021), Kang Seoyeon (Public Relations & Advertising, Class of 2022), Go Juwon (Public Relations & Advertising, Class of 2022), Ha Yujin (Public Relations & Advertising, Class of 2022), and Noh Habin (Visual & Media Design, Class of 2021).
The award-winning project originated in Professor Moon Jang-ho's capstone design course, "Global Creative Lab I," offered by the Dept.of Public Relations & Advertising. The course is a practice-oriented program in which students work through the entire creative process—from defining real-world problems and identifying consumer insights to developing brand strategies, creative concepts, and product prototypes based on global brands and contemporary social issues.
Created for the global beauty retailer Sephora, Lipsticker introduces a new concept for in-store lipstick testing. While testing lipstick shades before purchase is essential in beauty stores, directly applying shared testers to the lips raises hygiene concerns. At the same time, testing colors on the back of the hand or on paper often fails to accurately represent how the lipstick will appear on the lips.
The students identified this as a flaw in the consumer experience, where shoppers are forced to choose between accurate color representation and safe product testing.
To solve this problem, Lipsticker uses an ultra-thin patch made from transparent medical-grade silicone gel that adheres to the lips, creating a protective barrier between the shared lipstick tester and the skin.
The patch also incorporates an oleophilic coating that closely replicates how various lipstick formulations—including matte, glossy, and tint products—appear on the lips. Customers simply apply the patch, test a lipstick shade, wipe it off, and then try additional colors, allowing them to compare multiple products safely, conveniently, and with greater accuracy.
The student team explained, "The idea began by reexamining an inconvenience that consumers had simply accepted as part of the lipstick testing experience. We realized that innovation is not necessarily about creating an entirely new product, but about reducing consumers' inconvenience and anxiety in real retail environments and providing a better decision-making experience."
This achievement continues the Dept. of Public Relations & Advertising's recent success at major international advertising competitions. In 2024, student projects developed through the department's capstone courses won a total of 24 awards across four of the world's leading international advertising competitions, including the ANDY Awards, Clio Awards, The One Show, and the New York Festivals. In 2025, another student team, "Text Layer," won the Grand Prize at Future Lions, the global student competition held as part of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, widely regarded as the world's largest advertising festival.
The latest awards also highlight the success of inter-disciplinary education at Sookmyung Women's University, combining the strategic planning and brand communication expertise of the Dept. of Public Relations & Advertising with the creative design capabilities of the Dept. of Visual & Media Design. By observing real consumer pain points in retail settings and transforming those insights into innovative brand experiences and product designs, the students demonstrated the type of solution-driven creativity increasingly recognized by leading international advertising competitions.
Prof. Moon Jang-ho commented, "Our students' success at international advertising competitions is not the result of a one-time achievement. It reflects years of educational efforts that encourage students to closely observe real brands and social issues while integrating strategy, creativity, and design to develop meaningful solutions. Sustaining this record of international recognition demonstrates that our students are capable of defining and solving problems using the language of global creativity."
Looking ahead, Sookmyung Women's University plans to further strengthen its capstone design–based project education and interdisciplinary collaboration, enabling students to develop creative problem-solving skills that will prepare them for success in both domestic and international industries.
[List of Award-Winning Projects]
- 2026 Young Ones ADC Product Design - Student Gold Cube : oneclub.org/awards/youngones/-award/62880
- Clio Awards Student Fashion & Beauty – Bronze : clios.com/winners-gallery/details/211713