u n c o m fy
L O V E ,
2023 BFA Thesis
University of Colorado Denver
Tammy Dinh
Contents
Intro
Problem Definition 6
Thesis Question 7
Research
Mentors 8
Overview 10
Key Takeaways 11
Process
Approach & Methods 12
Final Products 16
References 20
3 years in the making.
In 2020, I started my small business selling handmade polymer clay sculptures, posting on social media to gain sales. Over time, I realized that I wasn’t just generating customers, I was building a community. People across all ages, all over the world, wanted to learn how to make a living with their art, and looked to me for advice. Through reading comments and connecting with my audience, I realized that there was a need for finanncial literacy resources for people like me -- a community for anxious, uncomfy creatives.
How can branding and marketing be used to ease anxiety surrounding finance amongst young female creatives?
Elizabeth Grier (pictured to the right) is an accomplished businesswoman who spent the past 30 years traveling the world working in global business development and strategy. Investor, operator, and entrepreneur, she has done it all; and I felt that she would be the perfect person to inform me on the issue of female financial literacy.
To better solve this question, I enlisted the help of
The mentors
Erica Luo is the Co-Founder of Emme Essentials, a home fragrance brand inspired by Asian flavors. Before starting her business, Luo got her undergraduate degree in communications and sociology, then proceeded to work in tech sales for five years to before becoming a freelance graphic designer. Utilizing all these skills from her previous careers, Luo and her husband has grown Emme Essentials to become a 7-figure company,
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Female Financial Literacy Within Creative Fields
When it comes to money, women face unique problems: they are more likely to live longer yet make less money than men, and they are more likely to have more career breaks but are offered limited support for care. With a persisting gender wage gap paired with tumultuous economic conditions, women need to increase their financial literacy to overcome these systemic issues and gain independence. However, studies have shown that American women consistently rank lower in financial literacy than their male counterparts (Aristei, 2022). The gender inequity surrounding financial literacy has several causes, but among the most critical is a socio-cultural complex that seeks to discourage women from increasing their financial literacy. Cultural gender roles in households and relationships, lack of exposure, and fewer financial resources engineered for women all attribute to women’s lack of
financial confidence (Mukherjee, 2021). As female students graduate from school and gain more leadership positions in the workplace, having more financial literacy will allow them to advocate for themselves not only in their careers but in society as well.
To narrow down my target audience, I decided to focus particularly on the struggles of female and bipoc creatives — and low and behold,
from poorer backgrounds are often underrepresented, paid less and concentrated in less highly valued areas compared with men, white people and those from more privledged socioeconic groups. Many of these issues are deeply systemic and are out of the control of the female creative; but if they are more financially literate and confident enough to advocate for themselves in the workplace or while self-employed, they will be better equipped to overcome these issues.
Much evidence indicates that fields such as advertising, architecture and design, broadcasting, film and new media represent themselves being deeply invested in egalitarian values; however, they are still fields of stark and persistent inequalities, in which women, people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) groups, and people
Through my research, I found that a combination of incentivized participation and mentorship in a low-risk environment may help reach a larger female audience. In conclusion, it is key to change women’s negative emotional associations with money into positive associations, where money can mean not only security for women but freedom and power for women as well.
Research Overview:
Not all creatives are created equal.
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The Power of Storytelling: Key Takeaways
& Goals
To change women’s negative emotional associations with money into positive associations (comfortable and attainable) I will design, market, and host a live panel featuring other creative mentors.
In short, take the anxiety out of money, garner community, and help creatives feel hopeful for their future.
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Seeking Inspiration
I recieved over 300 questions from my audience on financial literacy, career, and small business.
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warm comfy inviting P22
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Mackinac Pro
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The Final
Products
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Instagram <--- Event Flyer
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References
Aristei, D., & Gallo, M. (2022). Assessing gender gaps in financial knowledge and selfconfidence: Evidence from International Data. Finance Research Letters, 46, 102200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2021.102200
Bucher-Koenen, T., Alessie, R., Lusardi, A., & van Rooij, M. (2021). Fearless woman: Financial literacy and stock market participation. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w28723
Cai, C. W. (2019). Nudging the financial market? A review of the nudge theory. Accounting & Finance, 60(4), 3341–3365. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12471
Driva, Anastasia, Melanie Lührmann, and Joachim Winter. Gender Differences and Stereotypes in Financial Literacy: Off to an Early Start. Economics Letters 146 (September 1, 2016): 143–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2016.07.029.
F Park, C. M., Kraus, A. D., Dai, Y., Fantry, C., Block, T., Kelder, B., Howard, K. A., & Mullen, F (2012). What explains the gender gap in financial literacy? The role of Household Decision making. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 46(1), 90–106. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2011.01221.x
Gill, R (2018). Not all creatives are created equal. Nat Hum Behavior, 2, 526–527 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0392-6
Thank you.
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you.
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