What was once a tiny and mighty beauty blog called Into The Gloss has become a bona fide NYC startup: Glossier, with a ragtag team of 35+ jogging up and down the stairwell of our Soho office building, spread out across three floors. Why are we here? We're creating a new kind of beauty company from the ground up—one that acknowledges the hopes, dreams, and desires of women today, and gives them the tools (both digitally and physically) to take ownership over their beauty routines. Who are we? Well, a lot of us began like you: as readers. And we'd like for you to get to know us a little better—what we each do, where we come from, and what we're excited about. Meet our design team, Dilan and Adriana:
What's the Glossier approach to design?
Dilan Walpola, Designer : “That's a hard question because it's always changing. But there is a foundation we've laid—we've built very strong but not overstated branding. We could get rid of all the copy on a moisturizer and if we just had that pink bar, like, we own that so well that people would see that and say, ‘Glossier.’ And as we grow the line, it's about evolving with small but smart steps.”
Adriana Deleo, Head of Design : “I think there’s also a balance that we try to strike between the aspirational and the practical. And it’s the high/low that we sometimes reference. So whether it’s really simple materials but really concise, almost sophisticated design...There’s these subtleties that we try to incorporate into everything. Something like a happy face on the bottom of your box that a lot of people wouldn’t catch, but for the people that do catch it, it’s like a little wink. It’s the secret handshake that helps you connect at another level.”
Adriana Deleo
Where are you from?
Puerto Rico
What do you do at Glossier?
Every week is a little different, but I help build campaigns with Helen and Annie, I design packaging and all kinds of printed materials—anything from the poster that comes with your orders to the shipper that shows up at your door, the mask box, stickers...I'm really a sucker for print and working at a smaller shop like ours allows me to work on a bit of everything, which I love.
What are you currently inspired by?
Marine biologist Sylvia Earle is an incredible and fearless woman, still fighting her fight and shaking things up at 80. In a parallel life I would've wanted to be an oceanographer.
Last lesson you learned?
Just keep working and making. You'll figure out your process and learn along the way. Plus the more you make, the less precious things are.
What’s always in your kitchen?
Olive oil and garlic
What’s your motto?
'God (or is it the devil?) is in the details.” Or something like it. There's definitely magic in the small gestures, both in design and in life.
What’s on your desk?
Bottles and tubes, color swatches, a sharpie, my Balm Dotcom, a palo santo twig that not only smells great but is good for fidgeting, pretty packaging that Emily leaves on my desk for inspiration.
Dilan Walpola_
Where are you from?_ Texas
What do you do at Glossier? Translating products into offline experiences, packaging, props, and everything in-between.
What are you currently inspired by? History
Last lesson you learned? A beautiful thing is never perfect.
What’s always in your kitchen? Cockroaches
Favorite Instagrams? @ideabooksltd, @slowandsteadywinstherace, and @pepperellett
What’s on your desk? Too much
What was your best idea ever? Vacation
—as told to ITG
Adriana Deleo and Dilan Walpola photographed by Tom Newton.
Say hello to Glossier's Executive Editor Annie Kreighbaum—and get acquainted with the rest of the team over here.
