e.l.f. cosmetics
Pachuca Website
e.l.f., short for eyes.lips.face., is a brand deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. To celebrate one of their most passionate fan bases – Latinas, they teamed up with Colombian superstar Manuel Turizo to create “ojos. labios. cara.”—a vibrant anthem that honors the beauty and power of every pair of eyes, lips, and faces out there.
The bold makeup and styling in the music video pay homage to the 1940s Pachuca aesthetic, celebrating the Mexican American women who defied societal norms with their rebellious, unapologetic style. To honor this cultural movement, we collaborated with Dr. Catherine S. Ramírez—an expert in ethnic and gender studies whose book inspired the video—to explore its deep history and lasting influence on Latina culture, including how makeup became an act of defiance.
To further amplify the story, we created a dedicated website, social content, and facilitated a major donation from e.l.f. to Dr. Ramírez’s university in support of ethnic studies. As a designer and art director on this project, I was responsible for the look & feel of the site as well as the design of site and social assets and lastly was present for the shoot where we had Dr. Ramirez and the pachuca.
Agency: Madwell Role: Art Director & Senior Designer
Website highlights
Throughout the site, we embraced a rough-yet-refined aesthetic that mirrors the bold, defiant elegance of the Pachucas themselves.
To further honor the movement, we blended scholarly elements with historic collages, creating a visual tribute to its rich cultural legacy.
With a wealth of information to share, we incorporated interactive UI elements—like a clickable motion—to keep readers engaged and immersed in the experience.
In the Pachuca 360 interaction, as users scrolled through the page, the Pachuca rotated to reveal the distinct elements of her iconic outfit, offering an immersive look at her bold, rebellious style.
Another form of Rebellion for Pachuca’s was their use of Spanish and English lexicons. We created this word ticker that went through some of their common phrases.
We ended the site asking users to spot the influences in the ojos.labios.cara music video.
See the full website here
Social
We took the website to social media and made a post to honor Latinas during Hispanic Heritage Month to e.l.f.’s 7.5 million followers.
As a member of the Mexican-American community and learning about Pachucas at school, working on this project was an incredible honor—I cherished every moment of it.
Fun fact: Throughout this project, we were able to source historical photographs of Pachucas that had never before been seen.