I kind of like how blatantly ugly it is. But maybe that’s nostalgia talking

  • Dirt_Owl [comrade/them, they/them]@hexbear.netOP
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    19 days ago

    I think the disconcerting part of Corporate Memphis is when the geometricity is applied to human figures to become this weird flattening. To me it’s infantilising without the humanising elements of flaws or discernable features.

    This is true because Corporate Memphis is Memphis with all the details removed. Corporate Memphis is that way because corporate art has to be simplified in order to produce the vast amounts needed to maximise profit for design companies. I know people who work in graphic design, and they are AMAZING artists, but the work they produce for their day job has to be simplified Corporate Memphis in order to meet quotas, sometimes they are expected to illustrate an entire marketing campaign in half an hour.

    However when you remove the “Corporate” from Memphis the style is capable of portraying unique characters. Nigel Thornberry is iconic, you can tell exactly what kind of character he is by looking at him.

    • PointAndClique [they/them]@hexbear.net
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      19 days ago

      Ty for the mini lesson! People who can draw/illustrate/design well will never not be impressive to me (wow what an awkward sentence). It would be disheartening as an artist to have to put those skills towards churning out marketing shlop day in day out.

      • Dirt_Owl [comrade/them, they/them]@hexbear.netOP
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        19 days ago

        The graphic design industry really is fucking evil. I could tell you so many horror stories from people I know who work in the industry, but doing so would dox the hell out of them.

        Also thank you for putting up with my lecturing lmao nerd