I recently criticized nostalgia and design decisions (specifically related to sports branding) driven by it. After doing so, I decided to read more about nostalgia and its studied effects. In honesty, it was a moment of self awareness. I felt I may have made a comment on the internet when not fully understanding the term.

Is it all bad? Could it be good? Is there any substance to this psychological theory? I wasn’t sure, but wanted to know more so that I could reassess my position and make a better argument relating to the rebrand of the Tennessee Titans that clearly had something to do with looking to the past. And also to examine my own feelings on nostalgia and how it is being used in design.

Now that the entire Titans rebrand with their new logos, color, and uniforms are out, and I feel I understand their design direction as well as nostalgia better, I have to say I feel a little differently about one than I did a week ago.

On Nostalgia

Nostalgia is a sentimental view of the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. It is often described as a sort of sad pleasure, in which a person longs for a past, whether real or romanticized, that cannot be recovered… The modern view is that nostalgia is an independent, and even positive, emotion that many people experience often. — wikipedia

Well, that on its face doesn't seem so terrible. From this overview, it not only feels harmless but beneficial and natural. It makes me feel better about how nostalgia is purposefully used in branding.

There are more studies and reading to dig into if you care to understand nostalgia better than what I’m going to layout here, but this is a quick wiki run-down I found of reactions to nostalgia as I feel it most pertains to sports branding:

• Improving mood. “Although nostalgia is often triggered by negative feelings, it results in increasing one’s mood and heightening positive emotions.” This is the feeling any fan wants for their team, or any team wants for their fan base. Logos and uniforms can be nostalgic triggers.
• Increasing social connectedness. “Sometimes involves memories of people one was close to and thus can increase one’s sense of social support and connections.” Players are the obvious triggers here. Seems to play into fanbase community, too.
• Preserving cultural heritage. “People endeavor to conserve artifacts of historical significance out of nostalgia for past times. They are often motivated by a desire to connect to their heritage from past generations.” Again, those artifacts can certainly be logos and uniforms. I think this speaks a lot to generational fandom where people become fans of a team simply because someone they were close to was a fan of that team. Or maybe why a team wining a championship in a certain uniform improves perception of the design amongst fans. This is an easy trigger to go awry in people, especially politically, but in the context of sports I think this is admirable.

There are more traits and triggers found in various studies but applying what is relatable to sports fan bases, I now believe that nostalgia is not a bad thing. Though there are negative effects found in studies as well, I don’t see them pertaining to sports very strongly. Mostly, nothing bad can happen— it can only good happen.

I think the negative effects of nostalgia pertain more to larger cultural and societal issues. And maybe it’s impossible to separate nostalgia in one thing from nostalgia in another? Maybe there is something inside people who are prone to these feelings that does apply to all aspects of a world view? But I’m willing to give sports fans the benefit of the doubt and allow them to enjoy sports and fandom as a healthy hobby because that is my relationship with it. I think it’s OK to feel the warm fuzzies about your favorite team and the uniforms they wear.

On My Design Influence

I want to take this short detour just to give you more background on where I’m coming from.

What drives me as a Designer is closer to anemoia than nostalgia. That’s the longing for a time or a place one has never known. For me it’s ‘70s-’80s Modernism. But I do not wish to reclaim it or experience it. Well, not all of it. I guarantee old methods like drafting a logo on paper will make you a better Designer if you have the patience to practice it. But I gravitate to that period because the craft, ideas, and aesthetic are just what I am drawn to. I want that influence in my work because I feel it is the most appealing era of graphic design.

It seems too easy to say “old design is nostalgic” or any sort of historical reference in design is only done for nostalgic reasons. That seems disingenuous, especially when relics of a past identity are objectively better than contemporary pieces.

Burger King easily comes to mind. I feel absolutely nothing for that business and certainly nothing for the 1970s version of it. But when JKR rebranded the joint and brought back a lot of the 70s style, that was way better! The logo, color, packaging; it went from glossy, dated, and sort of generic to classic, cool, and remarkable. That’s not all nostalgia. That’s simply better design.

I think the downside is if you become dogmatic or blind to truth because you want to believe something about the past is better when it wasn’t. I’m not sure we come up against that all too often in design, but as with all branding decisions, it requires some thoughtful examination. Not everything new is progress — not everything old needs to be fixed. Not everything new is bad — not everything old is sacred.

I’m also drawn to retro design on modern products. Something about classic liveries on modern race cars or old, hand drawn logos on modern helmets really does it for me.

On The Titans

I’ll start with what they got right. And to Nike’s credit, they excel in this area: color. Its easy to say fans now want nostalgic color to come back in their sports identities, but I strongly feel there is more to it. There is nuance, again.

For one, it is fashionable. Trends come and go and I think the 2000s — 2010s era of dark color and aggressive attitude in football branding has run its course. People want bright, bold, colorful identities now. That lends well to sports teams, too. It’s youthful and energetic. It seems that maybe Royal blue, Kelly green, Creamsicle, and Columbia blue were not a trend? Maybe the trend that is now subsided was Black, Pewter, Navy, medium reds and Vegas Gold. Maybe its time to return to what naturally works for sports and lasts beyond a decade or two. I’m glad to see the Titans lead with Columbia blue for this reason.

I think the hand crafted scripts are a nice touch that reflects the Nashville music scene. The 6 navy “strings” in the helmet and jersey stripes are new and the nod to guitars is noteworthy and tasteful. To be picky about it though, I’m not sure a guitarist would ever design the stripes exactly that way. The outer 2 stripes are bolder, so it looks a little more like a 4 string bass to me with the outermost color representing neck binding. Personally, I’d love to see each of the 6 lines inside the blue stripe area and be different stroke weights to represent the various string gauges on guitars.

The new wordmark is also well crafted. A slab-serif feels perfectly right for a football team and makes a type history nod to the city’s letterpress industry and loads of music posters. No doubt they studied some Grand Ole Opry stuff.

Let me lay out some things that I believe are true:

1. Nostalgia is stronger in sports design now than ever before.
2. It’s okay to lean into feelings of nostalgia in design and branding.
3. Meaningful simplicity in design lasts. Styled form is fashionable.
4. Modern NFL logo/uniform design by Nike is rarely good.
5. Retro is cool. More so when contemporary trends lack in quality.

The last 2 points are what have lead to this moment in Titans uniform history. The futuristic/modern take wasn’t popular. I argue it wasn’t very good design at all. And when a team gets it wrong with the modern direction, they start asking “who are we, really?”. They ask the fans what they like, what they want to see. So, it’s no wonder they go in a nostalgic direction.

I don’t disagree with that direction.

So who are they really?

Color wise, they are Columbia Blue and Navy. Motif wise, its the 2-tone jersey. The uniforms I don’t feel have ever been stellar despite the nice color palette and unique jersey designs. But identity wise? That’s where they really shine.

You can design things very simply and without deep meaning. Logos can just be representations of obvious ideas. A “T” and part of the Tennessee flag is fine. But fine can also be generic. There is another tier to graphic design. You can push it to represent meaningful narratives that tie a team to a city. And if you can do that in simple, timeless form that has a cool factor to it, you’ve struck gold. That’s where the Titans were. The flames in the logo was the essence of the identity. It represents the fire given to man by the titans to begin civilization. A Greek myth designed into a football identity specifically chosen because Nashville is the “Athens of the South”. Nashville even has a full scale replica of the Parthenon. This was the Titans core, it all connects because of the fire on the “flaming thumbtack” that’s now gone.

I’ll will say, that old logo wasn’t easy to work with. Hard to center. Not great in a social media avatar. But it looked great on a helmet. Neutering it for the lowest common denominator of social media graphic production seems kind of lame. As for being hard to work with, I feel that’s part of a Designer’s job. Find a way.

Final Thoughts

This new Titans identity is definitely nostalgic and I think that is perfectly well and good. But, whose nostalgia is this? If the Titans are pulling nostalgic flavors from the ‘80s and ‘90s, whose nostalgia are they tapping into? The Tennessee Titans played their first game in 1999. This new direction has its roots in Houston.

I realize now that my issue with the new Titans identity isn’t that its nostalgic, its that it is too narratively generic and too aesthetically representative of another team. They had a good logo and uniform motif. At the very least it was unique and tied to their current city. They still have those things in different forms. The type, the guitar string stripes. But when I look at this new uniform I see the Tennessee Football Team in Oilers uniforms.

Some time ago, I read something from a mid-century Italian artist. I forget who it was and what he said exactly. Something to the effect of “Italians are better at design because they are good arbitrators of past and present”. They had historical foundation, futuristic vision, and could balance both in harmony. It reminds me of those examples I gave in this article that I really like—retro liveries on modern race cars. But at its core, graphic design is visual communication. You can’t miss on the message.

The retro-modern approach is often really good. The Vikings and Chargers did it very well in their uniforms. I think the Titans goofed it. Later this year, the Falcons have an opportunity to nail it.

Nostalgia & The Titans Rebrand was originally published in Graphic Language on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

To ICE and BP:

I wish you made better decisions in life, so that you didn’t end up here. I wish you weren’t a stubborn shit head so that you would want to make better decisions. I wish you weren’t such a loser, so that you could get a different job. I wish you were smarter, so you didn’t become mired in rightwing propaganda and cult-like group think. So that you could see how you’ve been fooled and manipulated. I wish you weren’t so soft. I wish you had the strength to see your errors and could course correct. I wish.

Now, I hope.

I hope you never forget the screams and cries of children and women as you ripped them from their cars and homes. I hope those sounds never leave your head and routine daily noises like an alarm on your phone remind you of them. I hope you never forget the terror and pain you have caused, both physical and physiological. That you close your eyes and see clearly their faces as long as you live. I hope you forever hear whistles in the distance of neighbors warning each other of your presence. I hope every car horn causes your blood pressure to raise. I hope every time you make eye contact with a stranger on the street while unmasked and in your civilian clothes you ask yourself “do they know?”. I hope you feel the anger of everyone who has ever typed, written, and shouted “fuck ICE!”. I want you to know that resentment of millions of people directed at you specifically. Know it well and feel it in your bones. I hope every time you hear ice cubes clank in a glass you see ICE printed on your vest. I hope you feel every ounce of the pain from your actions. I hope you understand how much your country hates you for what you’ve done and every rebel loon sticker and every American flag on a porch is a reminder of it.

I hope one day we move on from this fascist regime and its army of insurrectionists and terrorists. I hope repercussions and justice is served for conspiracy, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace, violations of the 1st amendment, the 4th, the 5th, 6th and 8th. I hope you are served every charge you deserve and your name and face are posted next to them in public places. I hope you spend the rest of your days serving the punishment for those crimes.

And if that justice is not done and you live the rest of your life free, I hope everything associated with what you are a part of is destroyed. The vests, the masks, guns, badges, phones, concentration camps, warehouses—all of it. I hope you watch it being thrown in dumpsters as people across the world video it and celebrate. I hope you drive a Ford vehicle the rest of your life and that blue oval is as much a badge of shame as a swastika. I hope you spend the rest of your days living in fear, looking over your shoulder and feel panic at the sight of every police car and wonder “is this the day?”.

I think my grandfather, who fought Nazis in the 1940s, would be proud of my stance today. I think yours would be ashamed. You are no patriot. But in a odd, round-about way, I think you might actually be a great unifier for this country. We’ll move on, build better government, and know what it actually means to be great.

I hope we never forget what you have done.

I hope no one ever thinks of you again.

I believe the next design movement will not be lead by AI, but will be a response to it. The rejection of AI among creative people is already numerous and clear. Therefore, I think creative pros are on the cusp of taking the next logical step and forming a new design and art movement.

AI is not the first technology to inspire an anti-movement in the arts. Many art styles (Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, Arts & Crafts, etc) and philosophies have been created as a rejection of something that came before. I believe the next new wave of design will be defined by these three qualities:

1. Anti-AI. This is where we are now. To differentiate from the digital style of most generative AI output, artist and designers will embrace analog tools and materials in their process. More digital pieces (JPGs) will have analog textures that appear tactile and tangible. It will be a straight-forward style choice that instantly reads as being “not AI”. It could also inspire new environmental imagery (remember when every new logo had a leaf?) and an increase in already popular green production — recyclable packaging or labeling of “green stats”.
2. Craftsmanship. Because AI output is sloppy and amateurish, designers will sharpen their craft skills and show it off in their work. I expect drawing and intricacy to play a role, but others may move in a different direction using simple geometry. Anything that shows skill and accuracy. Plus, as the film photography revival proves, this is not about nostalgia. People want to be good at something and interact with their work, especially when the end product is believed to be better than a digital alternative.
3. Anti-screen. A resurgence in product design where buttons, knobs, dials, levers, and switches make a return. Again, not based on nostalgia. People like the feel and sound of these mechanical things and will look to move away from screens that dominate our world with their menu complexity, unreliability, and harsh feel.

There is another quality that has potential to play a role but I am less sure about. To say the least, the current political climate is filled with anti-science and anti-truth. It is oppressive, and certain people seek to intimidate and control. A more visceral quality of design might be based in optimism and call-backs to better times. Obviously, this is where nostalgia does come in. Not nostalgia based on a past that never was, but as a tribute. I could see colors like International Orange being common. A nod to science and engineering.

Maybe there are other elements that will be used this way and act a a symbol of a better future being created now.

The Next Wave of Design was originally published in Graphic Language on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There’s never been a design topic I wanted to write about less. But I feel compelled to. This is the biggest logo fiasco ever.

The Gap’s infamous re-design had an interestingly strange media curiosity about it. People were like “WTF is this?”. The narrative was driven by logo design. Reading Michael Bierut’s comments on Yahoo News was wild and all the big names were discussing it in the Brand New comment section. (I highly recommend reading their article on CB as well). I never thought I’d see something like that again. Well in regards to graphic design discourse, I still haven’t. Design has so little to do with this.

The sad thing with the rebrand of Cracker Barrel is this coverage is mostly based on completely faux outrage. It is social, it is political, it is racial, and it has been absorbed into the American culture war (of which is mostly one side vs an imagined one). Most of the commenters are grifters in this arena. You know these people on youtube and Fox News have never been to a Cracker Barrel and they’ll never go to one. Somebody ask them what their favorite menu item is! The same people that complained about cancel-culture for years now act offended by a chain diner’s logo as great cultural loss to the woke. There’s no limit to what they won’t cry “woke” about and they still cant even define that. Like the “War On Christmas” the purpose of this is 1) they can rage at the enemy they want to have. 2) media distraction from real stories.

There is another side to it, though: the truly offended whites. For those, how little does it speak of American culture that a rebrand for Cracker Barrel deserves all this? It’s a chain restaurant logo and interior, and you can still go there and get the same poor quality food and over-seas made knick-knacks. This is not the type of joint that makes a place a place. It is not unique to the south; they have locations in almost every state. If anything, it speaks to a place without any significant place to go to. It speaks of a place mostly for traveling out-of-towners to get the same meal and dining experience they got 10 states away. What you should be mad about is that this is one of the best 3rd places in town to make fond memories in. What you should be mad about is your “culinary foundations” are delivered by corporate boardroom ideas to maximize profit, and often, exploit working people. And some people, right now in 2025, are willing to fight for the sanctity of it all. I wonder, would they ever do the same for the local family owned business? Is there one in town? If not, what kind of businesses might have driven them out? Sit with that for a while.

So what about the stock, because that’s the ultimate driver of the about-face of this rebrand. Well, thats what really solidifies this whole thing. How can we one-up the combination of faux outrage and genuine concern over cookie-cutter corporate institutions? The stock price fell so low, CB felt they had no choice but to respond. And that stock price is not even a reflection of customer support. It’s a reaction to social media and even the comments of the President.

I haven’t written anything about logo design or interiors here because that’s just not the story and I have no strong opinion on it. The redesign isn’t something I’d ever think about again after scrolling past once. Even as designers, we now have to call this crap out for what it is and not take the bait of manufactured rage.

Support small business.

— B.

November update: 21–24% of online profiles discussing teh logo change were rage farms.

Thoughts On Cracker Barrel was originally published in Graphic Language on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I Made A Bunch Of Logos Using Pre-Digital Analog Methods

I’ve been reconstructing classic logos with analog drafting tools like the olden days of yore. Mechanical pencils, compass, ruler, grid paper, and the like. As of today, I’ve completed 8 logos of varying complexity and difficulty. That’s not many, but it didn’t take long to start learning. Though there are more I want to do and more to learn, I feel good about writing about this now.

The purpose was to learn about the process of making camera ready artwork in the pre-digital era of graphic design. Surprisingly, I wasn’t able to find much information about it. There seems to be no reliable resources to actually learn the craft. You may be shocked at how useless a Google search is for this stuff. I had to rely on my high-school drafting knowledge and some reverse engineering to teach myself. The irony of being old enough to take drafting in high school, young enough to have missed out on analog graphic design.

I have long believed digital tools make design too easy. It’s fantastic for moving things around quickly and experimentation, but we must have lost something along the way in regards to craftsmanship, right? Well, that became clear for me by the 3rd logo I made with these old head methods.

The Grid

The best resource for beginning this is @logodecks on instagram who posts classic logos, often along with the grid it was drafted on. This is the best resource because the most important element in this process is the grid. Selecting a few of shots from Logodecks, it was easy to convert a logo to grid paper by just matching it 1 to 1.

That still didn’t make executing easy. I believe the first few grids I made were too small (just following what was printed on the paper), making drawing of finer shapes difficult. The pens I used have nibs that are too large as well (Pigma pens) so making mistakes is easy to do. You’ll see the sloppiness in the close up shots. Definitely not camera ready. I would eventually correct this for the Canadian National Rail logo (CN monogram) by doubling the size of the grid.

You can see with the grid how designers thought about the relationship of shapes and how to design for the eye using some simple math. Especially in the logo in the upper left of the image above. Sometimes a line needs to be the width of 1 grid space and another going a different direction needs to be slightly wider or narrower to match the first visually. The grid is a reference, not there just for filling in blocks or following the lines exactly, but splitting the grid into halves and quarters allows for better artwork.

This doesn’t make the design too stiff, rather the opposite. It provides the frame work to do what looks balanced and consistent. And I can admit that without that knowledge, without knowing why you adjust the thickness of a line for optical balance, you just start copy/pasting with digital tools because it is fast and easy. Once you learn about optics, then doing it digitally is still too easy to make adjustments based on vibes. Using a grid allows for better overshoot on curves and a better consistent feel. It’s not like you can’t work off a grid digitally and do the same thing, but how many do? How often? I didn’t have that craft in my background.

Canadian Grand Prix

There are methods here I think will make me a better logo craftsman. A bit in the hand but mostly in the head. By my 4th logo attempt I felt I could find an old logo I liked and recreate it’s original grid myself. I was able to do that for the Canadian Grand Prix logo. I took an old file I made of this logo years ago and built a new grid around it in Affinity Designer. I had a solid grid to work from and printed it.

If I had to pick an all time favorite logo this would be it. That recreation I made a few years ago was for a poster I have on my wall. I built it entirely in Illustrator by my usual logo construction techniques. The precision of the logo is not perfect. It is not as sound as the original from the 1970s. This really annoys me, but now I was able to “see” the grid in it and started drawing it out on paper. The result is a pretty close match to the original. Certainly better than the one I made digitally years ago.

Nevermind the sloppy inking, that’s my bad. The point to take away for this one is that the grid and proper layout was there. I finally figured out how to construct this thing manually. You can see in my original construction of the checkers (above left) how digital laziness doesn’t lead to great results. I thought I could warp those shapes into position but doing so actually gave some wonky lines and threw off the alignment. By doing it the old fart way, I could math out how to make those with overlapping circles. A much better match to the official logo (above right).

Shame about the inking of this one; it really did look nice for a minute.

Connection To The Construction

Using analog tools and these old techniques may sound like stepping into the past or a naive chase of nostalgia. But I don’t feel that way. I never felt like logo design in the ’70s was better because of the tools themselves. My hunch was that something in regards to craftsmanship was lost over the decades and I was curious as to what I might find about it. So in building these logos on paper, I don’t feel like I’m going backwards. More than anything I feel I’m discovering a new connection to the work that is both frustrating and enjoyable at the same time. It reminds me of drawing in my room as a teenager, which I’ve never felt as a professional designer.

That connection to the work I’m doing is satisfying and worth something to me. You have to pay close attention and have patience. Decisions are thought through more—more thinking and less playing around. The required slow pace is refreshing. A “fast paced environment” will not do. It requires focus, so you must remove yourself from distractions of notifications (and error messages).

These are small lessons about craftsmanship and relationship to the work but enough to keep me going with it. The lessons and craftsmanship will build if I keep it up. Its cool. Its enjoyable, even relaxing. At the end, I have something tactile I can keep and I take a bit of pride in that even though the logo isn’t my design and the inking is goofy. I feel like I actually made something. I don’t get that in the RGB space.

I’m looking forward to doing the next one. I bought a set of French curves and need to refresh my smaller Faber-Castell pens. I recommend those over Micron; I’ve just never had any luck with that brand. A logo built on a spiral sounds interesting.

Should We Go Back To Analog?

No, I don’t think so. I don’t think it would be better if every logo was made on paper for a camera to create the final file. I do believe it should be part of design education though. I’ve only done 8 of these and already feel like I’m a little better of a designer. Unless you want to approach logo design like Bruno Munari and make logos that are illustrations. That’s perfectly fine too and in that case, there are some principles you need to know about logo design but you can forget about the craft. Its useless.

But if you are interested in the craft of logo design then you might be interested in continuing the legacy of Modern design. Then this stuff becomes vital. This is the learning ground for constructing ideas well that carries over into digital tools and every other application. Once you have a well built logo, you can do anything with it from there. And even if you’re not into the Modernism style, there is still value here.

Whatever you want to do with a logo begins with sound 2D artwork. It is the foundation for everything else. Even working in new styles. Don’t let analog techniques and grids limit your ideas or what you’re capable of designing. Use it to build the skills that will make your original work better.

You can see more process shots on my instagram @moore.creativ

So, I Made A Bunch Of Logos Using Pre-Digital Analog Methods was originally published in Graphic Language on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

If you’re like me, you never go anywhere without your leathers. Those being the essential fashion pieces made of animal hide. For me, it’s my watch and belt. If you’re even more like me, you care a great deal about quality items and have more than the daily essential pieces. When I’m traveling, I’ll also have with me a leather notebook cover (of A5 size) and a satchel.

All these items are ones my grandchildren could one day use. That’s the mark of quality, of true luxury. Not the logo on the thing but how well it is made. They’re so well made they’re nearly indestructible. It’s also a mark of sustainable choices. Buying a single item is better than buying a cheap one, then another to inevitably replace it. Each one of these leather items came from a small business and even that title might be generous to the maker’s size. These items are the result of hobby craftspeople with a passion for leatherworking. Who could blame them? The smell and feel of genuine leather is one the best sensations known. Any interaction with it makes your day all the better for it. So, I never go anywhere without them.

I did not mention a wallet as part of my leathers. I don’t have a leather one. Mine is a slim, light design also handmade but from fabrics I am not too familiar with—an olive green, recycled polyester. It has held up well over the years so it seems to also be of quality too and I trust the maker I purchased it from.

If you share an interest in leathers, you must have asked yourself at some point about matching all the pieces or mixing colors. I believe it is up to you to determine what is best and what appeals most to your eye. Personally, I want each piece to have its obvious unique variations so not to appear as part of an art directed set, but also share in aesthetic harmony so they do all look nice together. My only rules are 1) It must be a mid-toned brown color 2) Any hardware must be silver or nickel in color. I would make an exception for satin black hardware but have not found that to be an option for any of the items I wanted. I also prefer lighter contrast stitching, but I do not see it as a must.

My notebook cover’s color is “crazy horse”. A mid brown with orange-ish cracks that appear when the leather is stressed. My satchel and belt are very similar in color though the belt is also called “crazy horse”. This particular piece shows the hallmark stressing but is overall darker in color. Both belt and satchel resemble espresso, but are still obviously brown. My watch was the lightest in color when new but as it is the oldest piece is working on a nice patina that now matches closely to the notebook cover.

At first notice, the early scuffs and scars on a new leather piece is upsetting. It doesn’t look great to have a new bag with only a few obvious marks but it is important to understand these are the first of many and over time will add character to the leather. You are watching the opening scene develop to this item’s life and one day, due to its natural wear and tear, will become a personal item only you could have produced. The oils of your hands, the way you slide it across a surface; your touch creates the story told all over the leather.

And if touch, smell, fashion, long term savings and quality craftsmanship isn’t enough to convert you to a connoisseur of leather goods then the personal touch might be.

We know our grandchildren will appreciate it.

The Leathers was originally published in Graphic Language on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Any business competent person will tell you the ability to adapt to change is one of the keys to long term success. Even as a creative professional, you need to be aware of marketplace changes and what people expect from you now they didn’t before. You don’t want to become Blockbuster.

I agree that adaptation is crucial. However, it does not mean you should compromise on your values. Your challenge as a business should be to adapt without selling your soul. For example, I’m an advocate for artists and anyone trying to make a living doing work they love in creative industries. Therefore, I have sworn off using AI tools. I refuse to throw my creative peers under the bus for any potential benefit for myself.

Still, generative AI tools are on the rise and people using them are now competition for every creative professional. So, how do you treat a competitor? By informing potential customers how what you offer is better than what they offer.

My response to this new wave of competitor is to emphasize what I do well and what sets me apart as a Designer: experience, knowledge, and skill. Then, recognizing how AI is sold — what is its purpose and appeal? To supplant skilled people with cheap amateurs. This leads to the positioning for my design studio, Moore Creativ.

This is a marketing campaign (social media posts) I created to inform potential clients what we’re about. By emphasizing what makes Moore Creativ good without compromising on my values. The response as of this writing? Positive. A small increase in followers across all social platforms, multiple people reaching out to inqure about projects, and much more support from my illustrator/artists friends. (No boosts to website hits though. Links were not provided in posts and people rarely make two clicks.)

This is how I encourage other creatives rejecting AI to adapt. Lean into your choice, why you value it, and showcase the benefit. Now is the time for ideas and craft. That will always be a winning approach to competitors who have neither.

On Adaptation & Values was originally published in Graphic Language on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There are graphic designers who feel they have nothing to learn from the past. That the old stuff (Modernism or Bauhaus) is so dated, it could never provide lessons for modern context.

Steven Heller once talked about how when you’re young, you want to make your own path. To break the molds and create the new way. You want to defy convention, but need to make sure what you’re breaking isn’t a hard earned norm. Because as you get older, you realize those old molds you wanted to break are actually really good.

“We occasionally encounter postmodernist arguments that try to dismiss hard earned norms of design and art. It’s easy to clear the table and say none of it matters, much easier than putting forth an actual argument based on logic, skill, experience”. — Steven Heller

Still, adding new branches to the tree of design history is part of the role of any contemporary designer. How do you know what conventions to defy?

For me, its ones based on group think and dogma. Cliche without substance. Style over idea. You can break this by thinking differently about something’s purpose and offering a new idea that has the fusion of logic and art. It’s a balance of craft and expression that clearly communicates a relevant idea. Once you can recognize that, then zigging to the zag makes a lot more sense. If you’re designing in the balance, then you can ask why things may have been done a certain way for so long and arrive at a good alternative answer.

For a long time, my vision of a great graphic designer was rooted in originality. The aim was to discover something new, ala’ David Carson in the early ’90s. What I’ve come around to is originality in itself isn’t that valuable and I shouldn’t strive to create something original, I should strive to create something valuable.

My aim today is to create something classic, which means it has lasting value. I think thats what makes great design. It’s not trendy or fleeting. It stands the test of time.

And isn’t it easy enough to do something new? To combine 2 flavors randomly, but if the taste is bad, then what’s the point?

I think it’s easy to overshoot a vision of originality. The picture we see is of something never done before, so we’re chasing some standard set by once in a lifetime artists like Picasso. Fine enough for Pablo, but for the rest of us mere mortals, I think the vision should be about adding to the legacy of our influences. Not copying them outright, but using them in new ways that build upon their history. That whole tree and branch thing.

Of course, there’s the client variable. They actually say things like “I want something never seen before!”, but is that really our job as Designers? To deliver something never seen before, or to deliver something valuable? Maybe that’s the most status quo shaking thing we can do.

Breaking And Refining History, Molds, And Legacy was originally published in Graphic Language on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I used to believe design studios/agencies should be launching points for people to advance their careers. A stepping stone to something better or something they want more found at another studio, team, or agency.

That was the wrong position to take.

Yes, people take jobs because they need something at the moment to pay the bills and maybe they dream of working at Apple. In such cases, working on a plan to point that person in the right direction is principled. But it should not be the driving force for how a studio operates in regards to its employee’s future.

Ultimately, it only benefits the studio. What I’m getting at is the idea of attracting talent. My previous belief suggested a studio will be a revolving door of talent that work for a few years before leaving. In practice, it is likely not to be a good place to work. Or one where employees are burnt out or poorly paid, or a place poorly managed and so on. You may have done good work there, but you suffered for it and now it’s time to bring in the next naive young person to replace you.

Employers in design, and many outside of design but this is who I’m speaking to, should not be preparing for greener pastures, they should be building the greener pastures. (This is a stupid metaphor, people are not cows, but you follow the point).

Through my career ive heard a lot of talk about how to attract talent; very little about how to keep it.

I believe this is the new competitive edge, especially in tech. People are aware that cafes and pool tables in the office are there to keep you at work longer. It’s a facade of what a good work place should be. Now employers need to focus on people’s needs and what they actually want in order to be a place that retains talent. The trend of bringing remote workers back to office full time? That’s got to go, too. There are no more mysteries about this. Some want to work in office, some want remote. Offer both. People want to be paid well, to go on vacation, to see their families, and have purpose in their work and opportunity to progress their career. Places that can offer these things will have their choice of talented workers.

The places that fail to meet real needs of employees will be the businesses soon put to pasture.

Making Greener Pastures was originally published in Graphic Language on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

So, cassette tapes are making a comeback and there is discourse on the internet about it. First, I’m happy to know I’m not the only one interested in recapturing the media. I’ve been considering buying a stereo and starting a tape collection for the past year—I’m not one for impulse buys.

Reason being, cassette tapes are cheap. Way cheaper than vinyl. They don’t require a monthly subscription. They don’t have ads and they don’t take up much space. There’s also a nostalgic bit that I’m interested in reliving.

That’s the thing internet people seem to be upset about.

“Cassettes are terrible. They sounded bad. They jammed. It’s just nostalgia that is bringing them back.”

It’s just nostalgia. OK, but I don’t think you can be that flippant about it. Nostalgia means something. It’s tied to meaningful personal memories and experiences. Maybe that’s attractive in part because you can’t go back there, but engaging with objects that were is like reaching into the past and feeling it a little. I find nothing wrong with that.

Personally, I also don’t care for common objections to cassettes. The attraction is not about sound quality, though I do enjoy the warm sound of tape. Should I buy CDs instead? They’re easily scratched and skip. Vinyl warps and quality equipment these days isn’t cheap either. Digital streaming sounds like digital streaming and artists get pennies for it. There are flaws to all forms of media, but for me this is about the listening experience of music.

You could also argue that people want to show them off. As rich people build wine coolers with glass doors to show guests how wealthy they are, the culturally opulent enjoy showing off their music tastes as proof of how cool they are. I’m OK with that too.

Let’s not forget the sound of popping open the case, the feel of sliding out the paper and reading the lyrics. Sometimes the cassettes are really interesting colors you only discover when you open the case for the first time. The opening and closing “clunk” of the player, these are things I’ve not heard or felt for a long time and they’re good things! I haven’t even mentioned the graphic design tie-in here; the album art.

Who wouldn’t be nostalgic for that?