Yeah. I actually don't like the art style at all. I don't like the proportions. I don't like the curved arms. I don't like the coloring. And I don't like the causes associated to it. So when the video asked me if I dislike the art style, I wondered if my mind would change. But the examples actually confirmed I don't like the style at all.
It's really scary that corporations have the power to claim something as their own creation. I'm sure this art style isn't the only thing. We tend to believe people with authority without them having to prove much. I really liked learning more about this topic! I hope those artists get the credit and recognition they deserve! :)
Corporations absolutely steal art all the time, artwork from lesser known creators gets put on clothing or things like that regularly. The thing is that corporations can steal shamelessly because they have the legal power to do so. When a small artist calls them out for their theft, companies usually just go *"sure thing pal, and what are you gonna do about it? Sue us? We have millions of dollars and good lawyers, what do you have?"* They don't even need to put too much effort into hiding their theft because of this, they can just lie like they did in the video. Like you said, people believe them. But yeah, it's really cool that videos like these are made, just to show that even wildly hated art styles like this one came from a source that had nothing to do with what they turned into.
I never even knew this art style was claimed by these companies. This type of style reminds me of those jazzy paintings which were pretty minimalistic but you could read the shape out of. The ones I see on Facebook just seem slightly more modern (and ofc they'll be because the people are doing tik tok dances and wear our clothes, unlike the fancy stuff the old paintings did). So annoying stuff like this is an issue
Corporations shouldn't be allowed to claim art. While an artist is alive, he can claim the benefits from his creatsion; and when he artist dies, his works enter the public domain, thereby enriching all of human culture. Corporations can't die.
This trend feels like the classic “Calibri” font. A standard that anyone can use to make a point without truly expressing anything other than the message.
I like Calibri, and I like how you put this, but I guess it's much more recognizable for me than it is for you. I wish I had a dollar for every time I saw some ad hoc sign and had to read it again because I realized that it was typed up in Microsoft Word and had that thought first.
As a person who works in the corporate animation/Design world... I can defiantly say that the designers behind these facebook ads are genuine people who are really passionate about creating art. We're all out here just trying to make money and draw cartoons. But your video definitely sheds some light on how these drawings are masking important social issues. That's something that I didn't consider before in my work! I really love this
Yeah I kind of feel bad for the artist who this is just their style and Facebook just hired them. I don't hate the art style. I get hating corporations, but I feel like this guy is grasping a little bit.
@@bonne_vieit's not really the art style that's bad, it's the association with corporations and the overuse of it that's bad. If it was one company's unique style, it'd be one thing but every corporation since 2019?
@@bonne_vie (Sorry for the wall of text; I didn't mean to get all preachy, this is just what was going through my mind watching this and I wanted to get it out, you can ignore it if you want.) As somebody who came into this thinking the hate for the art style and the companies using it was unreasonable, I think he actually has a very good point and makes it well. He does a pretty good job of sticking up for the people who work in that style and explaining what makes the aesthetics appealing and effective, while still making a nuanced critique of the companies using it. I think his point is that, while the artists working for Facebook might well be working in their own personal art style, Facebook is explicitly using this art style in their marketing to avoid having to say anything real or take any stand. In that sense, it is literally "non-representational" exactly as Buck described; the artists may be using the abstraction to make their storytelling more relatable, but tech companies are using it because it's the most "bold" they can go without ruffling any feathers or representing any actual marginalized viewpoints. That's why I think the example at 14:06 is the most illustrative and convincing to me. This is a place where the abstraction completely undermines the point being made. Just imagine what graphic they would have had to use if they didn't have the Corporate Memphis style to fall back on. Imagine if they had to use photographs of trans people; would the trans people's mood about this vanishingly incremental step forward for trans rights have matched the flat, bright, poppy colors in the graphic? And would their presence have been as inoffensive and cheery for the people who are reading this article about how great this huge bank is for adding an item to a dropdown menu or whatever? Nothing is actually being represented here, and that's not by accident; that's literally why the art style was repurposed for this use, and Buck themselves describe it as "abstracted" with "oversized limbs" and "non-representational skin colors". And the biggest irony is that the Memphis art style was originally conceived as a countercultural force to push the boundaries of modern design, so its being co-opted for this purpose only makes the sting worse. Of course, none of this is the fault of Random Staff Designer #4 at Facebook who's churning these visuals out on assignment, but someone at some level made the decision to go in this direction-or at best blundered into it because it was the path of least resistance-so I think the critique is valid when these companies are also branding themselves as progressive. You can't go down the path of least resistance and then want credit for resisting.
A lot of students in the 2010's were taught memphis design at senior level graphic design classes. So I think that also had a lot to do with memphis revival. Great video with accurate history!
This was so freakin well made, researched and interesting to watch even if I don't rly give too many 💩s about illustration hehe, big props to your editor 🌟 and obviously to you Cam, for sharing so passionately how fascinating yet fucked up this world is!!! :') Hope parenthood is going well, much love!! 🙌🏼💗
I don't like how it looks, even by Fathina Ramos, I think it's very dull. But it must really suck to be associated with soulless corporations when you tried to make your own style.
@@charlie9723 disagree, alegria will be a part of some future aesthetic, just think of vaporwave with all tge old 902 corporate logo like mcdonalds etc.
Being an illustrator is being always worried that the style you're spending your life trying to learn and master becomes obsolete in a few years because of those companies 🙃 Thank you for the awesome video I've learned a lot in something I thought I knew about.
lol the art form / aesthetic isn't obsolete due to companies, it's just time that passes and a new art form emerges... allways been that way, but hey lets hate all companies because capitalism is bad and so, not that there would be enough good arguments against our economic system, but lets just yell fck capitalism really loud without even trying to undestand the underlying problems
This video was so well researched, really enjoyed it. Glad you brought up the ‘but is the art style bad’ part because there’s tons of people drawing like this and they’re not all evil spawns of Meta. Cool to see you bring up so many, to me, new artists as well. Appreciate that.
It's wild how, despite it imitating the corporate memphis style, Justin Kang's drawings are some of the most beautiful and shocking i've seen in a while, it's the raw emotion what brings these to life
This video (and actually all of your videos) deserves more views. Love your style, the effort you put into them, the way you talk to the camera, everything. Very inspiring. I wish my own videos could come across more natural like yours - to be honest, it's not easy. Keep up the great work like this - even if it doesn't get all the views. It's really awesome :)
I followed a class about gender in organisations and I noticed this trend too! companies trying to avoid being inclusive by being "not exclusive". I love how you explained to me why I hate it so much!
perfect did you find a better version to solve the representation issue? stick 100+ diffrent representation of humans on to the front of the homepage? ofc there wouldnt be some group of people that would yell around bc they would feel represented, so lets feel angry, yell around and don't even think about a solution...
Mate... This speaks to me in so many ways. I’ve felt torn about corporate memphis for years. Yes it’s soulless and infinitely unoriginal and inoffensive, but it also meant more illustration in the mainstream and more work for illustrators. So I can’t bring myself to hate it as much as it probably deserves. Great video, you laid it all out so perfectly 🌟
I think it’s offensive. Our HR system has this and it’s so childish and patronising. Along with the “Hey! Glad you’re here!” type messages, I feel like they’re almost laughing at us. Here’s an insincere picture, which is Everyperson so you can relate to it, and cheap for us too. Then here are some insincere greetings and congratulations, even though we don’t even know you exist. Love from all of us!
I've never heard anyone talk about this, I've never heard anyone say they dislike it, but I've always hated it, and instinctively I had a feeling everyone else did too. Well done, sir!
MATE! Honestly this absolutley blew me away. I work as a graphic designer and I just dont get to design anything anymore, I get asked to pull illustrations like this from Stock websites and paste them in to powerpoints. Clipart 2.0. I had an odd tast in my mouth about it for ages cuz you're right -- its not the art style i hate its the corporate falseness. Like a fake smile you can see through. I found your channel recently and honestly you have quickly become one of my favourite creators! thank you so much for putting stuff out there man! It really resonates with me
Damn I didn't know I would become so passionate about this thing I knew nothing about but by the end of the video I was like YEAH OMG FUCK ALEGRIA (and all it represents for big tech soulessness)
Urg I hate this art style haha like I feel like I started off my illustration journey drawing something similar (I come from graphic design so the vector based drawings felt comfortable and familiar to me) but I quickly moved on as I got more skilled. It’s really interesting hearing this history of this style, and to find out that it has so many ties to older styles (like Memphis and Art Deco) that I love quite a lot.
The image shown at 2:54 is bij Piet Mondriaan, part of the Dutch 'De Stijl' movement of the 1920s. Bauhaus centres around a German design school in the first half of the 20th century. So while they probably inspired eachother, they are not the same. I did enjoy this and your other videos though, so keep up the good work! :)
8:25 ehhh your claim that Michael Brown was “senselessly murdered” is very much not accurate. Like I know I’m not gonna convince anyone in the comments that his killing was justified (if you already think it was unjustified), but yeah “senseless murder” simply doesn’t comport to the facts of that event. I’d recommend Eli Steele’s documentary on the subject, WHAT KILLED MICHAEL BROWN?
I noticed it in the corners of my eyes and always wondered, "okay, WHO actually likes this?" It just always felt like rather soul-less placeholder content instead of actual ad illustration. For me, the biggest factor was usually the lack of facial features that made it feel empty. And then, funnily enough earlier this year I was tasked by a client to replace his Alegria icons with something "more personal". I didn't care enough to look into the style, so a lot of this video was new to me. I must say, some of the good examples of the style look genuinely cool. I think I can appreciate that side of it more now.
I'm thinking of the correct ones, then my only input is that they don't even register as illustration for me. They are just impersonal icons that communicate information at best.
@hansnotig6250 SAME. I just love it's abstraction, it's so fucking powerful, tho I can also easily detect the dual motives when this typa art is associated with corporate companies
I need to say that as a developer those SVG's are soo useful since they are light af, and easy to modify size. that's why it's so used, the more detailed the heavier the file gets in big companies where fractions of second matter...
I loved learning about Fatinha Ramos from your video and ended up looking up more of her art. Such an amazing style and her compositions have so much meaning to them (not the soulless FB crap). I’d really love to see more videos (even shorts) from you showcasing artists like her (coz you’re not busy enough 😝). Thanks so much 🍄
as someone who has worked as a graphic designer/animator for the past 10 years i have to point out how animation played a HUGE role in why this style became so ubiquitous. So around the early 10s a couple of things happened: 1) Lowered data mobile data costs together with a coordinated push from FB caused a massive surge in demand for branded video and animated content. 2) Adobe went to a subscription based model which lowered the cost of entry for designers and new animators getting their hands on After Effects for the first time in order to fill the demand for video content. There were also a whole bunch of new tools such as rubberhose and duik coming out at the same time which lowered the skill ceiling even more and made rigging and animating much quicker and cost effective, but it basically only worked in a very flat style. 3) All these new animators who had no idea on how to animate flocked to the new big phenomenon of youtube tutorials. The YT algorithm did its thing, popular tutorials got recommended first (which only made them even more popular) - and inadvertently created an almost standardised format and style for illustrating and animating content. So put all this together coupled with the fact that animating illustrations with textures and shading and 2 point perspective is extremely expensive and work intensive and requires years and years and years of experience to do well and you get Alegria. Buck used to be a motion design company first and foremost and i am certain they designed all of Alegria with animation in mind. All of that said the point still stands: you don't hate this style, you hate capitalism. And you absolutely should.
This was such a beautiful analysis and I’m not even an artist/graphic artist. I was definitely educated so thank you for producing this video. Looking forward to so much more of your work
this style really has gotten EVERYWHERE! I had been noticing it more and more; thank you for this deep-dive on the topic - now I know why! also, congrats on the new family member :D :D :D
every video of yours is a BANGER. I get hooked every time. I would love a long video essay of some sort. Thank you for making videos that affect and inspire me
They have this art style in Canva and I recently used them for some digital work for my business. I thought they were just fun looking people, now I look at them differently. That was deep and fascinating. Thank you.
Thank you Campbell for not only acknowledging this issue, but especially giving a spotlight for the real artist who are still undermined for their style because it isn't realistic.
Ohmygod THANK YOU for this video!!! I've wanted to learn more about corporate Memphis, but every video essay I've watched so far has barely scraped the surface of the style's history and impact. Also, major props to the editor!! I couldn't pull myself away from the screen, it was all so damn good
This was a really interesting and nuanced look into the topic! I've somehow managed to avoid corporate Alegria mostly so I don't have much of a dislike to it, so I'm glad you didn't write it off completely and included artists who actually make art in the style but with soul. Now that you've pointed it out, I can sort of tell that the corporate illustrations feel soulless. They kind of annoyed me before, but now it feels a lot more insidious. On an unrelated note, I love the new backgrounds! And the editing was great :D
On point with everything as always, I feel like I learn so much from these types of videos 🤩🤩 “We don’t hate flat art, we hate soulless art” very well said!!
As a former VP of Marketing in Tech, I find this very insightful, entertaining, thought-provoking. Thanks for researching it and putting this together.
Great video! If you're looking deeper into art history for the inspirations of this style, what comes to mind is: Picasso's neoclassicistic phase for the oversized limbs, Niki de Saint-Phalle's sculptures/illustrations for the oversized proportions + vibrant colors and Fernand Leger's paintings for proportions, colors and flatness.
I'm going to put my hand up and say I like this style, but mainly because I love the vibrant colours. A great lesson in the style's history, and I agree that adding texture gives it a different feel.
I have been sending this video to everyone I know because you so beautifully articulate my thoughts on Corp Memphis and Alegria. Thank you for such a well-made, well-thought-out video!
I was lucky to have an absolutely amazing art history teacher that made me fascinated with the stuff, but you are easily second best. I'd love a whole series of art history videos
I feel so torn as an illustrator. Like you said it's not the art that's bad, it is how its being used. Yet, unfortunately as someone who is in school rn for illustration and it feels like that's the direction my department wants us to be pushed in, because that's how you'll get a job. It just makes me feel really hopeless like how can be an illustrator who actually has stability after school when the places demanding or looking for illustrators want more of a corporate designer style that I don't have :/ I don't want to work for places like that, but it seems like the only option in such a capitalist and corporate world.
Awesome breakdown, it's great that you actually look back through the history and influences on this style. Insincerity within art is what kills it, it becomes more of a medium for projection rather than introspection and curiosity. It's a good example of how anything that's forced upon the masses can be rejected, art is supposed to be something you discover for personal consumption not jammed into your conscious.
Ive been following you since forever and I love watching you grow on this platform and receive the recognition you DESERVE. Much love now and always!!,
Pay attention to the word "non-representational" this is important. Of course corporate art would atomize its characters, and homogenize them into some disgusting amorphous blob which no one can either recognize or identify with. It's couched as unity, but as we all know, they are anything but unifying. They are about tearing us down, and ripping us away from any support or identity we have as a human being. The messages are deliberately confusing too, like Ingsoc's. You're special, no one else is like you, but at the same time, we're all the same. It's not meant to make sense.
Watching after ten mins of this video, I decided to start over and take some notes . You're an amazing teacher bro. Whatever subject your videos about, I learn a lot of things.
I somehow get more and more convinced there’s also a corporate style in music, although not purpose built as much. For example, right now in ads there’s often this pompous pseudo hip hop that has this „threatening“ … uhm, aura? It kinda evokes the feeling of a giant walking towards you, you know what I mean?
This is why being able to customize things yourself is really important. It takes away the ability to control you from the corporations to your own hands. I can blame apple with a clear conscience because i dont think they still to this day allow custom themes, icon packs or any type of personalization. I'm actually baffled they even allow you to change your background.
A company I work for to teach consent-based sex education actually uses this style with purpose and heart. We use them as blank slates to prompt conversation about how the situation would change if the non-representative figures were replaced by very specific people. I started having a minor crisis about if this was harmful at the start of the video, but by the end I see how this is using the style in a way that honours the artwork and the work we do.
Sorry but I LOVEEE skeuomorphic design, 'Frutiger Aero' is my favorite aesthetic of the 2000s, it's very nostalgic but even through that, it's so much more intriguing to look at and so much more colorful
I love to see your content shifting to longer form video essays. The self help stuff is nice too but man it is nice to see long form stuff with research.
Never stop continuously making art work like whose amazing video content forms struthless, much love from FX from Austria. You will be colossal on YT if you need grinding and never stop creating “content”
Am I the only one who actually really likes the style? It's bright, fun and flexible. I love making random parts of the body strangely huge or small. And I like its simplicity. When it comes to the philosophic part - I really wonder. What should be done to make corporate memphis work? Imagine a huge company. They decide to organise a fund-raising campaign for, let's say, some quality LGBT+ foundation. However, the marketing team wants to use corporte memphis graphics to promote the campaign. Would it still be fake if it made them seem more LGBT-friendly? Isn't the act of the fund-raising campaign the proof of actually caring?
It's a shame because Buck does amazing work, especially in the realm of motion graphics and animation. I don't understand why people can't simply admit to their influences. It would be honorable for them to simply say something like "Memphis style was our inspiration for this project because we thought it addressed the brief that Facebook required." I don't hold it against Buck for using the style. They were contracted to do the work and this style fit the need. It's just kinda crappy that they claim they invented it.
Most of modern "art" has been crap. If a piece of talentless garbage made a "statement" (politically correct, leftwing), it was deemed "art". This didn't affect illustration until recently. Now everything has to be "woke". Talent and originality are a threat to the new system. The words I would use to describe modern corporate illustration are "insipid" and "juvenile" (in the worst possible way).
You should have quadruple the subscribers you do. Not just for these videos, but for your self-improvement (not the pop meaning of that, but actual improvement) videos too. Love your stuff so so much and your videos are incredibly comforting and validating.
I am in healthcare research and sometimes when doing slides representing patients and their caregivers we use this style (from online templates) and I never noticed it linked to big corporate companies (selective attention I guess). I learned a lot thank you for this! Thank you. Definitely makes you think
I will definitely be looking more into Justin Kang. Thank you for sharing some of his pieces with us! And as a former typesetter, I'm looking forward to your video on fonts, for sure!
Love these videos man, catching up on the ones I missed. Started following back with the different art styles for the same person/character and subbed immediately.
Art styles and movements whether loved or hated, I think are really fascinating to learn about. Love the video, would love to see more videos like this
![ILLSLICK - KILLSHOT REMIX [FULL VERSION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RIK8RrqIAzE/mqdefault.jpg)
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
After watching this video I’ve realised that style of art is literally a physical representation of toxic positivity 😂
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Yeah. I actually don't like the art style at all. I don't like the proportions. I don't like the curved arms. I don't like the coloring. And I don't like the causes associated to it. So when the video asked me if I dislike the art style, I wondered if my mind would change. But the examples actually confirmed I don't like the style at all.
Basically like the overuse of the word WHOLESOME all over the Internet, and in the real life now, too.
damn this comparison is so on point, i would never come to it myself. glad you wrote it down here
Can you elaborate? I dont really understand.
I like the art history/style analysis vids man, would love to see more of this type of content!
Me too! I love all his content, though this was really informative and I loved it.
Agreed. I love the way Cam presents this info. So informative and entertaining at the same time.
I see this video only now and use this comment to signal to struthless again - this type of video is awesome.
yes it clicked when u said “we dont hate flat art we hate soulless art” exactly why this art style never sat right with me. love this vidoe
Damn 233 likes and no replies
@@The_Everything_mannothing to argument about, he's just right
@@kquack And struthless-senpai noticed him
It's really scary that corporations have the power to claim something as their own creation. I'm sure this art style isn't the only thing. We tend to believe people with authority without them having to prove much. I really liked learning more about this topic! I hope those artists get the credit and recognition they deserve! :)
Corporations absolutely steal art all the time, artwork from lesser known creators gets put on clothing or things like that regularly. The thing is that corporations can steal shamelessly because they have the legal power to do so. When a small artist calls them out for their theft, companies usually just go *"sure thing pal, and what are you gonna do about it? Sue us? We have millions of dollars and good lawyers, what do you have?"* They don't even need to put too much effort into hiding their theft because of this, they can just lie like they did in the video. Like you said, people believe them.
But yeah, it's really cool that videos like these are made, just to show that even wildly hated art styles like this one came from a source that had nothing to do with what they turned into.
These art style were even popular in 2010 when dribbble launched.
I never even knew this art style was claimed by these companies. This type of style reminds me of those jazzy paintings which were pretty minimalistic but you could read the shape out of. The ones I see on Facebook just seem slightly more modern (and ofc they'll be because the people are doing tik tok dances and wear our clothes, unlike the fancy stuff the old paintings did). So annoying stuff like this is an issue
Corporations shouldn't be allowed to claim art.
While an artist is alive, he can claim the benefits from his creatsion; and when he artist dies, his works enter the public domain, thereby enriching all of human culture.
Corporations can't die.
they deserve a prison cell for this style
This trend feels like the classic “Calibri” font. A standard that anyone can use to make a point without truly expressing anything other than the message.
You mean my resume shouldn't be in Comic Sans?
I joke.
As a Calibri enjoyer I feel called out LOL
@@Soylentology It's all about the Wingdings.
I like Calibri, and I like how you put this, but I guess it's much more recognizable for me than it is for you. I wish I had a dollar for every time I saw some ad hoc sign and had to read it again because I realized that it was typed up in Microsoft Word and had that thought first.
@@nathanfast7974 aw why not papyrus
As a person who works in the corporate animation/Design world... I can defiantly say that the designers behind these facebook ads are genuine people who are really passionate about creating art. We're all out here just trying to make money and draw cartoons. But your video definitely sheds some light on how these drawings are masking important social issues. That's something that I didn't consider before in my work! I really love this
Yeah I kind of feel bad for the artist who this is just their style and Facebook just hired them. I don't hate the art style. I get hating corporations, but I feel like this guy is grasping a little bit.
defiantly?
@@slkjvlkfsvnlsdfhgdght5447 I think it's supposed to be "definitely" but Corrinne spelt it "definatly" and got autocorrected to "defiantly"
@@bonne_vieit's not really the art style that's bad, it's the association with corporations and the overuse of it that's bad. If it was one company's unique style, it'd be one thing but every corporation since 2019?
@@bonne_vie (Sorry for the wall of text; I didn't mean to get all preachy, this is just what was going through my mind watching this and I wanted to get it out, you can ignore it if you want.) As somebody who came into this thinking the hate for the art style and the companies using it was unreasonable, I think he actually has a very good point and makes it well. He does a pretty good job of sticking up for the people who work in that style and explaining what makes the aesthetics appealing and effective, while still making a nuanced critique of the companies using it.
I think his point is that, while the artists working for Facebook might well be working in their own personal art style, Facebook is explicitly using this art style in their marketing to avoid having to say anything real or take any stand. In that sense, it is literally "non-representational" exactly as Buck described; the artists may be using the abstraction to make their storytelling more relatable, but tech companies are using it because it's the most "bold" they can go without ruffling any feathers or representing any actual marginalized viewpoints.
That's why I think the example at 14:06 is the most illustrative and convincing to me. This is a place where the abstraction completely undermines the point being made. Just imagine what graphic they would have had to use if they didn't have the Corporate Memphis style to fall back on. Imagine if they had to use photographs of trans people; would the trans people's mood about this vanishingly incremental step forward for trans rights have matched the flat, bright, poppy colors in the graphic? And would their presence have been as inoffensive and cheery for the people who are reading this article about how great this huge bank is for adding an item to a dropdown menu or whatever? Nothing is actually being represented here, and that's not by accident; that's literally why the art style was repurposed for this use, and Buck themselves describe it as "abstracted" with "oversized limbs" and "non-representational skin colors". And the biggest irony is that the Memphis art style was originally conceived as a countercultural force to push the boundaries of modern design, so its being co-opted for this purpose only makes the sting worse.
Of course, none of this is the fault of Random Staff Designer #4 at Facebook who's churning these visuals out on assignment, but someone at some level made the decision to go in this direction-or at best blundered into it because it was the path of least resistance-so I think the critique is valid when these companies are also branding themselves as progressive. You can't go down the path of least resistance and then want credit for resisting.
A lot of students in the 2010's were taught memphis design at senior level graphic design classes. So I think that also had a lot to do with memphis revival. Great video with accurate history!
Actual Memphis design was cool af
It was a major influence for the 90s Nickelodeon aesthetic, which I am a huge fan of.
Less is more? Less is a bore!
This was so freakin well made, researched and interesting to watch even if I don't rly give too many 💩s about illustration hehe, big props to your editor 🌟 and obviously to you Cam, for sharing so passionately how fascinating yet fucked up this world is!!! :') Hope parenthood is going well, much love!! 🙌🏼💗
He supports "trans rights" so he is probably letting Riley Kilo have "playdates" with his daughter.
@@kitschunetrashfox ok bro but is that related to the comment
I feel bad for the artists who primarily work with this artsyle now
I don't like how it looks, even by Fathina Ramos, I think it's very dull. But it must really suck to be associated with soulless corporations when you tried to make your own style.
I don't. They don't have any artistic talent. They are imposters and should be bookkeepers.
@@EugeneOneguine Depends on the artist, but i like how Dan Gartman uses shapes and colors to simplify his art.
@@Telimency Indeed, that's pretty cool. I used to have tale books illustrated that way.
why? they are like those workers who ran the 3rd reich
give it 30 years, we'll embrace it as some weird nostalgic thing like vaporwave.
i doubt it, it lacks of everything that made the others styles interesting
@@charlie9723 Maybe embrace it ironically?
@@charlie9723 disagree, alegria will be a part of some future aesthetic, just think of vaporwave with all tge old 902 corporate logo like mcdonalds etc.
FR.
the soulless corpo garbage that is frutiger got this treatment, so will alegria, just give it ten or so years ^^
Being an illustrator is being always worried that the style you're spending your life trying to learn and master becomes obsolete in a few years because of those companies 🙃 Thank you for the awesome video I've learned a lot in something I thought I knew about.
❤ this comment
lol the art form / aesthetic isn't obsolete due to companies, it's just time that passes and a new art form emerges... allways been that way, but hey lets hate all companies because capitalism is bad and so, not that there would be enough good arguments against our economic system, but lets just yell fck capitalism really loud without even trying to undestand the underlying problems
This video was so well researched, really enjoyed it. Glad you brought up the ‘but is the art style bad’ part because there’s tons of people drawing like this and they’re not all evil spawns of Meta. Cool to see you bring up so many, to me, new artists as well. Appreciate that.
It's wild how, despite it imitating the corporate memphis style, Justin Kang's drawings are some of the most beautiful and shocking i've seen in a while, it's the raw emotion what brings these to life
This video (and actually all of your videos) deserves more views. Love your style, the effort you put into them, the way you talk to the camera, everything. Very inspiring. I wish my own videos could come across more natural like yours - to be honest, it's not easy. Keep up the great work like this - even if it doesn't get all the views. It's really awesome :)
I followed a class about gender in organisations and I noticed this trend too! companies trying to avoid being inclusive by being "not exclusive". I love how you explained to me why I hate it so much!
perfect did you find a better version to solve the representation issue? stick 100+ diffrent representation of humans on to the front of the homepage? ofc there wouldnt be some group of people that would yell around bc they would feel represented, so lets feel angry, yell around and don't even think about a solution...
Mate... This speaks to me in so many ways. I’ve felt torn about corporate memphis for years. Yes it’s soulless and infinitely unoriginal and inoffensive, but it also meant more illustration in the mainstream and more work for illustrators. So I can’t bring myself to hate it as much as it probably deserves. Great video, you laid it all out so perfectly 🌟
I think it’s offensive. Our HR system has this and it’s so childish and patronising. Along with the “Hey! Glad you’re here!” type messages, I feel like they’re almost laughing at us. Here’s an insincere picture, which is Everyperson so you can relate to it, and cheap for us too. Then here are some insincere greetings and congratulations, even though we don’t even know you exist. Love from all of us!
I've never heard anyone talk about this, I've never heard anyone say they dislike it, but I've always hated it, and instinctively I had a feeling everyone else did too. Well done, sir!
MATE! Honestly this absolutley blew me away. I work as a graphic designer and I just dont get to design anything anymore, I get asked to pull illustrations like this from Stock websites and paste them in to powerpoints. Clipart 2.0. I had an odd tast in my mouth about it for ages cuz you're right -- its not the art style i hate its the corporate falseness. Like a fake smile you can see through.
I found your channel recently and honestly you have quickly become one of my favourite creators! thank you so much for putting stuff out there man! It really resonates with me
Damn I didn't know I would become so passionate about this thing I knew nothing about but by the end of the video I was like YEAH OMG FUCK ALEGRIA (and all it represents for big tech soulessness)
Urg I hate this art style haha like I feel like I started off my illustration journey drawing something similar (I come from graphic design so the vector based drawings felt comfortable and familiar to me) but I quickly moved on as I got more skilled. It’s really interesting hearing this history of this style, and to find out that it has so many ties to older styles (like Memphis and Art Deco) that I love quite a lot.
The image shown at 2:54 is bij Piet Mondriaan, part of the Dutch 'De Stijl' movement of the 1920s.
Bauhaus centres around a German design school in the first half of the 20th century.
So while they probably inspired eachother, they are not the same.
I did enjoy this and your other videos though, so keep up the good work! :)
8:25 ehhh your claim that Michael Brown was “senselessly murdered” is very much not accurate. Like I know I’m not gonna convince anyone in the comments that his killing was justified (if you already think it was unjustified), but yeah “senseless murder” simply doesn’t comport to the facts of that event. I’d recommend Eli Steele’s documentary on the subject, WHAT KILLED MICHAEL BROWN?
Corprate art and psychology is a facinating subject, but pretty dark at some points. Gread video dude!
I noticed it in the corners of my eyes and always wondered, "okay, WHO actually likes this?" It just always felt like rather soul-less placeholder content instead of actual ad illustration. For me, the biggest factor was usually the lack of facial features that made it feel empty. And then, funnily enough earlier this year I was tasked by a client to replace his Alegria icons with something "more personal".
I didn't care enough to look into the style, so a lot of this video was new to me. I must say, some of the good examples of the style look genuinely cool. I think I can appreciate that side of it more now.
I'm thinking of the correct ones, then my only input is that they don't even register as illustration for me. They are just impersonal icons that communicate information at best.
I like alegria tbh... I understand the criticism but still I can seperate the soules corporations of the aesthetic, but just imo
@hansnotig6250 SAME. I just love it's abstraction, it's so fucking powerful, tho I can also easily detect the dual motives when this typa art is associated with corporate companies
I need to say that as a developer those SVG's are soo useful since they are light af, and easy to modify size.
that's why it's so used, the more detailed the heavier the file gets in big companies where fractions of second matter...
what a fantastic video!
thank you so much for putting the work in and giving this to the world
Este video me llena de alegría!
I loved learning about Fatinha Ramos from your video and ended up looking up more of her art. Such an amazing style and her compositions have so much meaning to them (not the soulless FB crap). I’d really love to see more videos (even shorts) from you showcasing artists like her (coz you’re not busy enough 😝). Thanks so much 🍄
Loving the deep dives, man! This is soulful engagement with history and perspective and they could never.
as someone who has worked as a graphic designer/animator for the past 10 years i have to point out how animation played a HUGE role in why this style became so ubiquitous.
So around the early 10s a couple of things happened:
1) Lowered data mobile data costs together with a coordinated push from FB caused a massive surge in demand for branded video and animated content.
2) Adobe went to a subscription based model which lowered the cost of entry for designers and new animators getting their hands on After Effects for the first time in order to fill the demand for video content. There were also a whole bunch of new tools such as rubberhose and duik coming out at the same time which lowered the skill ceiling even more and made rigging and animating much quicker and cost effective, but it basically only worked in a very flat style.
3) All these new animators who had no idea on how to animate flocked to the new big phenomenon of youtube tutorials. The YT algorithm did its thing, popular tutorials got recommended first (which only made them even more popular) - and inadvertently created an almost standardised format and style for illustrating and animating content.
So put all this together coupled with the fact that animating illustrations with textures and shading and 2 point perspective is extremely expensive and work intensive and requires years and years and years of experience to do well and you get Alegria. Buck used to be a motion design company first and foremost and i am certain they designed all of Alegria with animation in mind.
All of that said the point still stands: you don't hate this style, you hate capitalism. And you absolutely should.
This was such a beautiful analysis and I’m not even an artist/graphic artist. I was definitely educated so thank you for producing this video. Looking forward to so much more of your work
I'm so glad I fouond this channel~ It's one of those channel where the production, storytelling, and editing never disappoints. Great job!!!
this style really has gotten EVERYWHERE! I had been noticing it more and more; thank you for this deep-dive on the topic - now I know why! also, congrats on the new family member :D :D :D
every video of yours is a BANGER. I get hooked every time. I would love a long video essay of some sort. Thank you for making videos that affect and inspire me
They have this art style in Canva and I recently used them for some digital work for my business. I thought they were just fun looking people, now I look at them differently. That was deep and fascinating. Thank you.
Thank you Campbell for not only acknowledging this issue, but especially giving a spotlight for the real artist who are still undermined for their style because it isn't realistic.
Ohmygod THANK YOU for this video!!! I've wanted to learn more about corporate Memphis, but every video essay I've watched so far has barely scraped the surface of the style's history and impact. Also, major props to the editor!! I couldn't pull myself away from the screen, it was all so damn good
Every time you upload I know I’m going to learn something new.
this is exactly the niche documentary I was looking for!!! great video!! Excellent editing on this too
This was a really interesting and nuanced look into the topic! I've somehow managed to avoid corporate Alegria mostly so I don't have much of a dislike to it, so I'm glad you didn't write it off completely and included artists who actually make art in the style but with soul. Now that you've pointed it out, I can sort of tell that the corporate illustrations feel soulless. They kind of annoyed me before, but now it feels a lot more insidious. On an unrelated note, I love the new backgrounds! And the editing was great :D
Yessss! Love the art+design history videos!! Please make more these are great :)
"Have you noticed that these illustrations are everywhere"
YES AND I HATE THEM.
Me too. Imagine if somebody sent you a birthday card with Google and Facebook type illustrations on it 😆 how depressing
loving the new, higher edited, longer content! keep it up this was incredible
On point with everything as always, I feel like I learn so much from these types of videos 🤩🤩 “We don’t hate flat art, we hate soulless art” very well said!!
As a former VP of Marketing in Tech, I find this very insightful, entertaining, thought-provoking. Thanks for researching it and putting this together.
Excellent and thought provoking. The historical look backwards was eye-opening. THANKS!
Great video! If you're looking deeper into art history for the inspirations of this style, what comes to mind is: Picasso's neoclassicistic phase for the oversized limbs, Niki de Saint-Phalle's sculptures/illustrations for the oversized proportions + vibrant colors and Fernand Leger's paintings for proportions, colors and flatness.
I'm going to put my hand up and say I like this style, but mainly because I love the vibrant colours. A great lesson in the style's history, and I agree that adding texture gives it a different feel.
I'm sorry but you have bad taste
thanks! i like it too, it only gets repetitive when EVERYONE starts doing it.
I have been sending this video to everyone I know because you so beautifully articulate my thoughts on Corp Memphis and Alegria. Thank you for such a well-made, well-thought-out video!
Michael Brown was not murdered by Darren Wilson.
I was lucky to have an absolutely amazing art history teacher that made me fascinated with the stuff, but you are easily second best. I'd love a whole series of art history videos
Its kinda cute in a dystopian way, but it's also horrifyingly ugly. I wish we would get over this horrible minimalist allegria trend already
Thank you SO much for the content warnings! Subscribed and can’t wait to watch you more
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I feel so torn as an illustrator. Like you said it's not the art that's bad, it is how its being used. Yet, unfortunately as someone who is in school rn for illustration and it feels like that's the direction my department wants us to be pushed in, because that's how you'll get a job. It just makes me feel really hopeless like how can be an illustrator who actually has stability after school when the places demanding or looking for illustrators want more of a corporate designer style that I don't have :/ I don't want to work for places like that, but it seems like the only option in such a capitalist and corporate world.
Awesome breakdown, it's great that you actually look back through the history and influences on this style.
Insincerity within art is what kills it, it becomes more of a medium for projection rather than introspection and curiosity. It's a good example of how anything that's forced upon the masses can be rejected, art is supposed to be something you discover for personal consumption not jammed into your conscious.
Beryl Cooke and the "Cheeky British" Postcard Kinda Giggled at the Corporate "We Give a Sh*t" Art Movement!!
~ Thank You Struthless!!~Legend!!~
Ive been following you since forever and I love watching you grow on this platform and receive the recognition you DESERVE. Much love now and always!!,
Honestly, even as souless as it is, at least I know that a human was behind it and not a robot.
BS You didn't watch the video? There's many AI models that can do it. I would think it'd be harder to spot because it's so crappy to begin with.
I'm always looking forward to watching your videos when you upload!
I have always liked anthropology, 3D depth, muscle structure, shading in art (see ancient Greek statues).
It's just aesthetically pleasing.
Fascinating! The contrast between the genuine and fake is immense and instantly obvious. Gut feel is vital here!
Pay attention to the word "non-representational" this is important. Of course corporate art would atomize its characters, and homogenize them into some disgusting amorphous blob which no one can either recognize or identify with. It's couched as unity, but as we all know, they are anything but unifying. They are about tearing us down, and ripping us away from any support or identity we have as a human being.
The messages are deliberately confusing too, like Ingsoc's. You're special, no one else is like you, but at the same time, we're all the same. It's not meant to make sense.
Watching after ten mins of this video, I decided to start over and take some notes . You're an amazing teacher bro. Whatever subject your videos about, I learn a lot of things.
The artist I admired changed to this style and nothing else, it's like an infection, which is sad because his art was REALLY good
such a bro for posting warnings 🥰 such quality production
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I somehow get more and more convinced there’s also a corporate style in music, although not purpose built as much. For example, right now in ads there’s often this pompous pseudo hip hop that has this „threatening“ … uhm, aura? It kinda evokes the feeling of a giant walking towards you, you know what I mean?
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I hate that shit along w modern movies. I grew up in the wrong generation.
Hey man this video's been stuck in my watch later for ages but i'm so glad i finally got around watching it, it was a real joy!
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You should take a look at Tarsila do Amaral, a brazilian modernist artist. We did coloured and flat stuff waaaaaay before 2017
I love her style!!
This is why being able to customize things yourself is really important. It takes away the ability to control you from the corporations to your own hands. I can blame apple with a clear conscience because i dont think they still to this day allow custom themes, icon packs or any type of personalization. I'm actually baffled they even allow you to change your background.
A company I work for to teach consent-based sex education actually uses this style with purpose and heart. We use them as blank slates to prompt conversation about how the situation would change if the non-representative figures were replaced by very specific people. I started having a minor crisis about if this was harmful at the start of the video, but by the end I see how this is using the style in a way that honours the artwork and the work we do.
so good man, 1 million subs is gonna come in quick!
Damn… the love is love had me crying in less than half the time of the story, brilliantly and rapidly encapsulated. So cheers to that 😎
Bruh you’re on such another level. Lovely video, lovely made, with art. Brilliant
It's social engineering.
Sorry but I LOVEEE skeuomorphic design, 'Frutiger Aero' is my favorite aesthetic of the 2000s, it's very nostalgic but even through that, it's so much more intriguing to look at and so much more colorful
bro you got your body full of alegria style tattoos lol
Lmaoo PLSSS💀💀
Started to learn design recently, and I truly appreciate this kind of videos. Thanks a lot, man!
No, this art style really is that bad. It's the small heads for me, find them incredibly condescending. Don't think, consume.
oh god I'm... I'm... consooming agghh ahh
@@elcapitan6126 congrats to you and your small head
I love to see your content shifting to longer form video essays. The self help stuff is nice too but man it is nice to see long form stuff with research.
So basically everything about this is super toxic. No wonder it looks so horrible.
Never stop continuously making art work like whose amazing video content forms struthless, much love from FX from Austria. You will be colossal on YT if you need grinding and never stop creating “content”
> woke corporations destroy woke artists and their low-effort artistic style
Oh no! Anyway.
The production quality on this video is legit great. Super inspiring.
unbelievably cringe, then i see all the tattoos and it makes sense.
Loved this. Thank you. I also kept thinking about The Yellow Submarine. I think it’s in line with this art form.
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Am I the only one who actually really likes the style? It's bright, fun and flexible. I love making random parts of the body strangely huge or small. And I like its simplicity. When it comes to the philosophic part - I really wonder.
What should be done to make corporate memphis work? Imagine a huge company. They decide to organise a fund-raising campaign for, let's say, some quality LGBT+ foundation. However, the marketing team wants to use corporte memphis graphics to promote the campaign. Would it still be fake if it made them seem more LGBT-friendly? Isn't the act of the fund-raising campaign the proof of actually caring?
Yeah I’m an artist and love the style. I don’t personally work with it but it’s still a bit weird to me how everyone hates it 🥲
Thank you for living your values by giving all the artists credit and saying their full names. LOVED THIS VIDEO!
It's a shame because Buck does amazing work, especially in the realm of motion graphics and animation. I don't understand why people can't simply admit to their influences. It would be honorable for them to simply say something like "Memphis style was our inspiration for this project because we thought it addressed the brief that Facebook required." I don't hold it against Buck for using the style. They were contracted to do the work and this style fit the need. It's just kinda crappy that they claim they invented it.
Dude I always loved your content but u really really evolved not just visually but in storytelling!! Keep up the great work🤍
Loving this format jump out of nowhere! same energy, totally shaking up the material
Most of modern "art" has been crap. If a piece of talentless garbage made a "statement" (politically correct, leftwing), it was deemed "art".
This didn't affect illustration until recently. Now everything has to be "woke". Talent and originality are a threat to the new system.
The words I would use to describe modern corporate illustration are "insipid" and "juvenile" (in the worst possible way).
You should have quadruple the subscribers you do. Not just for these videos, but for your self-improvement (not the pop meaning of that, but actual improvement) videos too. Love your stuff so so much and your videos are incredibly comforting and validating.
I’ve been loving the video essays on art recently (your probably the best self help creator that I follow but this content is amazing too)
I am in healthcare research and sometimes when doing slides representing patients and their caregivers we use this style (from online templates) and I never noticed it linked to big corporate companies (selective attention I guess). I learned a lot thank you for this! Thank you. Definitely makes you think
I will definitely be looking more into Justin Kang. Thank you for sharing some of his pieces with us!
And as a former typesetter, I'm looking forward to your video on fonts, for sure!
i've seen other videos about this but i appreciate hearing it from someone with a design background, with curiosity before cynicism.
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This is kind of similar to the style used on 90s childrens tv shows like "Doug" where the characters were blue and green and purple.
Love these videos man, catching up on the ones I missed. Started following back with the different art styles for the same person/character and subbed immediately.
love this video Cam! these art deep dives are so fascinating, if you enjoy making them please keep them coming!!
You were so right; I can't not see them everywhere now!
Art styles and movements whether loved or hated, I think are really fascinating to learn about. Love the video, would love to see more videos like this