Yes I mispronounced the name "Kurzgesagt" sorry. For the record I did look up how the channel narrator himself pronounced it and I thought he said it in that way clearly I didn't listen closely enough sorry. Also a small note at 7:25 I fail to mention that the New Yorker has been using flat illustration characters for a while but I think there's still a slight difference between these covers and the kinds of characters they usually have.
@@idkwhatnametoputhere5323 When we started with was not bland and boring at all! There were a bunch of illustrators who made beautiful, beautiful things with it. Some of them got copied and overused so much though that it feels like that today. Which is sad.
@@kurzgesagt It’s really a problem that I noticed actually. I’ve seen so many channels use similar styles to you, I can name one off the top if my head (Infographics show) and it kind of sticks in the back of my head when I watch your videos. Sometimes it takes me out of the experience as I can’t stop thinking about the art style but I really, really doubt I’m in any way a majority. My opinion represents maybe 0.4 percent of your viewers. Please don’t change your art style, stick with what defines you. It won’t be a Kurzgesagt video without it. Of course minor improvements are the way to progress, just like how Yarnhub switched from 2D to 3D and still carried the spirit of the channel with it. Seriously though, been watching for a few years now. It would feel wrong to see any drastic change in the art style.
So in essence. Soulless artwork intended to tick off the least amount of people possible. Characters that represent everyone and no one at the same time.
@@hydroxyl5130 does it not fascinate you though? How business can use our psychology against us in order for their gain. Why not use it for your own business. I find this video very interesting as i too wondered why they use that shitty art style. Now I know it’s just another business tactic made up by some of the most brilliant minds on our planet. Evil or not it’s brilliant
@@MrEkirt Its definitely smart and I guess you could call it brilliant but it soulless and uncreative. Sure it makes the money but who cares when it it can be qualified as basic art that almost anyone could make. Nothing wrong with admiring the logic behind it all but I cant personally admire it when we live in such a capitalistic world that's filled with so many things like this. I just don't see anything to admire about rich fucks hiring very smart people to pinch every penny they can get there hands on.
I was so disappointed when he took down the video initially, I had really liked it. I'm glad he decided to fix the mistakes and reupload it, appreciate the concern for quality.
@@connor48880 they originally said that the ad was a failure because people were making fun of it when in reality executives LOVE that type of attention. They also didn't have the good examples of this type of art style like Kurzegasgt IIRC.
Someone in the future will write how this was a well-dressed dystopia, and then people will realise everything still is a well-dressed dystopia because people will always ruin everything.
The one thing that irks me the most with these corporate artstyles is the "optimism" and all the happy smiles with the characters is to appeal to you as 'Hey were just like you here in the Big Corpo' and said art can be visible a click away from them publicly apologizing for the most heinous shit known to man
Reminds me of American pharmaceutical drug TV commercials where they are describing the various side effects of the medicine that can ruin your life or kill you. And the man in the background is just laughing with his arms around his wife and children in a slo-mo shot. It's so damn creepy and these companies should be forced to cut away to a warning screen when they are telling you that their medicine has a recognizable chance of actually killing you.
I've started realizing how weird it is, it just feels like the company is trying to be relatable but it feels like it was made by some algorithm programmed to churn out happy and diverse noodle people. There's no humanity.
@@NGRevenant sounds like you’re referring to Pink Floyd’s:The Machine which is a perfect fit even decades after it was released. We are all just cogs in the system & if we stop working, we’ll be discarded & replaced
I can't explain it, but this art style gives off a huge toxic positivity vibe. It's like that one person who will plot to kill you if you're not smiling and having a good time.
They all look fucking dead inside with their little eyes and blend smiles. They don't look natural, they don't look human. It's like they're trying to appeal nice and soft to then nicely grab you by the neck and make you do what they Want. To attract you in their trap.
and it's so easily forgettable. like once I'm not looking directly at it I forget everything about it, even if I'm thinking about it. it also feels condescending and insulting.
The corporate art style feels like suffocatingly happy , like it’s smiling while holding a gun to your head and telling you to be happy , kinda unnerving man . But some of this feeling can be attributed towards hate against big corp. The illustrators really need to get paid properly man , their job feels undervalued .
The problem is this art style is overused. Familiarity brings contempt. A few tech companies including Facebook started with it, and soon everyone else followed suit like a herd of animals. It's like that UI design trend 5 years ago which shifted from square profile pictures to circular ones, rounded bars & buttons, and minimalist website display (which actually made it harder to navigate & read when done improperly).
it's crazy how an almost indescribable trait like "soullessness" is instantly felt by the majority of people when looking at this kind of art. just empty, unfeeling lines and colors. it's at the point where they don't even feel human-generated anymore, they're like clip art
This is clip art. I remember having classes in school around 2007 about how to use Word and PowerPoint.The teachers kept pushing the students to use clip art instead of images downloaded from online, and pretty much all of the clip art looked like this corporate adtstyle. Completeley soulless
@King of The Zinger the chance is probably like 1 in 100 000. I dont think you actually have worked in food. People will thaw roasts on the counter as a practice, for 30 years, and noone will get sick.
I really really appreciate the part about not blaming illustrators. I'm an architecture student, and I'm volunteering on the design team of a university program-- so I get to help make their logos, posters, brochures, etc.. and they have literally refused anything I proposed outside of this design style. it's been PAINFUL to work in it too, but the team has been trying its best to sneak even a sliver of creativity in there :(
@@sleepCircle People doesn't hate it, it's just these comments hate it which are mostly written by artists. Corporations see it attracts clients and they don't give a rat ass about what artists think, especially feel. They doesn't use this kind of style to please artists, and if I were a business owner, I don't care either. I'll find artists like this guy inkbery who accepts what his/her client's want even though he/she doesn't like it, because he/she wants to act as a professional. Of course you can give your clients some suggestions, if they don't want them, they don't want them. The world doesn't revolves around one's feelings.
@@wafiseifsungkar2112 i'm the only artist among my friends and they all kinda despise it, too. they don't hate it as much as me, but they have casually mocked it and remarked that it's soulless-looking, before. are you sure everyone here is an artist? are you POSITIVE?
Just like in the middle ages, when artists were confined to only produce art with christian motifs. But today in our modern world we all worship Mammon and soulless corporate entities.
With the agravant that governments MAYBE can be held accountable for their wrongdoings. Corporations, speacially Big Tech, can do whatever they want to us without repercussion
How about stop pretending to be human and actually fixing the product. Laptops now exhaust heat through the bottom case, which melts the plastic holder by trapped heat on its bottom and then it affects every other part of the product if not supported by cooling pad for example. Being human is more than just looks like one. Only consider human - those who actually tries to fix something without denigrating it.
It’s not that the art is inherently bad, it’s that it represents something much darker. The soulless feel of it all. It feels like a mask that the suits put on to appear human. Skinwalker behaviour.
I'm sick of the apologies constantly assaulting my mind while watching this video. The art is inherently bad. It's fine to say that the corporate stink tanks don't know what they're doing and are leading everyone blindly off a cliff.
This trend, feels like a font. A baseline that everyone can use just to get a point across, without truly expressing much of anything besides the message.
Thank you for sharing the real answer. Everyone else in these comments are like “I think the art is soulless because our brains associate it with the soulless corporations!” Lol like c’mon y’all life is not a Disney movie
Yea honestly soul and originality is overrated. Not everyone can make "groundbreaking" aesthetics because of many reasons. It can argued to be classist as well because artistic visuals mostly came from people who either can afford art school, or born with the brain capacity to combine theories, aesthetics, social awareness, to make somethig that wows.
This might just be a reflection of my widespread distrust & paranoia but I feel as though it also represents “simplicity for the simple-minded”. It mocks us as being smooth-brained individuals who require the entertainment & services these corporations provide to get by day to day. We can’t think or do for ourselves so we’re simpletons to them
Same, and by all these companies copying this stupid art style, that entire idea is basically obsolete now. You can't be quirky and awkward and different if everyone is doing it.
I feel that this art style is most prevelant among companies that want to be seen as “progressive” too. Since it represents a wide range of different looking people, I often see it in a context of “look guys, we’re not racist!”… which just makes me question their choice of non-existent skin tones even more.
As an artist myself, i dont hate the art style at all. I just hate what it represents. Every time I see it I think of other artists switching to the style to make a client happy.
To be honest though, if you were working for a heartless corporate entity, would you really be down for putting your own heart and soul into it, or even any effort so not to waste any "good" art on some business?
I feel this so much. When I was in college, one of my second year seniors had a very unique art style and I loved it. Since some of the 4th year seniors were getting more and more success with this Corporate Memphis style, he gradually started changing his style to look like theirs. Nowadays, there's like 5 illustrator friends I can't recognize their art because it looks the same.
@@greenetomphson6164 not at all 😔 that's why i say that this art style just makes me sad because i get where it's coming from. Like we all have to make ends meet but it's still just so soul crushing 😔 I've done a lot of stints making logos and brand identities since thats where the clients are and sometimes you just go on autopilot
I don't hate the artstyle, but the way it's used is terrible. I don't like it though. As someone who loves digital art, I don't want to work with a big company, because it's just limiting.
Louis Armstrong once said “you don’t become an artist because you want to, you become one because you can’t not.” Art has always been for expression, while profit can be made, it’s intent is to communicate - art in this style reflects the profit based intentions rather then expression - it’s the intent and connectivity art provided that it lacks - it’s truly something that is noticeable - appeal, low communication and mediocre expression does not grasp many , it’s honestly weird to look at
GAGAGAGAGAGA!!! I watched this video and it is really not that good compared to my perfect videos. GAGAGAGAGA!!! This is NOT self-promotion! This is the reality! This is the world! We are the people! Don't disl****ke my vide*****s, my dear sara
@@AxxLAfriku let me just go on your Channel and dislike... but seriously What your doing is literally self promoting. The definition of self promoting is talking positively about yourself in order to ger people to do stuff. Thats not always bad but What you just Said was very rude. Then again i Think you May be a memer doing this for funsies
After examining the style, I've come up with a hypothesis on just why we tend to see it as psychopathic. The first thing that stands out to me is that characters seem to exhibit what I'm gonna refer to as "reverse-neoteny". Neoteny describes childlike and appealing features, and as an example, humans are neotenous compared to other great apes. We have very reduced browridges, flatter faces, bulbous heads, expressive faces and much less broad body shapes, making us look more similar to juvenile hominids than adult ones. The "corporate artstyle", however, despite commonly viewed as infantile, is the reverse of these features. Big, disproportionately broad torsos and limbs with tiny heads that, in the half of the time they do have faces, are extremely simplified and comparable to the NPC meme. These unappealing features seem to do a good job at dehumanizing the humans they're intended to represent, and in tandem with the otherwise kiddy style supplementing the grossly proportioned figures, give it the "soulless" and psychopathic look.
this is an excellent analysis. I would go as far as to say that it activates fight or flight instincts because we're hardwired to fear these kinds of proportions if we see them in real life.
Is it just me or are we looking too deep? Like, I didn't have any problems with this art until I came across this video and comments (I still don't have problems with the art),why should they look realistic? This style is all about abstract shapes and bright colors, so why would we want to make it realistic?
@@Mari_Say they're not advocating for it to be realistic, they're saying it's unappealing to most people. most people find neotenous features appealing, and find the reverse of that strange looking and off putting. it was my first thought when i initially started seeing these ads. they look weird and ugly imo.
I think you art critics have no understanding of anything, hence the lack of imagination. You don't realize if someone actually sat down and spent 48 hours coaxing a visual masterpiece out of Illustrator to adorn a page that most viewers scroll past in less than 1 second it would not be appreciated, in fact it would be ridiculed even worse. It's trying too hard. Do you want to navigate a lengthy Shakepearian diatribe when you try to find information about your latest medical worry online? This is just visual communication, it's not trying to be art. It succeeds at giving people a vague feeling but if you sit and think about it that's missing the point entirely so of course you'll be disappointed.
Yea to me it just feels fake like it’s somehow like made in some sort of factory like how those cheap toys from the dollar store are made or something like that
Exactly! Like the skin colour. Race has always been controversial. Who gets more represented in advertising conveys who is more important for the corporation (who the corporation panders to). Let's not confront the strange societal dynamic - let's create a world without race and so racial tensions
I think it's just the clear attempt at manipulating the audience that makes me so unnerved about the corporate art styles. There's nothing inherently wrong to me about pictures of simple, purple or green people, laughing and having fun together - in fact I kind of artistically value art that focuses on every day enjoyment of things, and i really like creative simplicity. It's the knowledge that this is done because the app is trying to play some kind of mind game with me, to make me associate happiness and smiles with the app in some kind of genuine capacity, that it's placed on top of data mining and stealing, that it isn't GENUINE, which fucks me up. The context of where the art is placed is just as important at what the art looks like. It comes off as inherently ironic because everyone knows Facebook is shit.
Nah, the simplistic art style on its own screams of "take care of yourself" culture of not trying hard ever at anything. It looks sterile of any deep feelings and emotionally immature. Like, any secure person doesn't need vivid colors in their designs to make them feel a certain way. Anything to avoid scaring off potential customers.
@@krunkle5136 eh yeah, I mean it's definitely simple to make it more easily relatable and marketable. But I do think simplicity can also have its own beauty to it, and there are some emotions that are simple and portraying them that way is pretty cool.
@@fishlordusername891 idk, I see the simplicity as a flattening of culture and a coralling of human emotions into a few manageable categories. It reflects the risk averse nature of multinational corporations which on one hand can be a strength, but also a contributor to keeping culture and life in general boring. I think people should even within the market be presented with unique, more niche things that reflect the subtle differences in culture that still exist.
I honestly find those tiny-headed blocky-body noodle limb people from the corporate art style to be vaguely unnerving to look at. The tiny heads and long large limbs gives me the impression that they're ridiculously tall. I can't help but imagine them as creatures from a horror movie or game. Imagine one of those things steadily pursuing you down a dark hallway.
I commented this but it remembers me of a painting called Abapuru by Tarsila Do Amaral. The person in the painting has very big limbs in comparison to it's head, because they need to work much more than they think. I think corporations kinda send that message of with this artstyle.
There's definitely some kind of uncanny thing going on with them. Strange when they're supposed to be meant to be as bland and non-objectionable as possible. Stick figures would honestly work better.
@@frostbitetheannunakiiceind6574 the original version of this video was posted a couple days ago but was taken down for being incorrect/having weak arguments in certain sections. This is a reuppload with those issues addressed, so basically the same video but better. I think it’s important that people can change their minds, but I’m glad that Solar Sands’ didn’t need to in this case. The original video simply needed some tweaking to make the overall argument stronger.
I absolutely love the old school flat art. They put a whole lot more into it than flat art of today. Also, the fonts in use with a lot of Art Deco art pieces add much charm to those pieces.
It's really just like those propaganda posters but instead of blatantly demanding for your obedience they gain your trust by hiding the "Freedom is Slavery" slogan behind a fake smile
Yes! And all the comments here so far remind me of the song "Brave New World" by Kalandra... It is an extremely important red flag we must NOT ignore! Do not allow yourselves to be controlled by the Morning Star!!
"Successful hills are here to stay Everything must be this way Gentle streets where people play Welcome to the Soft Parade All our lives we sweat and save Building for a shallow grave Must be something else we say Somehow to defend this place Everything must be this way Everything must be this way, yeah" The Soft Parade, The Doors
In the beginning there was the word and the word was Grub. And Grub made the Hub. For millennium the Kings of Grub ruled over their Hub. In the following centuries the Grub Hub empire rose to power, their might surpassing the thousands of others who dared to concour the mighty Hub of Grub.
Mascot and logo are probably more desirable than this because it’s the corporation representing ITSELF in its infographics rather than representing US. When it’s their interpretation of how we’re supposed to feel, it’s like they’re telling us HOW we’re supposed to feel. If it’s a representation of themselves, it feels more honest
I didn’t really have hard feelings for this art style but when he showed those other examples you can really tell the difference like there’s more there than the corporate ones
I never minded it either. In fact, I actually still kind of like it. I like things that can hit two birds with one stone, so in that regard, I like it because it's effective and pleasing to look at, and it's practical to work with as something easy to understand and quick to put out within a short timeframe. But the association with corporate disingenuousness and unchecked power is becoming hard to ignore.
For any book nerds: This art style reminds me of the planet Camazotz from A Wrinkle in Time. Just unsettlingly perfect, to the point where you know something’s wrong.
@@calamitychaela1994 I mean if you think about, if something looks too cheerful or happy, it will began to look off. Kinda like those strange liminal spaces.
very accurate. Also its nice exactly because of this haha they serve the same purpose as stock photos. when they would be to exact it would be immensely harder to find the right one for your purpose 😅 interface designer here, sry for being lazy sometimes. they are just quick hahah
This sums it up really well! For a while, I have mockingly called it "Corporate Clean Flat™" where you can see websites, character design, coloration, etc... all feeling the same. It felt boring, thoughtless and lazy. Yet I couldn't put my finger on why they seemed that way for the longest time as like you said: They aren't inherently a bad style. I just knew something seemed off even though traits of them have been seen in far better art pieces throughout history. Then one day it hit me: It's not relatable. Like you pointed about that the illustrated people not really existing, they fail to capture what things are. There have been plenty of characters throughout history with exaggerated body proportions/movements and non-human colors, but they felt alive because of their relatability to each scenario. You aren't getting that when on stuff like seeing a bunch of people happily jumping for joy at a bug fix that took them 4 months to get to or something. People reading that announcement would be more like: "Oh... Took you long enough."
The problem is it has the _conventions_ of a lively and unique style, but with absolutely no personality behind it. It's basically just a more evolved clip art
It's supposed to be ambiguous and I think it shows what these corporations actually think their customers look/act like: cartoonish walking bank accounts that just exist to spend money. That, and the art style looks like in belongs in a children's book. Like we're idiots or something. No wonder people hate it. It's akin to a faceless corporation that tries to say that you're family instead of a customer. Intrusive and cringe as all hell, has the exact opposite of what they want.
Agree. I also find being referred to as a "consumer" incredibly condescending. And the family thing too. It's like they don't know the meaning of the word family.
its not that the artstyle is hated, its what it represents. which is the bloated, monopolistic, corporations that uses it. it personally feels like a horrifying, shapeshifting monster pretending to be something trustworthy, only to gut your wallet and privacy for their own profit
I’ve been getting increasingly more annoyed at this style showing up everywhere and almost always from evil people. I’m so happy this showed up in my recommended.
@@desireesmith862 Although when you think about it, who's to say that the destruction of the last piece can't be art in and of itself? (Also that was funny)
Funny, I find these human blobs actually pretty offensive. As in "this is absolutely every single one of you guys: overweight, silly people with a very, veeeery small head, always running or taking selfies". Revolting. Hated it at first sight.
As an artist I kinda like certain examples of the "corporate" art style. Because those examples usually reflect what I'm trying to achieve with my own style. I like the limited colour palette. I like the difference in personalities based on clothing and posture. I like the wacky disproportionate anatomy. I like how simple it is, yet details are still present. Now what I *don't* like: -The forced nature of the agenda (all sat in front of a computer smiling) -the Starbucks effect (every piece of artwork looks the same on every website) -the fact it's only value is based on how marketable/palletable to the public it is (art should be *exciting* not bland!) I also don't like how this style of art is now being "cancelled" don't cancel the art style, cancel the big tech companies.
Whether a company wishes to take the risk of using another art style is on them. For design reasons this art style is very universal, and very symbol/shaped oriented,, which makes watching the ad whether your from Chicago to Seoul, it translates the same and crosses the barriers though if it were anime/Disney Esque characters it'd probably read differently to general audiences and cause misinterpretation of the service/ product that is being advertised.
@@HJima There's so many amazing and underrated artists on freelancer websites and all, imagine how happy THEY would be if a company used their art style in a commercial or something, instead. They choose to use this horrific and crazy looking art o^o;
I think that sums it up pretty good. I think the style is freaking beautiful, but people seem not to differnetiate the art and „the artist“ - in this case, more or less, the industry thats behind it.
Isn't most graphic design only valuable because of how marketable to the audience it is? Whilst trying to please your client you also want to achieve a design the audience will enjoy/ have ease using.
Its insincere sincerity. This may be anecdotal, but I feel as if graphic design has never been so similar between each brand. Not only does every company looks the same, but sound the same. All I hear is "peace of mind" and "family" and "community". It doesn't feel like they just wanna sell me something anymore. And for something which is supposedly a capitalist endeavor, that isn't a good sign.
And I feel like it’s toxic in a way because it’s not spreading new art styles it’s so generic. I think they would stand out more if they had their own style and that could help new art be circulated too.
I'm an designer/illustrator and from my perspective, I enjoy that it's all so homogenous since the brand image doesn't get in the way of usability. I frankly don't give a shit whether a company is unique or cool or whatever, because that is not the reason I use their services. Art, like actual art, which is created with the intent of expressing oneself, has no place in places like UI and brand image. The illustrations in corporate designs are instrumental, they are there for a specific practical reason, not to be an artistic expression. I wish people judged companies solely on the quality of their services and not on the coolness factor. I don't use a single service because I think it 'looks cool'.
@@theonewithoutidentity Yeah, but if it can't look good, then why waste the screen space on it? "And for something which is supposedly a capitalist endeavor..." For real. Am I buying a product, or industrialized therapy?
I believe it's not about the art anymore... It can be a flat cartoon, a 3D animation, or real actors, what is annoying us is publicity EVERYWHERE all the time! I agree with you, sometimes would be more nice to just have a text, maybe a single picture.
Other than that, personally, I think what bothers most people is the type of ads. A lot of ads like the grubhub one are annoying and make the audience feel like complete idiots with catchy tunes and cringey acting/animation. I often find myself watching old ads out of nostalgia and most don't give me this feeling :(
Yes, maybe this is what changed... Ads used to be glamorous, but people complained because, apparently, it was some sort of lie. Now all ads feel the need to be loudly positive and cheerful.
@@gemstonesparkle7915 i'd say ads stopped being glamourous when they moved from 30-60 second tv spots to youtube where you can skip them in 5 seconds. there's less room for artistic vision in ads when viewer retention is on the line more than ever
I'm a graphic designer and I've licensed some of this generic art. Here's a couple of reasons why it's so prevalent: 1 - it's really easy to edit. The fact that the characters don't overlap means that I can easily rearrange them to fit the message and space of the thing I'm designing. I can also change the colors to fit brand guidelines. 2 - these simple vector drawings can be easily animated on After Effects. 3 - this type of vector illustration is plentiful in stock image site, and it's precisely because it is bland that it can fit so many different brands. 4 - Licensing stock art is cheaper than hiring an illustrator. 5 - It's a style that's fairly easy to copy, so even if you need to create original compositions, you're not tied to a specific illustrator. Anyone who knows how to draw and use Illustrator could make these type of illustrations. 5 - Getting everyone in the client's company to approve an illustrator with a distinctive style is difficult. I've only dealt with one client who wanted to hire an illustrator, and after one was chosen and completed some illustrations for us, they walked back their decision and decided to use stock imagery. So these are all the reasons why this vector drawing style is so prevalent.
Here in the middle of the US, there's a grocery store chain called Kroger. They use this art style in their commercials, and I remember seeing it (a hundred different times) and just hating it. I've noticed this in many different places, and your analysis of it is spot on.
That's probably a great solution. If this style becomes associated with the parodies of it, then I doubt companies will continue wanting to use it. However that will likely just lead to some new generic art style.
I’ve always seen this “corporate art style” as a soulless insult to art because the legitimate artists that are working in this style can make way more beautiful and unique art if they where given more time and money. All business these days when it comes to anything remotely creative they always settle on mediocrity like movies, video games etc. because it appeals to the general audience. As a graphic design student and self taught artist, I really hope this somehow changes in the future because I love creating unique and original content and would absolutely hate to draw a pitiful excuse of an “art style” all day to appease corporate sludge. It’s just sad to see so much wasted potential to create something that could be magnificent and impactful. All I truly see in this art style is crushed dreams.
And people sometimes notice this about art, but they haven't noticed that this has already happened to other mediums... like music. To the point that corporate music has ingrained itself into our society so much that almost nobody has even realized there's a problem. With the exception of volume restrictions, your headphones can play any audible sound that can exist in this universe, and what have you heard from them so far? Same chords, same notes, same instruments, over and over and over again... but unlike with graphical art, most people haven't actually experienced any other music, so they aren't remotely aware of how large the issue really is. Just check out, say... Sophomore Storytime, by Bell's Worth. Or Lands of Delight by Alon Mor. You may love it, or you'll more likely hate it since it's so odd in comparison to anything you've ever experienced. But... it's so much more human. You can tell that so much soul was put into that music, and that it holds very significant personal importance to its creator. That among songs from multiple *millions* of other musicians are so completely invisible to everybody despite it being all around us. The same thing will happen to our movies, our graphical artworks, our games, our books, and everything else that keeps us human.
Yeah, art has always been my passion, but I chose not to pursue it as a career because the thought of having to make soulless corporate art actually made me feel queasy. I just focus on art in my free time. I don't want my creativity being influenced by people telling me what to do.
@@meltedyakkystick3891 exactly when I’m in school and I have a art reputation and my parents try and put me into art competitions or designing contests, that made me not want to draw as much as I used to, or my friends would be like “can u draw that”, “what about this idea it would look cool for your art project” it’s just like I want to draw what I want to draw I don’t like people giving me ideas or telling me how I should draw or what I should draw.
Fellow artist here, glad you're here to keep the real message going. Where can I find your art? I'm gonna check out your stuff soon if you'll permit it.
I hate The Algeria art style that has been abused by corporations, it gives the whole minimalist art style a bad rap, when in actuality, minimalist art has been used by many artists for many unique pieces. I think a perfect example would be Olly Moss’s work (as mentioned by Solar himself), it’s certainly minimalist, but he uses the basic colors and designs to bring out a lot of detail and beauty, I’d love to see the style used in more unique ways.
It kinda reminds me of clip-art from Microsoft office. A lot of the images in them had this 90s minimalist cubist look to them. I think that association with office software has also reinforced its sterile, corporate feel. And with clip-art in mind, it can feel lazy and fake. Typically when I see clip-art, I'm aware that the picture wasn't actually made for the document, but is instead a kind of stock image that was included with the software, or grabbed from Google images.
As an illustrator who’s been pigeon holed into this style for like 5 years I can tell you it is fake and made me quit my job and become a jewellery maker Edit: wow I didn’t expect this when I clicked post on this comment 2 years ago anyway since some people seemed super weirded out that I’d don’t this. My level of creative freedom and expression as a jewellery maker has been higher then it ever was in illustration. Not only that 2 years on from this comment I own a business and make a lot more money, not that that really has any bearing on why I chose to do it. It was a part time passion and I chose to make it my focus and it payed off. Basically just because you’re good at something and put a lot of time into something doesn’t mean trying something new is a bad idea. Have a good day.
I hope it's been working out for you! I did the same, started in graphic design/UI art in college... went great until we had to work with clients. The current art industry is so defeatingly empty of meaning and I hated being paid on random successful production, like a factory machine. Now I'm studying recreational therapy, and I love it. I still do art on the side, and I hope you do too, or at least consider it as a hobby still!
I hope your new activity is going well! I'm kinda happy to have kept graphic design and illustration a hobby to express myself rather than being a graphic designer for a living... I'd have probably started hating to do this style
Juula How is it going with industrial design? I'm starting a diploma in September that covers industrial, graphic, and interior design, but I think I'm most interested in industrial. Would love to hear your thoughts
I think it looks like it was produced by Illumination Entertainment, which has some irony to it given that Illumination is also notorious for using similar cheap vector art styles, marketing itself like it's first-decade Pixar even though the stories for its films are nothing more than pablum tripe for the mush-brained masses, demonstrably watering down the spirit of the third-party stories they've adapted, and prostituting itself to any and every corporate entity that will pay them to do the bulk lifting for advertising.
@@GlitchBunn I agree. The first Despicable Me was very good, in fact. It was simple, bordering on cloche even, but it was hearty, and the portrayal of a good father figure to be commended, especially considering how much they're condemned and mocked nowadays. Unfortunately, they send to have taken the wrong message from being successful with a sweet but safe feature and leaned fully into pandering to the absolute lowest common denominator; the kinds of dullards like the people who harrassed Dave Chappelle by constantly yelling "I'm Rich James, bitch!" at him, without realizing why the sketch was funny or appreciating his more intelligent (and in my opinion funnier) sketches, like the one of the blind klansman who doesn't know he's black. It's said that a fool and their money are soon parted, and Illumination built their entire business on depriving dumbasses of their dollars.
We've hit the portion of late-stage capitalism where companies are just seeking further ways of turning the human experience into new profit generating schemes. It's all about numbers on a spreadsheet now, things like culture and the arts (or making a "good" product) are just numbers to be crunched to maximize gains.
As someone who works in this industry, I can tell you that we are pushed to make this aesthetic. You smartly acknowledged its pros and cons. Ultimately, its intention isn't artistry- its to communicate a message in the fastest and most comprehensible way possible. And companies are so afraid to be associated with a definitive message or establish a sense of identity in their visuals because it can alienate their audience. So much so that they choose the safest route, which is in its finish, empty of humanity, as humanity is divisive, offensive, and clumsy.
As someone who also works in the industry, this is completely truth. Sometimes the client wants to look trendy or this style is the best option given the time/budget for a project.
@@mayorgeneralramirez1997 oddly enough, better boundaries expectation wise than the advertising/post production end of the spectrum. Something, that while the output looked better imo, was an impossible standard to maintain for the desired quality and speed consistently. At least in research or ux development, the budget tends to be better without as much emphasis on the best pixel perfect end graphic(s). Advertising is far more tightly budgeted and the turn over is lightning speed- aka many sleepless nights and a quick recipe for designer burnout.
@@SatanenPerkele I wouldn't say its bad art nor is it not creative. There is absolutely a demand to be creative with it regardless of its lack of identity. You certainly can't utilize or design it without some illustrative ability. And to be consistent with the turn around is another demand on professionalism. To a degree, I would tend to agree with you. A lot of feminist art is HORRIBLE (there, I said it- internet shall roast me), but I'm not sure if modern feminist art and corporate art is one and the same here. Some similarities? Yes. In terms of this corporate aesthetic being made by white feminists, I'd say that statement is situationally true and to a certain extent (depends on if the artist is white and is feminist and has final say for what is approved/sent to the client). If anything, you are describing the clients or the internal teams who are asking for this style of their artists- not the actual artists being forced to make it.
Great video / analysis! From a technical pov: this art style is due it's simplicity a good alternative specially for smaller businesses to tell stories (e. g. for campaigns, newsletters, new products) without spending a lot of money on A. complex illustrations (for every new campaign or newsletter) which are not reusable B. a photoshooting. That's why it's pretty widely used. Clients also often lack on imagination or need some sort of confirmation/safety net. It's way more difficult if not even impossible to introduce an art style which is not common and unique because a client - who's not design affine - needs a proof of concept if you will. Round shapes are also linked to humane/safe/trust/freedom in design language, combined with desaturated colors, you achieve a humane look by the book. The shapes of the people have to be abstract so that a wider range of people can relate to it. Imagine the people would have concrete proportion or would be skinny vs. thick / small vs. large = you would add meanings to them unconsciously. The long legs and arms also help show actions/tasks more clearly, and therefore it's easier to tell stories (that's why the art style is often used to describe a process e. g. a login or registration process too). Due to its simplicity, it's also great to create scenes fast. Like you said in your video, deadlines are always short. The question of »How do we tell stories?« photos or illustrations? Is a common question when developing brands. It's mostly dependent on the brand itself. E. g. if you're a small business and don't have an office OR if you're and big business international business with many people, it's hard to show humanity through photos without being too generic (which we all also hate, right? Think of all the generic stock photos).
Kurzgesagt has developed a sort of bubbly style. Everything is flat but at the same time really rounded and it gives everything a bubbly look. Very unique.
@@yyyaaa3928 the fitness gram pacer test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly, but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. Ding A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. Ding Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start. On your mark, get ready, ding
And feels... friendly, warm and safe. Corp artstyle is unsetteling. I didn't like it scince 1st time i saw alegria on facebook. Just imagine those oversized limbs on real person. Being out of proportion grabs your attention, yes. Just like a white guy grabs attention in the middle of chineese remote village. But i digress. I will be blunt - alegria is disgusting in my eyes. Like it crawled out of chernobyl reactor core.
I've seen a very similar art style (minus things like the birds, of course) in some other videos. Makes me wonder if they're copying off them or using the same animator services
It always baffles me how minimalism is seen as a "modern" and progressive, when it is something that was in my opinion perfected in graphic design and art half a century ago, if not even longer than that. Instead modern minimal graphic design has taken all of the art and nuance out of design, and created something simplistic rather than simple.
Simplicity is so fucking mediocre i cant stand it. They think its creative when any half wit can easily come up with something as simple bland and mundane as this. The more i see this art style the more i get infuriated with it.
Remember that you’re seeing survivorship bias. Today you see thousands of designed things, but you only see a few remaining pieces from a hundred years ago. It’s possible that the best of today is just as good (or better) as the best of yesterday.
@@zachpw @Zach Wiggin I suppose so. That is interesting to consider. Of course there is plenty of art and design from the past century that I don't personally deem as very good or effective, and modern art and design that I think is great. We'll have to just wait and see what sticks, I guess. As always hindsight is 20/20. Graphic design as a profession is also very oversaturated and a lot easier than it used to be before the digital/internet era, meaning we get to see a lot more mediocre and mundane graphic design on a daily basis, which might misconstrue the very good design which might be buried somewhere in between.
@2freeIvX I agree! I’ve seen many great uses of minimalism in modern design also. Some of my favourites include Hiroshi Nagai and Ryan Carl. Of course a lot of it also comes down to personal preference and shouldn’t be generalized to all art and design. Im just not personally big on many modern styles and trends of flat design I’ve seen on instagram, etc. though i really like art by Cassandre, Fontana, Stella, the Bauhaus movement... Each to their own!
Trends just go in cycles, they never actually come up with something new. Fashion is a dead industry that can't produce much of interest anymore, since it's all been done at least once by at least someone. (Aesthetically speaking) That is the disadvantage it suffers due to being progressed consistently for over 5,000 years, globally. All they can do is advance the technological aspects.
I think it represents the androgynous life that the world is headed toward. Everyone needs to agree. Everyone needs to like or dislike something. Everything has to be combined to please everyone. If they make you faceless or generic, you have no identity and can be shaped into whatever society wants you to be. No original thoughts? That means you can't disagree. No identity outside of what society says makes up one's identity. They don't want you to be an individual. "If everyone's special, no one will be."- Syndrome and (loosely) Dash
I've hated this style for as long as I can remember. I read it as soooo fucking condescending. Like we're all four years old laughing and clapping at colors and silly, faceless shapes. I'm fucking over it. Thank yo for this.
The worst corporate music of all us instagram ad music. Everytime an instagram ad comes on it takes me less than a second to throw my earbuds off in rage
@@Mae_Dastardly It's a deliberate attempt to be as inoffensive, friendly, grassroots, down-to-earth, and anti-elite as possible (despite the fact that these mega corporations are literally none of those things.)
@@maxalaintwo3578 yeah well all they accomplish is sounding like nails on chalkboard. Fake Hype corporate music is even more grating than emotional piano bank ad music
@@Mae_Dastardly all the stomps and claps and rudimentary blues scales make me sick. Even before corporations started using them, cuz I knew where it would lead. Corporate campfire music
As a designer, I have always seen this overused style as ‘Clip Art’ was before the internet. It cheapens any brand and your trenchant critique is spot on! I would rather look at the cheesy stock images before this style was adopted. Besides the body forms on all these are strange, because the use of these stock illustrated humanz would never be considered surreal.
Why do ads always show close ups of people eating? Why are there always moaning and crunching sounds when the people eat? Is that supposed to appeal to me? It doesn't, it just grosses me out! Why would you want to evoke a feeling of disgust in an ad for food? Maybe it's just me but I hate that...
@@rubyjakewillton doesn't make much sense, ASMR just recently became well known, and corporations have been doing these weird adds way before ASMR was a thing in youtube, it's main reason is probably to show the user that their food is enjoyable and that they will feel good when eating it…
@@wearenumberonebutimaperson crunching noises and slurping? idk i never watched asmr eating shit but if i searched one asmr vids it will probably be mukbangs, which IS asmr in many ways
@@les_larmes_d_un_hibou asmr vids was dated in youtube since 2009 when whispering channels came about. of course back then it wasnt well know as it does now but that doesnt prove any point. the asmr stuff just got a resurgence in recent years
God I hate this art style. It feels so devoid of any personality I can't stand it. There's no uniqueness in the people drawn, there's no personality, no real emotions. Art made with no soul that feels like brain washing material..
10 years from now: This art style will be totally reviled, seen as "ugly" by most people. A new, very different art style will be all over corporate media. 20 years from now: People will start to admit that this style is a guilty pleasure of theirs, and it will bring up nostalgic feelings of the "simpler times" of the 2010s. 30 years from now: This style will be retro cool, and will influence the art styles of the 2040s.
This and survivor bias. For almost 200 years artists have been making all kinds of fast art for businesses like today and only the best works like the historical works highlighted in this video survive in culture and history. Today we are seeing all the bad art and the great art mixed together because it’s being created and consumed right now. Over 90% of the corporate art is bound to be completely forgetful and that’s not just today’s corporate art. Like the older graphic art, the most impactful works are the ones that will be remembered.
Yes I mispronounced the name "Kurzgesagt" sorry. For the record I did look up how the channel narrator himself pronounced it and I thought he said it in that way clearly I didn't listen closely enough sorry. Also a small note at 7:25 I fail to mention that the New Yorker has been using flat illustration characters for a while but I think there's still a slight difference between these covers and the kinds of characters they usually have.
This is a pinned comment by the creator of the video, yet after 7 hours it only has 3 likes.
The yt algorithm confuses me sometimes
:)
Neat
phonetic: courts-ge-sagt ( 2x hard 'G' ) ;-)
Kursgeskakt? Wth dude?
Already liked the first version of the video. But this got us "Maximalist Minimalism" and I love it
It’s great how you managed to turn one of the most bland and boring art-styles into an awesome, pleasing, style.
@@idkwhatnametoputhere5323 When we started with was not bland and boring at all! There were a bunch of illustrators who made beautiful, beautiful things with it. Some of them got copied and overused so much though that it feels like that today. Which is sad.
I never knew how to pronounce your name until I saw this video!
it's the legend
@@kurzgesagt It’s really a problem that I noticed actually. I’ve seen so many channels use similar styles to you, I can name one off the top if my head (Infographics show) and it kind of sticks in the back of my head when I watch your videos. Sometimes it takes me out of the experience as I can’t stop thinking about the art style but I really, really doubt I’m in any way a majority. My opinion represents maybe 0.4 percent of your viewers. Please don’t change your art style, stick with what defines you. It won’t be a Kurzgesagt video without it. Of course minor improvements are the way to progress, just like how Yarnhub switched from 2D to 3D and still carried the spirit of the channel with it.
Seriously though, been watching for a few years now. It would feel wrong to see any drastic change in the art style.
So in essence. Soulless artwork intended to tick off the least amount of people possible. Characters that represent everyone and no one at the same time.
pretty much...
Exactly how a corporation sees us. Minds to manipulate for sales or networking. Minds they just need to convince to keep looking :(
@@hydroxyl5130 does it not fascinate you though? How business can use our psychology against us in order for their gain. Why not use it for your own business. I find this video very interesting as i too wondered why they use that shitty art style. Now I know it’s just another business tactic made up by some of the most brilliant minds on our planet. Evil or not it’s brilliant
Weird because for me it did the exact opposite XD. I want to physically murder these fictional characters with my bare hands.
@@MrEkirt Its definitely smart and I guess you could call it brilliant but it soulless and uncreative. Sure it makes the money but who cares when it it can be qualified as basic art that almost anyone could make. Nothing wrong with admiring the logic behind it all but I cant personally admire it when we live in such a capitalistic world that's filled with so many things like this. I just don't see anything to admire about rich fucks hiring very smart people to pinch every penny they can get there hands on.
this art style is just visual representation of what a spotify ad feels like.
I remember the one I think you're talking about. Most everything was green and there was a stereotypical striped beach ball.
*laughes in premium*
@@blackaf1s597 *laughs in broke*
@@blackaf1s597 laughs in mp3
@@blackaf1s597 *laughs in mod*
So inclusive it's exclusive
So universal it's alienated
So unique it's homogeneous
Don't be confused, these juxtapositions are done by purpose.
Yikes and I agree with you
This comment is so good it's great
Overall: So false it's infallible.
Wtf you just described left-wingers (or democracy as a whole)
Slavery is freedom. War is peace. You will own nothing and you will be happy.
I was so disappointed when he took down the video initially, I had really liked it. I'm glad he decided to fix the mistakes and reupload it, appreciate the concern for quality.
I wiah it was possible to just edit videos on UA-cam.
I never finished watching it the first time.
What mistakes did he make?
amogus
@@connor48880 they originally said that the ad was a failure because people were making fun of it when in reality executives LOVE that type of attention.
They also didn't have the good examples of this type of art style like Kurzegasgt IIRC.
im an artist myself and yes , he didnt gave justice to the artists who made those corporate style ads
"Everything's fine" The art style. Historians will analyze it to death, that's for sure.
Maybe it will represent the 2010s equivalent of the "Everyone in the 1950s was a Stepford Smiler" trope.
more like “Everything’s fine :))” but yeah lol. It’s almost creepy how happy everyone is in them
Historians talk about "Norman Rockwell's America" representing the art of the 1950s. Well, for the 2020s, we'll have Buck's Alegria to talk about
Someone in the future will write how this was a well-dressed dystopia, and then people will realise everything still is a well-dressed dystopia because people will always ruin everything.
“everything’s fine (:”
This ad literally looks like what fake bad comercials look like in movies
Lol
In GTA we can watch TV and the ads is good and funny
Agreed.
this ad is literally that ad for air in the lorax movie
or like that souless mobile game ads (i also sad that we actually got souless meme )
The one thing that irks me the most with these corporate artstyles is the "optimism" and all the happy smiles with the characters is to appeal to you as 'Hey were just like you here in the Big Corpo' and said art can be visible a click away from them publicly apologizing for the most heinous shit known to man
That's called plain folks and bandwagon .
Reminds me of American pharmaceutical drug TV commercials where they are describing the various side effects of the medicine that can ruin your life or kill you. And the man in the background is just laughing with his arms around his wife and children in a slo-mo shot. It's so damn creepy and these companies should be forced to cut away to a warning screen when they are telling you that their medicine has a recognizable chance of actually killing you.
@@bl1zz4rd25 its actually called kitsch.
The official art style of "Trust us we are totally not going to use your data for any unethical purposes"
_holy crap_
holy crap
Holy crap
holy crap
holy crap
I've started realizing how weird it is, it just feels like the company is trying to be relatable but it feels like it was made by some algorithm programmed to churn out happy and diverse noodle people. There's no humanity.
us 7ft purple pinheaded folk need representation too.
Never was, never will
yup, it feels like the kind of thing a machine would churn out. sterile and inhuman.
That sounds... kind of sad, really.
@@NGRevenant sounds like you’re referring to Pink Floyd’s:The Machine which is a perfect fit even decades after it was released. We are all just cogs in the system & if we stop working, we’ll be discarded & replaced
I can't explain it, but this art style gives off a huge toxic positivity vibe. It's like that one person who will plot to kill you if you're not smiling and having a good time.
theres something off putting about it. other than the fact that its simply annoying to the eye, its just unsettling to look at.
They all look fucking dead inside with their little eyes and blend smiles.
They don't look natural, they don't look human.
It's like they're trying to appeal nice and soft to then nicely grab you by the neck and make you do what they Want.
To attract you in their trap.
@@TheLTprod what
it's art style of: we like you very much, untill you want to cancel your subscription or are unsatisfied, then you're a bad dog
we happy few
This art style feels like it was designed to be emotional by someone incapable of feeling emotion
Yes. YES. YES
God these comments are spot on
Alegria was made for Facebook. Have you seen a picture of Zuckerberg? His wax sculpture looks more human than he does.
Ah, a Vulcan tried to follow a Bob Ross tutorial.😅
It was
I thought I was the only one having this feeling. I felt like the art is so smug but at the same time soulless. It's very hard to describe
and it's so easily forgettable. like once I'm not looking directly at it I forget everything about it, even if I'm thinking about it. it also feels condescending and insulting.
What’s the name of your anime pfp?
@@christmasgrinch4017 its a v tuber avatar
Pikamee Ch. ua-cam.com/channels/ajhBT4nMrg3DLS-bLL2RCg.html
that it looks so dumb they look stupid and isnt even a talent
The corporate art style feels like suffocatingly happy , like it’s smiling while holding a gun to your head and telling you to be happy , kinda unnerving man . But some of this feeling can be attributed towards hate against big corp. The illustrators really need to get paid properly man , their job feels undervalued .
as a kid I felt this fake happiness in ads strongly , so whenever ad of this kind showed up I'd make fun of it in my head
The problem is this art style is overused. Familiarity brings contempt. A few tech companies including Facebook started with it, and soon everyone else followed suit like a herd of animals.
It's like that UI design trend 5 years ago which shifted from square profile pictures to circular ones, rounded bars & buttons, and minimalist website display (which actually made it harder to navigate & read when done improperly).
It’s just a commercial
Heh i did use hyperbole quite a bit didnt I ,?
It's like the left telling you to accept their communism. "You'll have nothing and like it"
Remember that spongebob episode when he tries to become “normal”? That’s exactly what this art style reminds me of.
Hey, how are ya?
Hey, how are ya?
Hey, how are ya?
Hey, how are ya!
Nice weather we’re having 🙂
it's crazy how an almost indescribable trait like "soullessness" is instantly felt by the majority of people when looking at this kind of art. just empty, unfeeling lines and colors. it's at the point where they don't even feel human-generated anymore, they're like clip art
This! Spots on
"How do you know the soul exists?"
"Because its absence is perceptible"
This is clip art. I remember having classes in school around 2007 about how to use Word and PowerPoint.The teachers kept pushing the students to use clip art instead of images downloaded from online, and pretty much all of the clip art looked like this corporate adtstyle. Completeley soulless
@@Drakey_Fenix i'd much rather use stock images and mash them together into whatever i want.[i made robot godilla hybrid by doing this]
It shouldn't be called "art"!
These art styles are supposed to gain the consumer's trust but whenever I see them I think, "They are going to sell my data."
That was beautifully said
@King of The Zinger the chance is probably like 1 in 100 000. I dont think you actually have worked in food. People will thaw roasts on the counter as a practice, for 30 years, and noone will get sick.
Fool. They already sold your data.
@King of The Zinger FATALITY!
I really really appreciate the part about not blaming illustrators. I'm an architecture student, and I'm volunteering on the design team of a university program-- so I get to help make their logos, posters, brochures, etc.. and they have literally refused anything I proposed outside of this design style. it's been PAINFUL to work in it too, but the team has been trying its best to sneak even a sliver of creativity in there :(
you should get them to watch this video and look at the comments section. let them see how many people hate it.
@@sleepCircle People doesn't hate it, it's just these comments hate it which are mostly written by artists. Corporations see it attracts clients and they don't give a rat ass about what artists think, especially feel. They doesn't use this kind of style to please artists, and if I were a business owner, I don't care either. I'll find artists like this guy inkbery who accepts what his/her client's want even though he/she doesn't like it, because he/she wants to act as a professional. Of course you can give your clients some suggestions, if they don't want them, they don't want them. The world doesn't revolves around one's feelings.
@@wafiseifsungkar2112 i'm the only artist among my friends and they all kinda despise it, too. they don't hate it as much as me, but they have casually mocked it and remarked that it's soulless-looking, before.
are you sure everyone here is an artist?
are you POSITIVE?
Just like in the middle ages, when artists were confined to only produce art with christian motifs. But today in our modern world we all worship Mammon and soulless corporate entities.
ugh thats awful. im sorry.
I think my teacher said it best, "If you try to make something that everyone likes, you'll lose what makes it special"
Well said
They are right.
Meh, if you manage to make something that resonates with a lot of people, I'd say it's pretty special.
@@feeno1188 yeah but this resonates with nobody
@@gell2277 yeah no one likes it, it's an all around failure
As an artist, I want to feel when I look at art. When I look at corporate art, I feel nothing, and feeling nothing makes me begin to ask questions.
Any type of questions in particular?
j e w s
The grubhub ad looks like a future illumination film
GrubHub Cinematic Universe when?
I'm pretty sure it was made by illumination
It is. Has the same level of substance.
Grubhub: Revenge of the Chicken Sandwich
Never coming to a theater near you
Yes, yes it does
It feels like something a government would use excessively in a dystopian world to convince you that nothing is wrong.
mark my words, it will happen like that
It's already too late. Welcome to Idiocracy.
With the agravant that governments MAYBE can be held accountable for their wrongdoings. Corporations, speacially Big Tech, can do whatever they want to us without repercussion
It's exactly that. The corrupt people in big tech and the corrupt people in government are cut from the same cloth and interact with one another
@@maxalaintwo3578 Sadly yeah, politics is just a facade to hide that fact that everyone worships money. While we fight, they get all the cash.
i love how every time a corporation tries to seem like a human, the more and more it feels like it doesn't have a soul
well discord isn't falling with it... yet
@@the_hhhh because they don't care (pretend to?). They feel like random furry lol
I mean, they don't
How about stop pretending to be human and actually fixing the product.
Laptops now exhaust heat through the bottom case, which melts the plastic holder by trapped heat on its bottom and then it affects every other part of the product if not supported by cooling pad for example.
Being human is more than just looks like one. Only consider human - those who actually tries to fix something without denigrating it.
Sort of an uncanny value effect
It’s not that the art is inherently bad, it’s that it represents something much darker. The soulless feel of it all. It feels like a mask that the suits put on to appear human. Skinwalker behaviour.
Which makes it inherently bad.
"Skinwalker behavior"
Cool it with the anti-semitic remarks.
I'm sick of the apologies constantly assaulting my mind while watching this video. The art is inherently bad. It's fine to say that the corporate stink tanks don't know what they're doing and are leading everyone blindly off a cliff.
Oy Vey!
A lot of it is bad, with its goofy proportions like giant arms and small heads.
Would imagine the creator of that style has brain damage.
The weird thing about this art style is I don't like or hate it, it just exists.
Same. Can’t really feel any hatred for that...
Same. And also I do not care it exist, doesn't drawn me to it. It just...exist like it have no function..
This.
Yes
I would describe it as bland
This trend, feels like a font. A baseline that everyone can use just to get a point across, without truly expressing much of anything besides the message.
That's really poetic this comment is gonna be a big boy remember me
Comic Sans
Thank you for sharing the real answer. Everyone else in these comments are like “I think the art is soulless because our brains associate it with the soulless corporations!” Lol like c’mon y’all life is not a Disney movie
webartdings
Yea honestly soul and originality is overrated. Not everyone can make "groundbreaking" aesthetics because of many reasons. It can argued to be classist as well because artistic visuals mostly came from people who either can afford art school, or born with the brain capacity to combine theories, aesthetics, social awareness, to make somethig that wows.
This art direction always rubs off on me as "I'm not like the other companies. Look at me I'm quirky and awkward too!"
I agree....but look at me! Im quirky and awkward too..... Soooob!
This might just be a reflection of my widespread distrust & paranoia but I feel as though it also represents “simplicity for the simple-minded”. It mocks us as being smooth-brained individuals who require the entertainment & services these corporations provide to get by day to day. We can’t think or do for ourselves so we’re simpletons to them
Same, and by all these companies copying this stupid art style, that entire idea is basically obsolete now. You can't be quirky and awkward and different if everyone is doing it.
yoo LMAOOOOO
How though? Its an art style not everything is trying to be quirky. I think they are just using it because its more cost efficient or something.
I feel that this art style is most prevelant among companies that want to be seen as “progressive” too. Since it represents a wide range of different looking people, I often see it in a context of “look guys, we’re not racist!”… which just makes me question their choice of non-existent skin tones even more.
corporate art: even when the colors are warm, their tone is cold.
Especially when we're talking about monolithic tech corps like UA-cam and Facebook.
their tone is soulless like dead body
damn this is poetic
except most times they don’t use warm color tones, it’s always lots of blues, grays, and greens, but sometimes they’ll throw a red or orange in there
@@anna_banana414 That bit of warm color gives the illusion of warmth in appearance and movement even when there really is none.
As an artist myself, i dont hate the art style at all. I just hate what it represents. Every time I see it I think of other artists switching to the style to make a client happy.
right! its not even bad aesthetic wise and kind of fun, but seeing it everywhere makes me sad that companies wont make themselves stand out
To be honest though, if you were working for a heartless corporate entity, would you really be down for putting your own heart and soul into it, or even any effort so not to waste any "good" art on some business?
I feel this so much. When I was in college, one of my second year seniors had a very unique art style and I loved it. Since some of the 4th year seniors were getting more and more success with this Corporate Memphis style, he gradually started changing his style to look like theirs. Nowadays, there's like 5 illustrator friends I can't recognize their art because it looks the same.
@@greenetomphson6164 not at all 😔 that's why i say that this art style just makes me sad because i get where it's coming from. Like we all have to make ends meet but it's still just so soul crushing 😔
I've done a lot of stints making logos and brand identities since thats where the clients are and sometimes you just go on autopilot
I don't hate the artstyle, but the way it's used is terrible. I don't like it though. As someone who loves digital art, I don't want to work with a big company, because it's just limiting.
The corporate art version of "Saturn Devouring His Son" is fucking hilarious.
Joshua Brinton Autry why do I keep reading comments right before it happens in the video
I hate it so much AAAAGHH I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT IT'S BAD IT'S JUST SO FRICKING BAD
if you think that's funny wait 'till you've seen the flat art floyd or hitler or jews. good stufd
It really shows the lack of emotional depth that corporate art has
Week
Ah, yes, "instead of just putting people of different colors in our art, we opted to just make them blue instead!" very progressive and relatable
Ah yes, gotta please the smurf community!
It unites us all in our disgust for the style.
@@kutiethekatright… maybe green?
@@kerryhurley1904shrek
Same for body shape diversity. Absurd proportions means nobody is skinny or bulky or fat...
I don't recall every detail from this video's first version, but I can tell that its now much more concise & focused, which is great.
didnt expect to find you here lol
There's alot youtubers in here
Let’s see how many subs I can gain from this comment.
Current : 2.08k
@@kam6en Apparently only 0.01k LOL
@@DJSlimeball and that's if he only posted that comment here lol
Louis Armstrong once said “you don’t become an artist because you want to, you become one because you can’t not.” Art has always been for expression, while profit can be made, it’s intent is to communicate - art in this style reflects the profit based intentions rather then expression - it’s the intent and connectivity art provided that it lacks - it’s truly something that is noticeable - appeal, low communication and mediocre expression does not grasp many , it’s honestly weird to look at
i really like that quote, thanks for sharing
@@stuckfart Yeah, same here.
Hard to find the sauce, but damn if it isn't a really good quote.
THIS QUOTE HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY LINE FOR GENERATIONS!
This could explain why corporate music sounds so soulless.
Here for this journalistic integrity
same
GAGAGAGAGAGA!!! I watched this video and it is really not that good compared to my perfect videos. GAGAGAGAGA!!! This is NOT self-promotion! This is the reality! This is the world! We are the people! Don't disl****ke my vide*****s, my dear sara
@@AxxLAfriku same
@@AxxLAfriku let me just go on your Channel and dislike... but seriously What your doing is literally self promoting. The definition of self promoting is talking positively about yourself in order to ger people to do stuff. Thats not always bad but What you just Said was very rude. Then again i Think you May be a memer doing this for funsies
Facts, honestly
After examining the style, I've come up with a hypothesis on just why we tend to see it as psychopathic.
The first thing that stands out to me is that characters seem to exhibit what I'm gonna refer to as "reverse-neoteny". Neoteny describes childlike and appealing features, and as an example, humans are neotenous compared to other great apes. We have very reduced browridges, flatter faces, bulbous heads, expressive faces and much less broad body shapes, making us look more similar to juvenile hominids than adult ones.
The "corporate artstyle", however, despite commonly viewed as infantile, is the reverse of these features. Big, disproportionately broad torsos and limbs with tiny heads that, in the half of the time they do have faces, are extremely simplified and comparable to the NPC meme.
These unappealing features seem to do a good job at dehumanizing the humans they're intended to represent, and in tandem with the otherwise kiddy style supplementing the grossly proportioned figures, give it the "soulless" and psychopathic look.
Good anslysis
this is an excellent analysis. I would go as far as to say that it activates fight or flight instincts because we're hardwired to fear these kinds of proportions if we see them in real life.
WOW buddy
Is it just me or are we looking too deep? Like, I didn't have any problems with this art until I came across this video and comments (I still don't have problems with the art),why should they look realistic? This style is all about abstract shapes and bright colors, so why would we want to make it realistic?
@@Mari_Say they're not advocating for it to be realistic, they're saying it's unappealing to most people. most people find neotenous features appealing, and find the reverse of that strange looking and off putting. it was my first thought when i initially started seeing these ads. they look weird and ugly imo.
corporate art feels like it just spawns. like i can’t imagine an artist sitting down and drawing this lol
It's like they have a bunch of basic templates then use an AI to mix n match the templates together to mass create generic advertisement art
@@Gameprojordan We'll get there too
I think you art critics have no understanding of anything, hence the lack of imagination. You don't realize if someone actually sat down and spent 48 hours coaxing a visual masterpiece out of Illustrator to adorn a page that most viewers scroll past in less than 1 second it would not be appreciated, in fact it would be ridiculed even worse. It's trying too hard. Do you want to navigate a lengthy Shakepearian diatribe when you try to find information about your latest medical worry online? This is just visual communication, it's not trying to be art. It succeeds at giving people a vague feeling but if you sit and think about it that's missing the point entirely so of course you'll be disappointed.
Yea to me it just feels fake like it’s somehow like made in some sort of factory like how those cheap toys from the dollar store are made or something like that
@@gorkyd7912 this is a pretty nice take ngl
This art style just screams “we don’t sell your data”
"We just monetize it. Honest... it's NOT the same thing!"
"we didn't sell your data, we promise!"
Very nice comment, anyways we just updated our privacy policy and want to remind you that we value your privacy
I’m crying
"we" "don't" "sell" "your" "data"
Basically, it's offensively inoffensive.
THANK YOU. CANT WORD IT BETTER THAN THAT
Just like UA-cam's UA-cam Rewinds
so true
@@Fordandra amazingly true
Exactly! Like the skin colour. Race has always been controversial. Who gets more represented in advertising conveys who is more important for the corporation (who the corporation panders to). Let's not confront the strange societal dynamic - let's create a world without race and so racial tensions
I think it's just the clear attempt at manipulating the audience that makes me so unnerved about the corporate art styles. There's nothing inherently wrong to me about pictures of simple, purple or green people, laughing and having fun together - in fact I kind of artistically value art that focuses on every day enjoyment of things, and i really like creative simplicity. It's the knowledge that this is done because the app is trying to play some kind of mind game with me, to make me associate happiness and smiles with the app in some kind of genuine capacity, that it's placed on top of data mining and stealing, that it isn't GENUINE, which fucks me up. The context of where the art is placed is just as important at what the art looks like. It comes off as inherently ironic because everyone knows Facebook is shit.
Nah, the simplistic art style on its own screams of "take care of yourself" culture of not trying hard ever at anything. It looks sterile of any deep feelings and emotionally immature. Like, any secure person doesn't need vivid colors in their designs to make them feel a certain way.
Anything to avoid scaring off potential customers.
@@krunkle5136 eh yeah, I mean it's definitely simple to make it more easily relatable and marketable. But I do think simplicity can also have its own beauty to it, and there are some emotions that are simple and portraying them that way is pretty cool.
I mean, advertising has always tried to manipulate our impressions...
@@fishlordusername891 idk, I see the simplicity as a flattening of culture and a coralling of human emotions into a few manageable categories.
It reflects the risk averse nature of multinational corporations which on one hand can be a strength, but also a contributor to keeping culture and life in general boring.
I think people should even within the market be presented with unique, more niche things that reflect the subtle differences in culture that still exist.
@@michellematthews671 oh yeah for sure.
I honestly find those tiny-headed blocky-body noodle limb people from the corporate art style to be vaguely unnerving to look at. The tiny heads and long large limbs gives me the impression that they're ridiculously tall. I can't help but imagine them as creatures from a horror movie or game. Imagine one of those things steadily pursuing you down a dark hallway.
or maybe don't imagine them at all if you want to sleep tonight
I commented this but it remembers me of a painting called Abapuru by Tarsila Do Amaral. The person in the painting has very big limbs in comparison to it's head, because they need to work much more than they think. I think corporations kinda send that message of with this artstyle.
There's definitely some kind of uncanny thing going on with them. Strange when they're supposed to be meant to be as bland and non-objectionable as possible. Stick figures would honestly work better.
They look like the Goombas from the live action Super Mario Bros movie.
They didn't watch the Super Mario Super Show and got turned into goombas
two words: "insidiously friendly"
Oh god yes it matches the feel too well
Yeah, like siren song pulling sailors into a watery grave.
Forcibly Friendly Nanny Approved
Couldn't have said it better
How do you do fellow multicultural offensive audience?
It’s really important that we have to admire Solar Sands did not change his opinion. This is much more critical in fact good stuff.
I'm so confused about what people are talking about. What original video?
@@frostbitetheannunakiiceind6574 the original version of this video was posted a couple days ago but was taken down for being incorrect/having weak arguments in certain sections. This is a reuppload with those issues addressed, so basically the same video but better.
I think it’s important that people can change their minds, but I’m glad that Solar Sands’ didn’t need to in this case. The original video simply needed some tweaking to make the overall argument stronger.
I absolutely love the old school flat art. They put a whole lot more into it than flat art of today. Also, the fonts in use with a lot of Art Deco art pieces add much charm to those pieces.
I feel like the art style is the corporations telling me “everything, is as it should be :)” while they gain dirty money
They’re trying to act down to earth and “hip” as they avoid taxes and bust unions
Everything is as it should be
I saw this before
It's really just like those propaganda posters but instead of blatantly demanding for your obedience they gain your trust by hiding the "Freedom is Slavery" slogan behind a fake smile
Yes! And all the comments here so far remind me of the song "Brave New World" by Kalandra... It is an extremely important red flag we must NOT ignore! Do not allow yourselves to be controlled by the Morning Star!!
"Successful hills are here to stay
Everything must be this way
Gentle streets where people play
Welcome to the Soft Parade
All our lives we sweat and save
Building for a shallow grave
Must be something else we say
Somehow to defend this place
Everything must be this way
Everything must be this way, yeah"
The Soft Parade, The Doors
I don’t know why, but the phrase,”Grubhub lore” absolutely killed me
In the beginning there was the word and the word was Grub. And Grub made the Hub. For millennium the Kings of Grub ruled over their Hub. In the following centuries the Grub Hub empire rose to power, their might surpassing the thousands of others who dared to concour the mighty Hub of Grub.
Okay but please don’t say “The hub” Bc that has been ruined for me by ppl calling P-hub “the hub” lol
@@elektra81516 In the beginning there was nothing, and before nothing there was GrubHub
Globglogabgalab.
@@luciendelaney8975 boi shut up 😂
When you said “there’s “lore?!?” I genuinely laughed out loud
Me too. It's so absurd.
I was mind blown
Omg ikr like *w h y*
when
I loled
Mascot and logo are probably more desirable than this because it’s the corporation representing ITSELF in its infographics rather than representing US. When it’s their interpretation of how we’re supposed to feel, it’s like they’re telling us HOW we’re supposed to feel. If it’s a representation of themselves, it feels more honest
I didn’t really have hard feelings for this art style but when he showed those other examples you can really tell the difference like there’s more there than the corporate ones
I never minded it either. In fact, I actually still kind of like it. I like things that can hit two birds with one stone, so in that regard, I like it because it's effective and pleasing to look at, and it's practical to work with as something easy to understand and quick to put out within a short timeframe. But the association with corporate disingenuousness and unchecked power is becoming hard to ignore.
The design here 3:00 looks like the art style google would use and it's kinda cute... when not 3D animated, over used and obnoxious.
The Grubhub Commercials literally look like those advertisements for bottled oxygen in the Lorax.
Exactly this, it looked so "Illumination". Meaning: soulles, and cashgrabby.
lmao you’re actually right
grubhub's gonna need a burn heal after that one lmao
abhahahah
AAAAAA
This art style is a the visual representation of the upbeat stock ukelele, whistle music
My favorite comment ever
Exactly
oh god i can hear it now, it’s coming for us all
Video: How to summon the elder god to cause -eternal damnation- a fun time
Song:
did you mean: spotify ads ?
For any book nerds: This art style reminds me of the planet Camazotz from A Wrinkle in Time. Just unsettlingly perfect, to the point where you know something’s wrong.
holy shit imagine if someone made a horror game in corporate art style... that would be insane
BLOOBER TEAM YOU MAKE WEIRD ASS HORROR GAMES WRITE THIS DOWN
The bright cheerful colors are too happy to be in a horror game.
@@calamitychaela1994 well to be fair, it would probably rely on a lot of surrealism and derealization
@@calamitychaela1994 I mean if you think about, if something looks too cheerful or happy, it will began to look off. Kinda like those strange liminal spaces.
Ok.
It's an art style that looks like it has something to say, but is also carefully crafted to say absolutely nothing on its own.
wow nicely put!
Genius
very accurate. Also its nice exactly because of this haha
they serve the same purpose as stock photos. when they would be to exact it would be immensely harder to find the right one for your purpose 😅
interface designer here, sry for being lazy sometimes. they are just quick hahah
It's like fucking dada but without the artistic integrity. x.x
@@arsarma1808 Nah this is like the opposite of dada
That episode of Spongebob where he became "normal" and it was incredibly jarring and uncomfortable? That's how this art feels
Exactly, then returns tp the wacky fun spongebob we all know and love
*Hi, how are ya?*
*Wonderful weather we're having.*
This sums it up really well! For a while, I have mockingly called it "Corporate Clean Flat™" where you can see websites, character design, coloration, etc... all feeling the same. It felt boring, thoughtless and lazy. Yet I couldn't put my finger on why they seemed that way for the longest time as like you said: They aren't inherently a bad style. I just knew something seemed off even though traits of them have been seen in far better art pieces throughout history. Then one day it hit me: It's not relatable. Like you pointed about that the illustrated people not really existing, they fail to capture what things are. There have been plenty of characters throughout history with exaggerated body proportions/movements and non-human colors, but they felt alive because of their relatability to each scenario. You aren't getting that when on stuff like seeing a bunch of people happily jumping for joy at a bug fix that took them 4 months to get to or something. People reading that announcement would be more like: "Oh... Took you long enough."
At my art school we coined the term “bendy people” cause of their noodle arms
The arms are the most unsettling part tbh
Can confirm. We called them noodlemen/noodlewomen.
@@gaijingojira3601 Yeah, those arms are freaky
@Hunter Ansorge bruh stfu
@Hunter Ansorge is it racist to describe a cat as fluffy, then?
The style has a strange… indescribable feeling. It’s like they are trying to fool you into thinking they care about their individual customers.
@Boom bow Factual
Toxic positivity and rigid conformity is the hallmark of the modern corporate world.
This artstyle makes me feel like I'm a lifeless city of marble granite and glass, it just looks Gentrified.
The problem is it has the _conventions_ of a lively and unique style, but with absolutely no personality behind it. It's basically just a more evolved clip art
I know. It’s really creepy, take us back to frutiger aero please.
“It’s become so inclusive that the people it depicts don’t even exist” that got me!
It's supposed to be ambiguous and I think it shows what these corporations actually think their customers look/act like: cartoonish walking bank accounts that just exist to spend money. That, and the art style looks like in belongs in a children's book. Like we're idiots or something. No wonder people hate it. It's akin to a faceless corporation that tries to say that you're family instead of a customer. Intrusive and cringe as all hell, has the exact opposite of what they want.
Agree. I also find being referred to as a "consumer" incredibly condescending. And the family thing too. It's like they don't know the meaning of the word family.
its not that the artstyle is hated, its what it represents. which is the bloated, monopolistic, corporations that uses it. it personally feels like a horrifying, shapeshifting monster pretending to be something trustworthy, only to gut your wallet and privacy for their own profit
Hmm sounds kind of familiar
Are we... are we suggesting that corporations are the mimics of the capitalist economic system?
@@e.s.r5809 NAHHHHH
@@e.s.r5809 suddenly.. "ROLL INITIATIVE"
@@mollofistraye5164 the bard seduced the dragon so now he's facing off against the real big bad... capitalism
I’ve been getting increasingly more annoyed at this style showing up everywhere and almost always from evil people. I’m so happy this showed up in my recommended.
Same
Im all fine with evil as long as its creative.
Like a true artist, Solar Sands always revises and reinvents his own art.
Unlike a real artist he destroyed the other piece
(I’m not being serious just kidding around)
@@desireesmith862 george lucas
@@desireesmith862 Although when you think about it, who's to say that the destruction of the last piece can't be art in and of itself? (Also that was funny)
Funny, I find these human blobs actually pretty offensive. As in "this is absolutely every single one of you guys: overweight, silly people with a very, veeeery small head, always running or taking selfies". Revolting. Hated it at first sight.
In an attempt not to offend anybody, they relate to nobody.
Well put :)
Are you saying you’re *not* a blue person with a tiny head?
NintendoHub wut?
@@simpleman8883 That's what they always draw people like, some weird purple or blue skin color and completely messsed up proportions
Yup
As an artist I kinda like certain examples of the "corporate" art style. Because those examples usually reflect what I'm trying to achieve with my own style. I like the limited colour palette. I like the difference in personalities based on clothing and posture. I like the wacky disproportionate anatomy. I like how simple it is, yet details are still present.
Now what I *don't* like:
-The forced nature of the agenda (all sat in front of a computer smiling)
-the Starbucks effect (every piece of artwork looks the same on every website)
-the fact it's only value is based on how marketable/palletable to the public it is (art should be *exciting* not bland!)
I also don't like how this style of art is now being "cancelled" don't cancel the art style, cancel the big tech companies.
same
Whether a company wishes to take the risk of using another art style is on them. For design reasons this art style is very universal, and very symbol/shaped oriented,, which makes watching the ad whether your from Chicago to Seoul, it translates the same and crosses the barriers though if it were anime/Disney Esque characters it'd probably read differently to general audiences and cause misinterpretation of the service/ product that is being advertised.
@@HJima There's so many amazing and underrated artists on freelancer websites and all, imagine how happy THEY would be if a company used their art style in a commercial or something, instead. They choose to use this horrific and crazy looking art o^o;
I think that sums it up pretty good. I think the style is freaking beautiful, but people seem not to differnetiate the art and „the artist“ - in this case, more or less, the industry thats behind it.
Isn't most graphic design only valuable because of how marketable to the audience it is?
Whilst trying to please your client you also want to achieve a design the audience will enjoy/ have ease using.
Its insincere sincerity. This may be anecdotal, but I feel as if graphic design has never been so similar between each brand. Not only does every company looks the same, but sound the same. All I hear is "peace of mind" and "family" and "community". It doesn't feel like they just wanna sell me something anymore. And for something which is supposedly a capitalist endeavor, that isn't a good sign.
Same feel as every ad on the planet going _"In these uncertain times"_ over soft music in the past year or so...
And I feel like it’s toxic in a way because it’s not spreading new art styles it’s so generic. I think they would stand out more if they had their own style and that could help new art be circulated too.
I'm an designer/illustrator and from my perspective, I enjoy that it's all so homogenous since the brand image doesn't get in the way of usability. I frankly don't give a shit whether a company is unique or cool or whatever, because that is not the reason I use their services. Art, like actual art, which is created with the intent of expressing oneself, has no place in places like UI and brand image. The illustrations in corporate designs are instrumental, they are there for a specific practical reason, not to be an artistic expression.
I wish people judged companies solely on the quality of their services and not on the coolness factor. I don't use a single service because I think it 'looks cool'.
@@theonewithoutidentity Yeah, but if it can't look good, then why waste the screen space on it?
"And for something which is supposedly a capitalist endeavor..."
For real. Am I buying a product, or industrialized therapy?
Corporate graphic designers be like
Ctrl+c
Ctrl+v
"Hhhhmmmmm yes the consoomers will love this"
I believe it's not about the art anymore... It can be a flat cartoon, a 3D animation, or real actors, what is annoying us is publicity EVERYWHERE all the time!
I agree with you, sometimes would be more nice to just have a text, maybe a single picture.
Other than that, personally, I think what bothers most people is the type of ads.
A lot of ads like the grubhub one are annoying and make the audience feel like complete idiots with catchy tunes and cringey acting/animation. I often find myself watching old ads out of nostalgia and most don't give me this feeling :(
Yes, maybe this is what changed... Ads used to be glamorous, but people complained because, apparently, it was some sort of lie. Now all ads feel the need to be loudly positive and cheerful.
@@gemstonesparkle7915 i'd say ads stopped being glamourous when they moved from 30-60 second tv spots to youtube where you can skip them in 5 seconds. there's less room for artistic vision in ads when viewer retention is on the line more than ever
It’s simple
Kurzgesagt = has ducks
Corporate = has no ducks
ducks good
Underrated imo
krusgesagts artstyle looks so much better and uinque tho
@@Mark-Wilson how do classy pigs oink
"uinque"
He speaks the truth
"THERE'S GRUBHUB LORE?!"
Ah fuck. Time to get the rabbit hole suit on.
I can’t stop thinking about that part of the video 😭 I wanna watch a grub hub iceberg video
_Grub Hub Episode X: Dance Like No One Has Ever Danced Before... LITERALLY_
Fredrick Knudsen collab? the best part of that would be you'd never be totally sure who was narrating.
GrubHub Cinematic Universe
@@catkilled there is one, just search it
I'm a graphic designer and I've licensed some of this generic art. Here's a couple of reasons why it's so prevalent:
1 - it's really easy to edit. The fact that the characters don't overlap means that I can easily rearrange them to fit the message and space of the thing I'm designing. I can also change the colors to fit brand guidelines.
2 - these simple vector drawings can be easily animated on After Effects.
3 - this type of vector illustration is plentiful in stock image site, and it's precisely because it is bland that it can fit so many different brands.
4 - Licensing stock art is cheaper than hiring an illustrator.
5 - It's a style that's fairly easy to copy, so even if you need to create original compositions, you're not tied to a specific illustrator. Anyone who knows how to draw and use Illustrator could make these type of illustrations.
5 - Getting everyone in the client's company to approve an illustrator with a distinctive style is difficult. I've only dealt with one client who wanted to hire an illustrator, and after one was chosen and completed some illustrations for us, they walked back their decision and decided to use stock imagery.
So these are all the reasons why this vector drawing style is so prevalent.
capitalism and modernity
@@alonsoschneider8109 *corporatism
basically it's only for convenience
@@oz_jones *capitalism
but it sucks ass
Here in the middle of the US, there's a grocery store chain called Kroger. They use this art style in their commercials, and I remember seeing it (a hundred different times) and just hating it. I've noticed this in many different places, and your analysis of it is spot on.
Kroger also owns Fred Meyer on the west coast, so we haven’t escaped them either.
They own fry’s too, and holy cow they have so many commercials on UA-cam i
We want more parody of this art style
Ye
Now u are everywhere, what to sell something isnt it
4chan's /pol/ board did exactly that about month or two ago
Check out the game Going Under, it's a satire of tech startup culture and is done in essentially a parody of this art style.
That's probably a great solution. If this style becomes associated with the parodies of it, then I doubt companies will continue wanting to use it.
However that will likely just lead to some new generic art style.
I’ve always seen this “corporate art style” as a soulless insult to art because the legitimate artists that are working in this style can make way more beautiful and unique art if they where given more time and money. All business these days when it comes to anything remotely creative they always settle on mediocrity like movies, video games etc. because it appeals to the general audience. As a graphic design student and self taught artist, I really hope this somehow changes in the future because I love creating unique and original content and would absolutely hate to draw a pitiful excuse of an “art style” all day to appease corporate sludge. It’s just sad to see so much wasted potential to create something that could be magnificent and impactful. All I truly see in this art style is crushed dreams.
And people sometimes notice this about art, but they haven't noticed that this has already happened to other mediums... like music. To the point that corporate music has ingrained itself into our society so much that almost nobody has even realized there's a problem.
With the exception of volume restrictions, your headphones can play any audible sound that can exist in this universe, and what have you heard from them so far? Same chords, same notes, same instruments, over and over and over again... but unlike with graphical art, most people haven't actually experienced any other music, so they aren't remotely aware of how large the issue really is.
Just check out, say... Sophomore Storytime, by Bell's Worth. Or Lands of Delight by Alon Mor. You may love it, or you'll more likely hate it since it's so odd in comparison to anything you've ever experienced. But... it's so much more human. You can tell that so much soul was put into that music, and that it holds very significant personal importance to its creator.
That among songs from multiple *millions* of other musicians are so completely invisible to everybody despite it being all around us.
The same thing will happen to our movies, our graphical artworks, our games, our books, and everything else that keeps us human.
Yeah, art has always been my passion, but I chose not to pursue it as a career because the thought of having to make soulless corporate art actually made me feel queasy. I just focus on art in my free time. I don't want my creativity being influenced by people telling me what to do.
@@meltedyakkystick3891 exactly when I’m in school and I have a art reputation and my parents try and put me into art competitions or designing contests, that made me not want to draw as much as I used to, or my friends would be like “can u draw that”, “what about this idea it would look cool for your art project” it’s just like I want to draw what I want to draw I don’t like people giving me ideas or telling me how I should draw or what I should draw.
Fellow artist here, glad you're here to keep the real message going. Where can I find your art? I'm gonna check out your stuff soon if you'll permit it.
@@zazaenjoyer_uu7 amen. art isnt art if its not what its creator wants
I hate The Algeria art style that has been abused by corporations, it gives the whole minimalist art style a bad rap, when in actuality, minimalist art has been used by many artists for many unique pieces. I think a perfect example would be Olly Moss’s work (as mentioned by Solar himself), it’s certainly minimalist, but he uses the basic colors and designs to bring out a lot of detail and beauty, I’d love to see the style used in more unique ways.
great analysis, but it's called Alegria
Right!!! I hope this doesn’t make people dislike the style due to association..
Alegría is Spanish for joy. Algeria is a country in north Africa
Algeria!!!! Dz viva l’Algérie 🇩🇿
It kinda reminds me of clip-art from Microsoft office. A lot of the images in them had this 90s minimalist cubist look to them. I think that association with office software has also reinforced its sterile, corporate feel. And with clip-art in mind, it can feel lazy and fake. Typically when I see clip-art, I'm aware that the picture wasn't actually made for the document, but is instead a kind of stock image that was included with the software, or grabbed from Google images.
As an illustrator who’s been pigeon holed into this style for like 5 years I can tell you it is fake and made me quit my job and become a jewellery maker
Edit: wow I didn’t expect this when I clicked post on this comment 2 years ago anyway since some people seemed super weirded out that I’d don’t this. My level of creative freedom and expression as a jewellery maker has been higher then it ever was in illustration. Not only that 2 years on from this comment I own a business and make a lot more money, not that that really has any bearing on why I chose to do it. It was a part time passion and I chose to make it my focus and it payed off. Basically just because you’re good at something and put a lot of time into something doesn’t mean trying something new is a bad idea. Have a good day.
I hope it's been working out for you! I did the same, started in graphic design/UI art in college... went great until we had to work with clients. The current art industry is so defeatingly empty of meaning and I hated being paid on random successful production, like a factory machine.
Now I'm studying recreational therapy, and I love it. I still do art on the side, and I hope you do too, or at least consider it as a hobby still!
and thats why I went for an Industrial Design Major instead of my beloved art discipline; illustration
doesnt seem like that great of a decision if it took you 5 years to make it.
I hope your new activity is going well!
I'm kinda happy to have kept graphic design and illustration a hobby to express myself rather than being a graphic designer for a living... I'd have probably started hating to do this style
Juula How is it going with industrial design? I'm starting a diploma in September that covers industrial, graphic, and interior design, but I think I'm most interested in industrial. Would love to hear your thoughts
It looks like a bootleg version of “cloudy with a chance of meatballs” and you can’t convince me otherwise
yes!!!
I think it looks like it was produced by Illumination Entertainment, which has some irony to it given that Illumination is also notorious for using similar cheap vector art styles, marketing itself like it's first-decade Pixar even though the stories for its films are nothing more than pablum tripe for the mush-brained masses, demonstrably watering down the spirit of the third-party stories they've adapted, and prostituting itself to any and every corporate entity that will pay them to do the bulk lifting for advertising.
@@DaMaster012 the first despicable me was good, but that was before they learned they didn't have to try.
@@GlitchBunn I agree. The first Despicable Me was very good, in fact. It was simple, bordering on cloche even, but it was hearty, and the portrayal of a good father figure to be commended, especially considering how much they're condemned and mocked nowadays. Unfortunately, they send to have taken the wrong message from being successful with a sweet but safe feature and leaned fully into pandering to the absolute lowest common denominator; the kinds of dullards like the people who harrassed Dave Chappelle by constantly yelling "I'm Rich James, bitch!" at him, without realizing why the sketch was funny or appreciating his more intelligent (and in my opinion funnier) sketches, like the one of the blind klansman who doesn't know he's black.
It's said that a fool and their money are soon parted, and Illumination built their entire business on depriving dumbasses of their dollars.
No it looks like the perverted hotdog movie.
This feels like Microsoft is trying to sell me a Surface tablet.
I'm surprised how there wasn't a office 365 ad consumer#3534
it has intel hd graphocs so bad
@@cheeseman498 graphics is not the only thing that matters in a computer
Too late. :/
@@cheeseman498 i own one of those things the graphics aren't bad but its just sucky in storage.
I feel like this art style has creeped into everything now and days. Everything from music to cars feels like it's made without passion
Kids cartoons. Ugh. When I babysit the grandkids and watch them, I feel my brain cells dying.
We've hit the portion of late-stage capitalism where companies are just seeking further ways of turning the human experience into new profit generating schemes. It's all about numbers on a spreadsheet now, things like culture and the arts (or making a "good" product) are just numbers to be crunched to maximize gains.
@@craigwillms61same, i know the feeling all too well
@@varahunter68 cartoons in the 60s and 70s were so much better.
*nowadays (not sure if AC or typo?)
As someone who works in this industry, I can tell you that we are pushed to make this aesthetic. You smartly acknowledged its pros and cons. Ultimately, its intention isn't artistry- its to communicate a message in the fastest and most comprehensible way possible. And companies are so afraid to be associated with a definitive message or establish a sense of identity in their visuals because it can alienate their audience. So much so that they choose the safest route, which is in its finish, empty of humanity, as humanity is divisive, offensive, and clumsy.
As someone who also works in the industry, this is completely truth. Sometimes the client wants to look trendy or this style is the best option given the time/budget for a project.
@@zuutsuki true that. How about getting six hours to make 20 of these? 🤪
@@emilyrose9518 Now that's unnacpetable
@@mayorgeneralramirez1997 oddly enough, better boundaries expectation wise than the advertising/post production end of the spectrum. Something, that while the output looked better imo, was an impossible standard to maintain for the desired quality and speed consistently. At least in research or ux development, the budget tends to be better without as much emphasis on the best pixel perfect end graphic(s). Advertising is far more tightly budgeted and the turn over is lightning speed- aka many sleepless nights and a quick recipe for designer burnout.
@@SatanenPerkele I wouldn't say its bad art nor is it not creative. There is absolutely a demand to be creative with it regardless of its lack of identity. You certainly can't utilize or design it without some illustrative ability. And to be consistent with the turn around is another demand on professionalism. To a degree, I would tend to agree with you. A lot of feminist art is HORRIBLE (there, I said it- internet shall roast me), but I'm not sure if modern feminist art and corporate art is one and the same here. Some similarities? Yes. In terms of this corporate aesthetic being made by white feminists, I'd say that statement is situationally true and to a certain extent (depends on if the artist is white and is feminist and has final say for what is approved/sent to the client). If anything, you are describing the clients or the internal teams who are asking for this style of their artists- not the actual artists being forced to make it.
this style looks like how the word "synergy" sounds
Ugh
i hate that you're right
perfect
No because Synergy is at least fun to say.
KURAPIKA IS NOW DROWNING
Great video / analysis!
From a technical pov: this art style is due it's simplicity a good alternative specially for smaller businesses to tell stories (e. g. for campaigns, newsletters, new products) without spending a lot of money on A. complex illustrations (for every new campaign or newsletter) which are not reusable B. a photoshooting. That's why it's pretty widely used. Clients also often lack on imagination or need some sort of confirmation/safety net. It's way more difficult if not even impossible to introduce an art style which is not common and unique because a client - who's not design affine - needs a proof of concept if you will. Round shapes are also linked to humane/safe/trust/freedom in design language, combined with desaturated colors, you achieve a humane look by the book. The shapes of the people have to be abstract so that a wider range of people can relate to it. Imagine the people would have concrete proportion or would be skinny vs. thick / small vs. large = you would add meanings to them unconsciously. The long legs and arms also help show actions/tasks more clearly, and therefore it's easier to tell stories (that's why the art style is often used to describe a process e. g. a login or registration process too). Due to its simplicity, it's also great to create scenes fast. Like you said in your video, deadlines are always short.
The question of »How do we tell stories?« photos or illustrations? Is a common question when developing brands. It's mostly dependent on the brand itself. E. g. if you're a small business and don't have an office OR if you're and big business international business with many people, it's hard to show humanity through photos without being too generic (which we all also hate, right? Think of all the generic stock photos).
Kurzgesagt has developed a sort of bubbly style. Everything is flat but at the same time really rounded and it gives everything a bubbly look. Very unique.
Also birds are cool
@@yyyaaa3928 the fitness gram pacer test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly, but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. Ding A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. Ding Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start. On your mark, get ready, ding
Also they murder at least one bird per video.
And feels... friendly, warm and safe. Corp artstyle is unsetteling. I didn't like it scince 1st time i saw alegria on facebook. Just imagine those oversized limbs on real person. Being out of proportion grabs your attention, yes. Just like a white guy grabs attention in the middle of chineese remote village. But i digress. I will be blunt - alegria is disgusting in my eyes. Like it crawled out of chernobyl reactor core.
I've seen a very similar art style (minus things like the birds, of course) in some other videos. Makes me wonder if they're copying off them or using the same animator services
It always baffles me how minimalism is seen as a "modern" and progressive, when it is something that was in my opinion perfected in graphic design and art half a century ago, if not even longer than that. Instead modern minimal graphic design has taken all of the art and nuance out of design, and created something simplistic rather than simple.
Simplicity is so fucking mediocre i cant stand it. They think its creative when any half wit can easily come up with something as simple bland and mundane as this. The more i see this art style the more i get infuriated with it.
Remember that you’re seeing survivorship bias. Today you see thousands of designed things, but you only see a few remaining pieces from a hundred years ago. It’s possible that the best of today is just as good (or better) as the best of yesterday.
@@zachpw @Zach Wiggin I suppose so. That is interesting to consider. Of course there is plenty of art and design from the past century that I don't personally deem as very good or effective, and modern art and design that I think is great. We'll have to just wait and see what sticks, I guess. As always hindsight is 20/20. Graphic design as a profession is also very oversaturated and a lot easier than it used to be before the digital/internet era, meaning we get to see a lot more mediocre and mundane graphic design on a daily basis, which might misconstrue the very good design which might be buried somewhere in between.
@2freeIvX I agree! I’ve seen many great uses of minimalism in modern design also. Some of my favourites include Hiroshi Nagai and Ryan Carl. Of course a lot of it also comes down to personal preference and shouldn’t be generalized to all art and design. Im just not personally big on many modern styles and trends of flat design I’ve seen on instagram, etc. though i really like art by Cassandre, Fontana, Stella, the Bauhaus movement... Each to their own!
Trends just go in cycles, they never actually come up with something new.
Fashion is a dead industry that can't produce much of interest anymore, since it's all been done at least once by at least someone. (Aesthetically speaking)
That is the disadvantage it suffers due to being progressed consistently for over 5,000 years, globally.
All they can do is advance the technological aspects.
This art style be like:
Tiny head, 9ft and and giant arms and legs
Only animals look good
Google be like
AZAN PogO?
9ft eh?
*it reminds me of some lady ;*
Tarsila do Amaral's Abaporu did it before it was cool
I think it represents the androgynous life that the world is headed toward. Everyone needs to agree. Everyone needs to like or dislike something. Everything has to be combined to please everyone. If they make you faceless or generic, you have no identity and can be shaped into whatever society wants you to be. No original thoughts? That means you can't disagree. No identity outside of what society says makes up one's identity. They don't want you to be an individual. "If everyone's special, no one will be."- Syndrome and (loosely) Dash
You, you just made the Best comment of this video in my opinion. Congratulations 👏🏻💯🌟...
@@MiguelMedV Preciate it!😊
In other words the new world order
When I read androgynous, I thought you meant gender androgynous and got excited for a second.
@@callmemackeroniYou're EXACTLY the kind of person he was talking about.
Enjoy your miserable future.
I’ve literally never seen this grubhub ad before I feel like I’m on an alternative timeline
Same. Maybe we're from the same one. Did the Beatles exist in your universe?
@@korvo3427 👀
@@korvo3427 the what????
@@elliebence5544 guess who is in another alternative timeline
Me too
I've hated this style for as long as I can remember. I read it as soooo fucking condescending. Like we're all four years old laughing and clapping at colors and silly, faceless shapes. I'm fucking over it. Thank yo for this.
Bingo. Condescending and infantilizing
faceless shapes that look like an algorithm came up with
Exactly this. We are now increasingly having online click through trainings in this style at work
It’s all love and peace in the pics but they’ll fuck us all for an extra dollar.
My thoughts exactly
I'm reminded of Tantacrul's "How To Compose With No Soul", which covers the same topic, but for corporate music instead.
I thought the same way
The worst corporate music of all us instagram ad music. Everytime an instagram ad comes on it takes me less than a second to throw my earbuds off in rage
@@Mae_Dastardly It's a deliberate attempt to be as inoffensive, friendly, grassroots, down-to-earth, and anti-elite as possible (despite the fact that these mega corporations are literally none of those things.)
@@maxalaintwo3578 yeah well all they accomplish is sounding like nails on chalkboard. Fake Hype corporate music is even more grating than emotional piano bank ad music
@@Mae_Dastardly all the stomps and claps and rudimentary blues scales make me sick. Even before corporations started using them, cuz I knew where it would lead. Corporate campfire music
As a designer, I have always seen this overused style as ‘Clip Art’ was before the internet. It cheapens any brand and your trenchant critique is spot on! I would rather look at the cheesy stock images before this style was adopted. Besides the body forms on all these are strange, because the use of these stock illustrated humanz would never be considered surreal.
The dystopian future is covered in bright colours.
Not if we can stop it! THROUGH THE POWER OF ROCK&ROLL JUST LIKE IN THE OL' 80's (it doesnt has to be rock, any anti-corpo music would work too).
Underrated comment
@@el2746 so, basically NoStraightRoads?
The nuclear radiation has damaged our eyes so colours are more saturated
@@el2746 in the 80s rock was already corporate, you're thinking pre 1975
Why do ads always show close ups of people eating? Why are there always moaning and crunching sounds when the people eat? Is that supposed to appeal to me? It doesn't, it just grosses me out! Why would you want to evoke a feeling of disgust in an ad for food? Maybe it's just me but I hate that...
supposedly "ASMR" because asmrs were fucking big then and still now i think
That's not at all what asmr is so i highly doubt that's the reason, i assume it's just to show that people are happy eating their food
@@rubyjakewillton doesn't make much sense, ASMR just recently became well known, and corporations have been doing these weird adds way before ASMR was a thing in youtube, it's main reason is probably to show the user that their food is enjoyable and that they will feel good when eating it…
@@wearenumberonebutimaperson crunching noises and slurping? idk i never watched asmr eating shit but if i searched one asmr vids it will probably be mukbangs, which IS asmr in many ways
@@les_larmes_d_un_hibou asmr vids was dated in youtube since 2009 when whispering channels came about. of course back then it wasnt well know as it does now but that doesnt prove any point. the asmr stuff just got a resurgence in recent years
This art reminds me of how the airport smells
Why is this so accurate
I hate how much I can agree with this despite never having been to an airport since I was too young to remember.
You mean smells like fake and plastic? Cause that’s what an airport smells like to me
Is bad or good?
honestly i like the smell of airports
as someone who is planning to major in graphic design, this is good info to help me understand what i may be getting into, great video!
For me, "Grubhub" is a place where you find a lot of insect larvae.
this had no right to make me laugh so hard
Haha! When I build up my chicken coop with the maggot feeder, I'm going to put a sign on it that says "Grubhub." Thanks for the idea! ^_^
Is that not what they intended? What else could a Grub hub be besides a hub for grubs?
Hence the word, "grub".
Even I heard about grubs being a delicacy, I wonder what it tastes like? Chicken?
So you’re saying you eat babies
God I hate this art style. It feels so devoid of any personality I can't stand it. There's no uniqueness in the people drawn, there's no personality, no real emotions. Art made with no soul that feels like brain washing material..
For me it feels like it's trying to fake a personality
They should rename it from "alegria" to "crippling depression".
You're right because this art is used by fake nice wannabes
Reminds me of Illumination..
So yeah, that's about right.
a lot of flat art looks so much better than the corporate art styles
10 years from now: This art style will be totally reviled, seen as "ugly" by most people. A new, very different art style will be all over corporate media.
20 years from now: People will start to admit that this style is a guilty pleasure of theirs, and it will bring up nostalgic feelings of the "simpler times" of the 2010s.
30 years from now: This style will be retro cool, and will influence the art styles of the 2040s.
This is the truth. I feel like some people are over-reading the implications of this art style. It's just a trend.
This and survivor bias. For almost 200 years artists have been making all kinds of fast art for businesses like today and only the best works like the historical works highlighted in this video survive in culture and history. Today we are seeing all the bad art and the great art mixed together because it’s being created and consumed right now. Over 90% of the corporate art is bound to be completely forgetful and that’s not just today’s corporate art. Like the older graphic art, the most impactful works are the ones that will be remembered.
We're just gonna die in 30 years from climate change
@@marktorochkin3125 We're all gonna die eventually, so what's the point of anything, including replying to UA-cam comments?
Lol you just predicted the future
basically we need frugiter aero back
i crave maximalist utopian scholastic