Showerthought: My go-to inspo sources are losing their edge

I've seen a big change in the design content online lately. All the popular blogs and galleries show the same flat illustrations and bold fonts. It's making my own work feel stale because I'm drawing from the same pool. We gotta mix it up and look at older design books or local art shows to stay fresh.

3 comments

3 Comments

derek8681mo ago

Honestly clairethompson has a point about stuff needing to be clear. But tbh, is it really that deep? People online act like using a clean layout is some big moral choice. It's just what looks good right now. Next year we'll all be into something wacky again and call this boring phase.

fisher.felix1mo ago

Print Magazine's 1980 issue praised messy layouts, but why are we so clean now?

clairethompson1mo ago

Honestly, why do we look back at messy layouts with rose-tinted glasses? Sure, breaking rules felt fresh in the 80s, but now we're glued to screens and need info to be clear at a glance. I mean, messy designs can be fun but they often just waste your time trying to figure out where to look. Clean layouts cut through the noise and help people actually use stuff, which matters more than old school style. It's less about being boring and more about getting things done without a headache.