thisisgrey

@lucas__crespo AI enshitification seems to have nothing to do with price

midjourney v7 vs. v8 same prompt

Store Norske Skriftkompani is a solid type foundry with a great logo and even better typefaces. Lots of gems here, specially Leif Mono. Need to collect. [Link↓]

@vanschneider True

As a young designer, I would have done everything to convince you that designers are not artists. I would have said a designer's work needs to be understood and used by everyone, while an artist's work is subjective. I’m sure you would have agreed with me. Perhaps it's what you believe today. It's what we everyone likes to say, at least: Design is created to solve specific problems, whereas art is created to provoke subjective feelings. A piece of art might evoke a different feeling for you than it does for me. But, like most "universal truths" in life, I've learned it is not as black and white as we'd like to believe. As with most things, there's some nuance to it. Not all designers are artists. In fact, most designers aren’t artists and that’s perfectly fine. But the best designers are indeed artists. And that's the difference. For the most talented, successful designers in the industry, art is the secret ingredient that takes their work to the next level. Art is that little extra. Art is the personality infused into a piece of design or communication. Art is what sets it apart. I’ll give you an example: Let's assume that design has nothing to do with art. Let's assume it is totally objective and a craft everyone, with the right process, can replicate. Within this system, let's assume there are three designers. All three designers are at the top of the industry, equally impressive. All three designers are asked to solve the same problem, independently from each other. They all do their very best, creating an objective solution to a singular problem. At the end, we have three designs that solve the problem equally as well as the others. But only one of them wins. Only one solution makes your heart jump higher, even though you might not be able to explain why. The "why" you can’t explain is the art I am speaking about. Deep inside, we’re all artists. And the best designers infuse a little bit of art into their design. Some may call it opinionated design. It’s when you, your character, your life's experiences and your own taste are infused into your design work, while still solving a problem with it. As a young designer, I would have said you should never let your personality seep into your work. That you should follow the most objective process when designing something. But today I'm calling the bullshit. It's not only a lie. Worse, it's pretentious. There’s simply no way to ignore your own personal feelings, your experience, your character and your taste when designing. And the best designers take this to their advantage. Not just because they’ve accepted it, but because they know this is what makes the difference. For others, and for ourselves. It’s the little bit of meaning we inject into our work. It’s what keeps us designing and creating. It’s that feeling of magic someone else loves, but can’t fully put their finger on. The best designers are artists 🖤

@robably__ I want Monocle AI with Tyler Brulé telling me about cafés in Zurich

@thisisgrey I think European sensibilities is the reason nobody has gotten into that vile business there yet 😁

Thought — Claude has the right brand and tone but still, Europe needs to create a Claude/ChatGPT/Gemini/Grok alternative ASAP. It is embarrassing we have not and I am sure bringing European sensibilities will be good for competition. Common Europe.

Julen Saenz at Hiruki on clean presentation and big type for American Football from Spain. What a combo, looking-good combo. [Link↓]

Here is a mix and it works on the hands of Matija Gabrilo: Cosmetics, sports, clean cyber environments, fat type, and negative photo. Great art direction as the spine of good design. Also, his Tumblr is great. [Link↓]

@domesticetch I only use the following tab and my own lists. It works.

I have a plug-in that blocks all suggested "what's happening" and "news" sidebars on this site but sometimes things manage to sneak through and the headlines reliably make me want to kms

@vanschneider The same idea has been circling over my head this month. Taste is where marketeers are not looking into and print might now be the place.

Print media might make a come back again? I mean think about it. You used to be excited to go to your mailbox because the chance of having a lovely letter in there, or a value packed magazine or newspaper was high. It was a rewarding experience. Over time, and as with many things, the shit people (marketers) took advantage of it and started putting spam in there. First it was 5 real letters and one spam letter. It was still fine. A couple years later, it was 1 real letter and unsolicited 10 spam letters, flyers etc. Now you don't care about your physical mail because its either cheap spam bullshit you throw away without looking at it, or its invoices you'd rather ignore. The same happened with email or anything online. First it was nice, then the marketers and SEO garbage people came in and ruined it for everyone. With print there's a real beautiful opportunity because I'd argue you can actually WOW people again now because even if you just put in a little bit of effort, you can stand out and win peoples heart there quite quickly. There's also a growing appreciation now for the undivided attention print can offer. I'm excited about this opportunity.

@adgmodular Yep. It works for evoking, not representing.

I’m starting to experiment with AI image generation for brands. I think there’s a few key rules you need to follow to get a good outcome: 1) AI can’t be used to represent your actual product, for example, clothes — the natural drape of the fabric, the transparency, the stitching quality, etc. Is exactly what your customers are looking for when they look at a model wearing your clothes. You can’t generate that. Defeats the purpose. 2) You have to work within the current limitations of the tech. Any dead on “photograph” of someone still has an Uncanny Valley effect, regardless of what AI proponents will claim. Some people don’t even realise that they subconsciously realise a photo is AI — they’ll just have a vague negative feeling about it. But with proper art direction you can make very cool stylised imagery, like a motion blurred photo of someone running. 3) It’s best used for low stakes situations that would previously cost you an annoying amount of time and/or money. Like blog post images, or artistic backgrounds for app interfaces to sit on top of.

I like the attitude of Geoffrey Mark Taylor. I can see ChatGPT image generations but they look good, they are well presented, and they make sense so... go for it. If it works it works, now is the time. [Link↓]

@robably__ @arronflashman Me neither because the UK economy is not supposed to in good shape but there you go

@thisisgrey @arronflashman IDK why all these uk only jobs keep popping up on my timeline lol

Do I know any cracked marketing designers (UK based) who are looking for FT work? hmu

@robably__ @arronflashman Thanks bro!!

@arronflashman Maybe @thisisgrey is interested

@arronflashman Hi. London based here.

@pizzaboy Yep. A family of twenty weights. Big but still.

@thisisgrey 120k?!

Thought — While browsing a type foundry, I configured a lifetime use of one typeface family, and the cost climbed to £120k. Buying fonts has been stuck for decades in two modes: free and exorbitant prices. Can we please have reasonable prices?

@karoljmajewski @PangramPangram_ I bought Every Font Starter pack and it is great!!! Another one that is of great value is atipofoundry.com

@thisisgrey @PangramPangram_ has a notable counter-example: pangrampangram.com/products/fsp

@emily__core @0xCharlota Some but fewer that I'd want! Have a look at my foundries board in Arena. are.na/thisisgrey/ftn…

@thisisgrey @0xCharlota you should look into independent type foundries, many of them have adopted simpler licenses eg. mass-driver.com/licensing