Corporate Memphis is an art style named after the Memphis Group that features flat areas of color and geometric elements. Widely associated with Big Tech illustrations in the late 2010s[1] and early 2020s,[2] it has been met with a polarized response, with criticism focusing on its use in sanitizing corporate communication,[1] as well as being seen as visually offensive, insincere, pandering and over-saturated. Other illustrators have defended the style, pointing at what they claim to be its art-historical legitimacy.[3]
Origins
editFlat art developed out of the rise of vector graphic programs, and a nostalgia for mid-century modern illustration.[3] It began to trend in editorial illustration and especially the tech industry, which relied on simple, scalable illustrations to fill white space and add character to apps and web pages.[1] The style was widely popularized when Facebook introduced Alegria, an illustration system commissioned from design agency Buck Studios and illustrator Xoana Herrera[1] in 2017.[4]
The name "Corporate Memphis" originated from the title of an Are.na board that collected early examples,[1] and is a reference to the Memphis Group, a 1980s design group known for bright colors, childish patterns, and geometric shapes. The style itself was inspired by a synthesis of elements spanning the 20th-century, including the Art Deco style of the 1920s, futurism in interior design from the Atomic Age, and color and patterns from the Pop Art movement.
Visual characteristics
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Common motifs are flat human characters in action, with disproportionate features such as long and bendy limbs,[2] small torsos,[5] minimal or no facial features, and bright colors without any blending. Facebook's Alegria uses non-representational skin colors such as blues and purples in order to feel universal,[4] though some artists working in the style opt for more realistic skin colors and features to show diversity.[1]
Corporate Memphis is materially quick, cheap and easy to produce, and thus appealing to companies; programs such as Adobe Illustrator can be used to produce such designs rapidly.[citation needed]
Reception
editOnce Facebook had adopted the style, the sudden ubiquity of vector graphics led to a critical backlash.[3] The style has been criticized professionally and popularly (including in myriad internet memes) for being overly minimalistic, generic,[6] lazy,[2] overused, and attempting to sanitise public perception of big tech companies by presenting human interaction in utopian optimism.[1] Criticism of the art style is often rooted in larger anxieties about the creative industry under capitalism and neoliberalism.[5] Others have argued that Corporate Memphis deserves to be understood on its own merits separate from the corporations which regularly employ it.[3]
See also
edit- Material design, a Google-derived design language linked to Corporate Memphis
- Frutiger Aero, a prominent design style preceding Corporate Memphis that embraced contrasting skeuomorphism
- Flat design
- Postmodern art
- Metamodernism
- Pop art
- Capitalist realism
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Hawley, Rachel (2019-08-21). "Don't Worry, These Gangly-armed Cartoons Are Here to Protect You From Big Tech". Eye on Design. Archived from the original on 2021-08-22. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
- ^ a b c Gabert-Doyon, Josh (2021-01-24). "Why does every advert look the same? Blame Corporate Memphis". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 2021-08-22. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
- ^ a b c d Frey, Angelica (10 January 2022). "Facebook made a certain type of illustration ubiquitous—but it's time to stop knocking it". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Facebook Alegria". Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b Posture, Julien (2022-01-13). "What the Think Pieces About "Corporate Memphis" Tell Us About the State of Illustration". AIGA Eye on Design. Archived from the original on 2022-05-28. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ Quito, Anne (October 26, 2019). "Why editorial illustrations look so similar these days". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2021-02-10.