Chaos is the new Craft
It’s the season where both your mailbox and inbox are flooded with the season of junk mail product brochures. Glossy offers from brands you barely remember signing up for. Flipping through the pages, the design feels lifeless — repetitive, bland, and soulless.
These brochures are the physical embodiment of a mega menu; generic templates hastily populated with keyword-optimised copy and stock imagery. There’s no sense of a cohesive theme, no flow or personality to draw the reader in.
Our craft has become forgettable by design.
But this problem extends far beyond the world of print collateral. The same efficiency-driven, algorithm-optimised approach has infected digital design as well. From e-commerce product pages to corporate websites, the relentless pursuit of performance metrics has stripped away the craft, care, and creative expression that once defined great design.
I remember a time when even the most mundane design brief, like creating a brochure for duvets and pillows (true story), was an opportunity to push boundaries and flex my creative skills. Every spread had purpose, personality. It was a chance to make something special, to learn the value of good editorial design through experimentation and iteration. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but it was an experience in learning how to make something that made an impact.
The Rise of Soulless, Automated Design
What happened? How did we get to a point where design has become so soulless, so forgettable by design? The answer lies in the tools and processes that have come to govern the industry.
Design is increasingly beholden to the constraints and conventions of the software we use. Rather than leveraging these tools to push boundaries and discover new creative frontiers, we find ourselves ruled by them. The programmes dictate the rules, and we dutifully conform.
This shift towards automation and optimisation is symptomatic of a broader cultural trend. In a world that prizes efficiency, measurability, and performance above all else, design has become just another cog in the machine — a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.
The Process Paradox
But where has the creativity gone? In our obsession with process and frameworks, we’ve somehow lost sight of what design should be about — making something new, something meaningful.
Creativity has been replaced by an endless cycle of sprints, stand-ups, and status updates. Process in the name of streamlining our work, has obfuscated the entire point of what coming up with something new should be about.
We’re so busy documenting our approach that we’ve forgotten to actually approach anything new.
The irony is palpable. In our attempt to make design more efficient, more measurable, we’ve built systems that stifle the very innovation they were meant to enable. Designers spend more time managing workflows than crafting experiences. More energy goes into maintaining process documentation than maintaining creative momentum.
The Rise of Decentralised, Permissionless Design
As the old guard of design fades, a new wave is on the horizon. A movement that prioritises individuality, experimentation, and fluidity over rigid structure and bland consistency.
In this emerging landscape, design is becoming a medium for self-expression and exploration, rather than simply a tool for conversion optimisation. The design may look unconsidered, messy, and inconsistent on the surface, but there’s a palpable sense of heart and humanity behind it. These are designs created by people who are simply making and trying new things, unburdened by the need for pixel-perfect perfection.
This shift aligns with broader cultural trends towards decentralisation and the rejection of homogeneity. As online spaces become more personalised and fluid, design is following suit — embracing the beauty of imperfection and the power of permissionless creativity.
Brands with a Personality
Successful brands in this new era understand that design is about more than just a voice — it’s about having a distinct point of view. They’re willing to take risks, to be different, to celebrate the imperfect.
Brands should be creating a content personality that does something. The best brands boldly establish themselves through their tone and codes. But when you can’t, let the right cast of voices do it for you.
Hermès has turned luxury social media on its head. Their surreal campaigns spit in the face of the category’s obsession with glossy perfection. Liquid Death transformed water into a punk rock movement, destroying beverage marketing conventions while building a cult following. Teenage Engineering’s design language tells a story, retro-futuristic, and raw — a middle finger to the sterile minimalism that plagues tech products.
These brands succeed because they understand that in a world of homogenised, algorithmically-driven design, being human is the ultimate competitive advantage. They know that the very things that make their design feel “unconsidered” or “messy” are also the qualities that forge the deepest emotional connections with their audience.
But how can brands make the most of this shift? Here are a few key strategies to consider:
1. Empower your designers: Rather than constraining them with overly prescriptive guidelines, give your design team the freedom to experiment, iterate, and inject their own unique perspectives into the work. Foster a culture of creative exploration, not just execution.
2. Break free from templates: Resist the temptation to rely on generic, one-size-fits-all design templates. Instead, invest in bespoke solutions that reflect your brand’s distinct personality and values. Embrace imperfection and inconsistency as a feature, not a bug.
3. Prioritise storytelling: Use design as a medium for crafting compelling narratives that engage your audience on an emotional level. Focus on creating experiences that feel tailored and intentional, rather than optimised for maximum conversion.
4. Measure what matters: While data and performance metrics will always have a role to play, resist the urge to obsess over them. Cultivate a more holistic understanding of design’s impact, one that accounts for qualitative factors like brand affinity, loyalty, and advocacy.
The Future of Design: Human, Imperfect, Alive
The struggle between craft and efficiency in design may never be fully resolved. But by embracing the new wave of decentralised, permissionless creativity, brands have an opportunity to reclaim the humanity and joy that has been lost in the relentless pursuit of optimisation.
We’re seeing this evolution already in the rise of web brutalism and the growing appreciation for designs that feel raw and authentic rather than polished and perfect. These trends aren’t just aesthetic choices — they’re manifestations of a deeper desire for genuine connection in an increasingly automated world.
Design doesn’t have to be boring. It shouldn’t be forgettable. In fact, as our world becomes more automated and efficiency-driven, the ability to create memorable, meaningful experiences becomes more valuable than ever. It’s time to break free from the constraints of automated design and celebrate the beautiful imperfection of human creativity.
In a world where everything is optimised, the most revolutionary act might just be making something that feels real.
