My Art Went Viral Without Me

Letter Zero.71

Dear friend,

The phrase “Design is dead” went viral last week accompanied by an image from my book. Unfortunately, the author neglected to credit me as the creator of the image he used.  

He got 25 million impressions, 221 thousand likes, 29 thousand retweets, and 5,962 comments. The post was echoed on Facebook where it received an additional 118 thousand reactions, 65 thousand shares, and 32 thousand comments.

I refuse to link to his posts. The popularity of the plagiarism surprised the thief. He joked that he should retire from social media and leave while he was on top. If only.

I’m not upset about the theft. That’s how social media works whether I like it or not. 

No, the thing that stings is the massive applause for an idea that runs counter to one of my core beliefs. Millions of people seem to unanimously agree that design is dead. As someone who has devoted his life to design, that hurts my heart.

I want you to know something. It is the same thing I have been telling myself over and over in the wake of the deafening “design is dead” chorus. 

Design is not dead. Yes, we are surrounded by bad design. Yes, there is a massive market for cheap, poorly-designed products. It can seem like a dull and tasteless world. And yes, that leads the average person to high five the “design is dead” mantra. 

But no, design is not dead. 

I’ve known so many people who care deeply about the things we create. These are my friends, mentors, and heroes. If you are reading this, there’s a good chance you are one of them.

We call ourselves designers. 

We may be a small band of believers, and we may be outnumbered, overpowered by forces outside our control. But we will change the world. We ARE changing the world. We will wage war against bad design with every breath, to anyone who will listen, with every hour of every day. We will never give up. We are doing good work and we will prevail. Design can never die.

The irony is that by stripping the context away from my crossover image, nobody heard the reason I created the picture in the first place. It comes from a chapter where I explain why cultural forces produce mediocrity and how you, as a creative being, can thrive despite the “wind tunnel” of popular opinions pushing against you.

It doesn’t matter if my “design is alive” sermon gets 1 like or a billion. Nothing can change my fundamental belief. But if you happen to agree with me, will you do me a favor? Support the designers doing good work. We need to know you believe in us. That is why I always end my letters with two words that everyone needs to hear. Stay creative.

Your friend,
Ade

P.S. By the way, if you want to read the chapter of my book where the crossover image appears, I have posted it for all to read for free. The chapter is titled, “Driving Conformity.”