Welcome to Friday Fives, Vol. 320!
The Working Assembly
Design-led creative agency based in New York City and working globally.
Every Friday, we highlight five things we have on our radar that we think should be on yours, too.
This week, we’re getting philosophical about AI art, manifesting more positive online content, getting complex about color, going wild for our marketing tactics, and taking a scroll through our favorite comics.
If you’re looking to wind down your week with some Friday inspo, our founder Jolene Delisle shared her creative journey in “My Life in Design.”
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1. The Question of Cre-AI-tivity
As the writer Leo Tolstoy once said, “Art is a human activity.” But what happens when we attempt to make it inhuman? Does AI expand possibilities or signify the end of creativity as we know it? Well, we can’t deny this Tolstoy guy knew what he was talking about: Point of view and personal experience play a large part in how we consume and create art. Let’s face it, we look at things a bit differently when we learn they were made by AI. But when it comes to sheer output, the cyborgs have the advantage. So what’s the verdict? Creative or not creative? With AI use in art being inevitable, we think the answer may lie in forming a professional relationship with the bots — using what only they do best to help us create the art that only we do best.
2. A New Manifestation Nation
Gen Z is entering its positivity era. On finstas, they’re swapping memes and crying photos for positive talk, “hopecore” videos that have us tearing up at our screens, and manifestations. This entails posting about already having the job they’ve yet to interview for or receiving a text back from that certain someone (who actually may or may not be ghosting them). Instead of curating their feeds to please others, they’re curating their feeds to not only please themselves, but to believe in themselves too. While the hopefuls should be wary of thinking their entire future is relying on their next IG post, it’s a nice shift in an often-toxic online mindset. This new trend teaches us that nowadays, positivity within social content, even for brands, can create some positive results. That’s why we’re manifesting that it’s already Friday. Oh look, it worked.
3. We Have a Color Complex
Have you heard of color complexity? It’s a way to measure color variation across pixels in an image—which our brains process subliminally. To explore how color complexity impacts social media engagement, researchers conducted four studies examining Facebook posts with the use of biometric eye tracking. The results? Greater color complexity captured more people’s attention. Surprisingly, the study also revealed that combining imagery with intricate language actually boosted the relationship between color complexity and user attention. (Us copywriters LOVE to hear it.) This means people might actually pay more attention to images when they’re paired with sophisticated copy. So much for “keep it simple, stupid.”
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4. Out of the Home and Into the Wild
Let’s turn back time to 2020. The pandemic began, in-person events ceased, and outdoor roaming was limited to short walks to the corner store. So it’s no surprise that the world of marketing changed along with it. Social became supreme. Now, almost five years later, experiential marketing is experiencing a comeback. With an expected $128 billion spend by the end of the year, it not only highlights the resurgence of in-person and outdoor events, it also highlights the need for consumers to feel a connection with brands beyond the phone screen. As consumers fear being brainwashed by “the algorithm,” wild posting, out-of-home ads, and marketing at concerts, conferences, and more feel natural, refreshing, and welcomed — as though they just “happened” upon your brand. We’re happy to embrace this new tactic as long as we’re not having nightmares at our next baseball game.
5. Comic Lovers: Take a Scroll
When you think of comic books, do you fondly recall a time where you leafed through its pages? How would you feel if that turned into vertical scrolling? Well, DC Entertainment is offering exactly that. The American comic book publisher recently announced a partnership with GlobalComix in hopes of rebooting the comic industry and attracting the eyes of a younger audience. The collaboration aims to transform traditional comics into a vertical scrolling format. Comic fans will soon be able to enjoy a catalog of beloved characters in this new format—including Batman, the Joker, and Doom Patrol. This trend of verticalization emerges as apps like TikTok and Instagram are dominating screens, perhaps due to a phenomenon known as doomscrolling. Comic book publishers are taking the hint and keeping up with the times. Kaboom!
Clients in the News
Havenly
Online interior design service Havenly recently acquired modern furniture brand Burrow, making this their third brand purchase of the year.