Corporate Memphis

Corporate Memphis (alternative names: Alegria art, big tech art, or flat art) 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 criticized for its use in sanitising corporate communication,[1] though some illustrators have defended the style, pointing at what they claim to be its art-historical legitimacy.[3]

Illustration in Corporate Memphis style from humaaans design library

Origins

Flat art developed out of the rise of vector graphic programs, and a nostalgia for midcentury 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][5]

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.[5]

Visual characteristics
Corporate Memphis style artwork featuring characters with blue and purple skintones

Common motifs are flat human characters in action, with disproportionate features such as long and bendy limbs,[2] small torsos,[6] 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]

Reception

Once Facebook adopted the style, the sudden ubiquity of vector graphics led to a critical backlash.[3] The style has been criticized for being generic,[7] lazy,[2] overused, and attempting to sanitize 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.[6] Some have argued that, despite the criticism, Corporate Memphis has unexpected depth and variety, and deserves to be understood on its own merits beyond an association with tech dystopias.[3]

References
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. "Facebook Alegria". Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  5. "Blue people and long limbs: How one illustration style took over the corporate world | Webflow Blog". Webflow. Archived from the original on 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
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