Sach O: Hey, Mr. Graphic Designer
Hey Mr. Indie Graphic Designer!
Are you a six year old?
Are you my friend and have been hand drawing all of your work for me as a personal gift?
Or are you just a big K-Records fan who’s stuck in the tribute stage?
Maybe you lost an eye in a frappuccino related mishap and can’t draw depth anymore…
…or your mother hit the bottle when she was pregnant and you were born this way?
No? Seriously? None of the above?
Then why-the-living-fuck do you persist in perpetrating this God awful trend wherein every other product aimed at my generation looks like it was scribbled up by a tard baby?
It DOES NOT make us “closer” or give you a “connection” with the audience.
It DOES NOT make you “indie”: you’re bankrolled by some huge conglomerate.
It DOES NOT make Michael Cera’s acting any less unbearable.
It DOES NOT make me want to see your movie, buy your record or go to your God damned coffee shop.
I know the movie you’re promoting sucks and is a shallow attempt to eek-out a profit out of an insecure niche audience that can’t decide what it likes for itself and must constantly refer to a higher authority (blogs, not God) to know if something’s good in a “real” way or an “ironic” way, but you’re not doing yourself any favors by stealing your little nephew’s drawing off the fridge and using it in your marketing campaign. Next time consider coming up with an actual visual identity of your own: something original, eye-catching and (wait for it) well drawn. Or painted. Or photoshopped. I don’t care really. Oh and get the people you’re working for to drop this stupid teen-to-twenty-something-consumerist-but-still-sensitive-romantic-angst bullshit.
Or the next post I write might be about indie musicians who never learned to play guitar.
Download:
MP3: Jeru the Damaja-”Divine Design”
MP3: Queens of the Stone Age-”I’m Designer”
Stumble It!
November 7th, 2008 at 5:21 am
I don’t care what you say. Michael Cera’s still mah boy.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:39 am
Testify!
November 7th, 2008 at 6:06 am
amateurishness is the hallmark of indie-rock. and i don’t (really) mean that as an insult.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:06 am
for the record, i’m pretty sure alexa kitchen actually is six years old
November 7th, 2008 at 11:58 am
I applaud you sir.
November 7th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Anxiously awaiting the Mika Miko post.
November 7th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I agree generally but have to concur with Jere: M. Cera is a god among young men. Leave him out of this.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
a tard baby! now i know where all those t-shirt designs come from.
kudos, once again.
November 7th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
That last line was an allusion to Shook Ones, right? And yeah, this was an instant classic.
November 7th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Is the problem that the indie amateurish aesthetic’s been co-opted or do you not dig it on principle?
November 7th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Well I for one didn’t think it was a horrible idea at first, it kinda lost me when I saw Juno and as the seasons changed the idiot director had someone write out the name of the new season over the frame in indie amateurish pen and ink, and then erase it with an imaginary eraser. And I was like, fuck that. Like haven’t they ever seen All That Heaven Allows? There’s a right way to do this. But if you want to be lazy, don’t do the pen and ink, just say “THREE MONTHS LATER” in, like, Courier.
November 8th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Brandon: My beef is with it being co-opted, although at this point it’s been used so terribly that it’s harder to find good examples than bad. It’s become a lazy, cynical shorthand to grab an audience that ignored/hated this stuff back when it was an actual statement in the face of mega-rock and grunge nihilism. The added insult to injury being that it parades itself as snobishly authentic when its use has become no different than the type of graphics McDonalds or Plies runs with.
Meanwhile, the Guns and Roses album cover? Remarkably creative and eye-catching. Whodathunkit.
November 11th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
did you even see, let alone pay attention to the trailer for “forgetting sarah marshall?” aside from the title design of it’s poster, i wouldn’t say it that it fits into the category of “a shallow attempt to eek-out a profit out of an insecure niche audience.” All of the main character are adults, it’s more of a satire on love stories about would be newlyweds, with plenty of graphic sexual humor and inappropriate awkwardness. If anything it’s a well made attempt to make something better than than a romantic comedy. Its not a romantic comedy, you just laugh at how retarded this guy gets over being dumped, and then how miserable he is cause he cant get away from his ex. no romance at all. and he doesn’t get back together with her at the end, but it’s still worth seeing even knowing the end. I don’t think there is a niche audience for this type of film, is comedy a niche? I don’t know why i’m defending this, its a fucking waste of time, but I just remember the film being a lot better than i expected, give it a chance!
November 12th, 2008 at 11:48 am
haha, its bout time som’ one called out these art school dropouts, hilarious post duder. This reminds though that Zak & Miri flick take it to the next level of indie stick figurines lushness [have you seen the poster?] which is quite effective, meaning the movie is prolly shite.