The Business of Ugly
Things were supposed to be getting prettier. New designs, redesigns pop up every day. There are sites dedicated to beautifully arranged things. Sites to help you catalog beautiful things. There are sites dedicated to making you beautiful. And there are sites about the beauty of craft. Companies have made it easy for amateurs to make pretty things. We are in the business of making things look better. As a culture it seemed like we had become more aware of taste. We had become obsessed with beauty. And then Urban Outfitters done gone stretched their type.
The internetospheres took the bait — crying bloody murder and yelling for Gap-gate pt. 2. Calm down, people. Unlike Gap, this was intentional. It's reminiscent of the stretched-type aesthetic popularized by fashion-culture magazine 032c. I did a little bit of research and stumbled upon some writings on ugliness.
Ugly design can be a conscious attempt to create and define alternative standards. Like warpaint, the dissonant styles which many contemporary designers have applied to their visual communications are meant to shock an enemy – complacency – as well as to encourage new reading and viewing patterns. – "Cult of the Ugly" by Steven Heller
Perhaps in the midst of our cultural over-saturation of the handsome and appealing, Urban Outfitters felt the need to retaliate. Or maybe they were just poking fun at the Gap meltdown. It's possible they just hired terrible designers who got lucky. Regardless, they've managed to create something noticeable.
7 Comments
"Wow. I totally get it now that I see the whole picture. This is brilliant. I'm blown away."
- Craig Johnson
"i am a big urban consumer. I think its a direct reflection of their products. Its not "pretty people" cloths. Its different, bold, unpredictable unique and unapologetic. What they have done with this campaign is exactly why I love their cloths."
- aaron
""*sniff* You're all too plebian to understand our design aesthetic. We're making fun of you making fun of us making fun of you making fun of us!"
Snort. Any company who A) thinks they're smarter than their customers, and B) rubs said customers' faces in it, can suckit."
- Sekimori
"they are the store of irony. this website isthe design equivalent of a Zack Morris cell phone. it's what they do. they get away with it because they do it on purpose. gap couldn't use that line because they've never had an original thought...ever. (though they do make great [girl] jeans)"
- bek
"This is brilliantly bad. Great points and well done Urban."
- Dustin Britt
"I'm a little depressed because I have students who do this type of thing naturally."
- Darrell
"Yeah I get it... But I try to avoid this kind of creativity. When you're trying so hard to make something different and new instead of genuinely good, you end up with, well, shit. Literally. Remember the Virgin Mary covered in elephant feces ? Or how about Brian Wilson's Smile album? I mean come on, he was just on drugs and forgot how to write music... but great post, it does clear it up, I mean there's no question it's a bit tongue-in-cheek, now that I see even the coupons have that 'so ugly it's almost cute' look."
- Kevin Q