“We are going to see a lot more young exceptional talent in the upcoming years, but when everyone becomes “exceptional” no one becomes exceptional, the only thing left is emotional depth. Trust is built through emotional depth.”
The quote above could easily be moved across decades:
- When Google got its start
- When the iPhone was released into the world
- When social media promised connection with distant friends
- When AI was released out into the wild to solve all of our problems
I wrote a bit about “texture” (specifically in physical product design and digital). A lot of that “texture” comes down to depth. It’s easy to create something wide and shallow now. The differentiator now is going to be personality.
How is that showcased? Through connection. Through community. Through working alongside each other. Getting in the trenches with each other.
How does that apply digitally? I think (and hope) we are going to make the web weird again. Everything got flat over the last decade or so. The iPhone notepad used to look like a notepad. Flash websites immersed you into whatever world the company wanted you to be in. All of that got traded out for some simple “slide in” effects when content scrolled up on the screen.
Heck, that’s why my website is a mini video game. Punch the boxes. Collect the coins. There isn’t a reason [yet] for it, but there will be.
I attached some funky website designs I’ve done recently. None have made it to production yet, but I’m seeing more and more people interested in something that is uniquely theirs.