Where have the days gone?
Yeah, it's weird. We're almost half way through the 2020s and I haven't really been able to pinpoint a specific "vibe" for the decade besides "the late 2010s but things keep getting worse."
With the 2010s, 2000s, 90s, etc. you've always been able to pinpoint a specific aesthetic feel that the decade had, at least in terms of internet vibes.
But the 2020s, designs keep getting more sterile and minimal, there are more ads then ever, the rise of AI is finally starting to become a threat, every other social media seems to be trying to copy Tiktok and making updates no one wants and spying you and on and on. I hate to be a pessimist, but I can't really say I'm too excited for where the internet is going.
Why are (website) designs specifically so bland? Of course the obvious answer is that brands are trying to be a genral and unoffensive as possible to grab the most amount customers, as well as accessibility reasons; the less there is, the less can go wrong.
But I also think that for seemingly forever, minimalism and solid shiny white surfaces have been seen as "futuristic" in a way, and brands are leaning into that to appear as such. Think Spongebob "Everything is chrome in the future." Youtube even changed the subscribe button from the iconic red; brands are willing to get rid of their actual branding to conform to this. It's a shame that as technology gets better and more accessible, less and less creativity is given to the presentation.
While learning to code, and especially as an artist, AI has been a point of contention EVERYWHERE. When I look up coding/website tutorials on YouTube, I'm flooded with videos like "How to make a website with no code and AI" or "How to make a website in the AI age" (next to a bunch of unrelated results because YouTube search stinks now) and such. I hate how the name of AI has been tarnished by grifters.
There's something fascinating about how dedicated we are to finding other intelligent life. Whether by sending a satellite into the void of space or brute force trying to recreate it by ourselves. Like that video of Boston Dynamics' new Atlus robot I've always been interested th AI as a concept in that regard. The day that AI gains sentience, I will treat them as any other person, because at that point, they would be. But now I can't be excited for that without sounding like I'm into crypto.
Here's to hoping that the next half of the decade is one to be remembered. Though at this point, even subpar would do.
Pinky out!
