13 Comments
Sep 26, 2022Liked by Frederick Edward

I too see just a big fat nothing. Zero Everything. Oup surely has its corporate finger right on the pulse.

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It's like the mind bending gizmo they tried to brainwash Harry Palmer with in the film of The Ipcress File!

You do all know we are living through the End of Times don't you? So the blandness and nothingness is because there is no point using imagination or creativity.

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Sep 26, 2022Liked by Frederick Edward

Have you noticed all the new vehicles, trucks and cars, all painted in dull grays? And all the nearly black houses being built? What is that about?

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It's 'modern' and 'sleek'; aka characterless.

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Sep 27, 2022·edited Sep 27, 2022Liked by Frederick Edward

I think you're on to something here -- the trend toward identical logos is striking. Not sure of the reasons. Many many years ago circa 1990, I recall thinking sans serif fonts looked modern. But not so now, and I have started to prefer serif for some applications.

Moreover, I had been thinking and discussing how, in the past, we would have drawn out the words of a logo or brand for a new product, but now we only look for a suitable font. Nowhere is this more visible than in this logo of the past: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Galaxian_logo.svg/1199px-Galaxian_logo.svg.png?20150718103511

I'm inclined to agree, however. There's something more going on than mere simplicity and ease of creation. I can't help but suspect that it's engineered. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZN16SUWjeg

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Then again, I think there is in some quarters a conscious return to logos/styles that are, well, interesting. However, what I have observed is that a lot of these echo the design aesthetics of old eras, which seems to suggest that our society has run out of steam. I base this (perhaps not entirely accurately) on seeing more and more designs that have 50s-esque features. It comes back to that notion that we are, as a civilisation, regurgitating the past (in films, TV, music) as we have no forward momentum due to our fear of what lies ahead in the future.

Or it could just be that the old aesthetic is more pleasant. I wouldn't disagree with that.

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I couldn't agree more and, in recent times, this is occupied much of my thinking. Yes, we can say society has run of steam, but what does this really mean, and why? The way I have approached it is to think of "information" as a property similar to energy. In the same way that a machine does not generate energy, but merely transforms it, the same is true of information. Minds generate information, but machines do not. As we adopt more and automation and, as society becomes more and more tyranical and oppressive, the more machine-like it becomes less and less able to generate new information. Eventually, it will become brittle and break apart, unable to adapt to change. An understanding of energy back in the Enlightenment transformed our society. The same could be true of information. If you're up for it, see here: https://informationphilosopher.com/freedom/laplaces_demon.html

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Perhaps it is the "Story of O" for the modern age. Total submission. Net zero.

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Zero, nothing, nada!

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This becomes more interesting the more I think about it.. I feel a Substack piece of my own coming on... I'll let you know!

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Could it be the ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail? One finds that occult siymbol many places. I've been so angry about the King Arthur Flour company trashing their logo. It was a beautiful, colorful picture of King Arthur atop his white horse. They scrapped it for some semblance of a crown made of some semblance of wheat stalks. Clearly, they could not have a white king on a white horse. That would be racist. The are so woke there they have permanent insomnia.

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I hadn't seen the King Arthur Flour company's logo. The new one is definitely a downgrade. Replacing one of the great mythological symbols of Western civilisation with a stylised wheat-crown. One can only imagine the bereft-of-ideas boardroom that okayed such a decision.

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Oh, you would not believe how twisted the owners are. They tout that the company is owned by those who work there. They are so PC. I'm surprised they include a recipe for white cake or white bread at their site. They rejoice in pushing all the woeness in every way. It gags me.

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