The Friday Five | No. 1
Five Newsy Nuggets in Five Minutes, Issued Every Friday
Welcome to The Friday Five, a weekly digest of 5 things that caught my attention in the past week. This is an experiment, a possible longer-running addition to what I’m doing on the Thoughts on Illustration podcast. The purpose is simple: I want a reason to pay more attention the illustration and creative content I consume every day. By having to report on some of it each week, I hope it will become more than a passing scroll and double-tap. Of course, I also hope you get something from it too!
So with that introduction out of the way, let’s get into this week’s Friday Five.
01 Industry News
The New F-Word
Designer and author Allan Peters received death threats this week for using the word “Fix” in his viral logo redesign reels. It all started when fellow brand designer James Martin (a.k.a. made.by.james) asked Allan to stop using the word “fix” to describe his self-initiated logo redesigns (out of respect for the original designers). In the now-deleted post, James said Allan deleted the comment and blocked him. An army of highly-triggered anti-fixers showed up at Allan’s online door with pitchforks and torches, some of whom, according to Allan, uttered death threats. Fortunately, James and Allan ended up getting in touch and working it out.
Since then, James removed his original post and went on to chastise those who thought that it was cool to be violent towards Allan. “Whatever differences we all have … threatening harm on others is NOT the answer.”, he wrote in a later thread. In the end, Allan very graciously offered to replace the word “fix” with “reimagine.”
I have been following Allan’s work for over a decade, and more recently started following James. Both are outstanding contributors to the creative community. I admire both for going out of their way to make amends both offline and online, in front of their combined 1.5M+ followers.
02 Most Memorable Content
1970s Vibe Animation by Rachel Breeden (@circa78designs)
I can’t get enough of this lush, retro-inspired animation/reel on Instagram. It takes me back to watching old reruns of Sesame Street as a kid in the 1980s.
03 Something I learned
“There’s No Progress in Isolation.” — Martina Flor
Lettering artist, teacher and author, Martina Flor joined me for a conversation, which will be aired in the fall on the podcast (or you can watch the whole thing right now as a paid supporter on Patreon). Toward the end of our chat, she dropped this beautiful truth bomb: There’s No Progress in Isolation”. As someone who very intentionally isolates himself—and who craves progress—I needed to hear that.
04 Unsolicited Advice
Share Your Work Before You’re Ready
I’m stuck on a certain project right now, trying to decide which direction to take the style. I’ve been trying to figure it out on my own, and it got me stuck in a loop of indecision. I decided to just share my unfinished work with my client (I trust them enough to do this), and asked for her to weigh in. Their feedback was far more positive about all my work than I was, and their particular comments helped me know which direction to move forward in more resolutely.
05 Caught My Eye
The Cookman™ Wears the Pants
These striped chef’s pants came up in a recent Pinterest search and stole my heart. But it wasn’t really the pants I was into, but the charming branding displayed on the pocket tag. Just the fact that this brand exists, not as a throwback, but as a real, live brand for workwear of a specific profession that makes me smile. By the way, if you are neither cook nor man, Cookman insists that their pants are for everyone.
Great idea Tom, love the format!
Great job with this format. Hope to see more “Friday Fives” in the future. It was enough to nudge me to finally join your Patreon!