Hello! My name is Jack Malatesta and I am a senior Digital Design or Media Art major (DDMA for short) here at Wilkes University. I also have a cognate minor in Marketing which led me to my internship at the Allan P. Kirby Center on campus. I have been a member of various organizations around campus like our school newspaper, The Beacon, as well as being a member of the Colonel football team.
There is no doubt that the world of art is always growing and changing with the coming years. Online digital art has taken over the world along with virtual and augmented reality. Not to mention the very popular NFT trend, even though I am still unsure of what they even are. So the question is, what does 2023 have in store for us designers and fellow lovers of the arts?
It is certainly difficult to attempt to bundle categories of art together. However, in an age ruled by fancy futuristic technology, we seem to be leaning heavily towards going back in time in our tastes. Not only are troves of teens fighting their way to thrift stores for the best vintage styles, graphic designers are doing the same thing too. Vintage is king again now as it always should be and that much is true in the world of design. Many popular businesses are returning to their simplistic roots that were dug up in the early 2000s. Burger King and Pizza Hut are two popular examples of this with many more on the way.
Sports are no stranger to this either. With professional sports organizations becoming more lenient with their rules and regulations, they are allowing teams with popular vintage uniforms and logos to turn back the clock and bring in the nostalgia.
In the NFL many teams are scheduled to release their throwback style uniforms like the Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Seattle Seahawks. And uniforms are just the beginning. There is always the potential for teams to completely right their wrongs and go back to their original logos and brandings permanently like the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA or the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB.
If it isn’t broken we probably shouldn’t fix it, right? Some of the best logos and color schemes today have been around long before many current college students were born and I have a good feeling they will continue to outlive even me.
Both the world of marketing and graphic design are well aware of what they are doing by bringing back what the people want. In terms of sports, team apparel and merchandise sales could skyrocket in most cases, if you renew the old and sell nostalgia to your fans. It works as a way to appeal to all demographics, young and old, and turn a profit for the organization. This can relate right back into the different fast food brands who might be undergoing a face-lift. People who were around for the original branding but never cared for the 2000s style might change their opinions in hopes to regain the memories that were present for the vintage style.
The world of design, as uncertain as it may be, is trending back in time and maybe it just might be for the better.
Thank you for reading!
- Jack Malatesta