Welcome To Friday Fives, Vol. 283
This week, we’re predicting Instagram trends with Gen Z, getting moody with Pantone’s Peach Fuzz, pondering questions on virality, boosting diversity in the gaming world, and shielding our eyes from terrible fonts.
Friday Fives (yes, the newsletter you’re reading now!) was credited in Ad Age as an example of how agencies are marketing themselves and why it’s so important. We appreciate the love.
Predicting 2024 Trends With Gen Z
Instagram unveiled a new report called Trend Talk, Gen Z’s take on trends that will drive global culture in the year ahead. Using a survey taken in the U.S., U.K., Brazil, India, and South Korea, it includes insights on trends regarding activism, fashion, food, and more. Our favorite insights included that 63% of Gen Z is “as single as ever” and that shaved eyebrows should be left in the past. However, what really had us laughing is that “Chewing with your mouth open” was the top ick across all surveyed countries, which shows Gen Z has their priorities straight.
Pantone’s Pick-Me-Up Peach Fuzz
Gender-neutral baby showers, an Italian garden party, an afternoon in Palm Springs — all ways to describe Pantone’s 2024 color of the year Peach Fuzz. As NYT notes, it’s reminiscent, in both name and color, of shades used to describe lighter complexions, contradicting “new modernity” in the press release. However, it has a subtleness not found in other 2023 colors, like Barbiecore pink (yeah, we said it). Evoking warmth, the choice may be in anticipation of turmoil. With the upcoming election and polarization on social media, its cheekiness is what we need right now.
Can TikTok Virality Be Trusted?
A roundup of the top viral TikToks of 2023 is here, and you may be surprised at how many of them you haven’t seen. With the vast array of content and growing userbase on TikTok, many trends and videosremain within niche communities. The roundup emphasizes the platform’s challenge of discussing and understanding viral content as representative of broader movements — especially amidst growing political and cultural forces citing virality as evidence of larger truths. So, the next time you watch a French bulldog screaming before bed, ask yourself — is this just my FYP?
Heavy Is the Crown That Wears the Code
The virtual world allows us to create fantastical versions of ourselves, from cybernetic implants to alien tentacles — and that’s great, but sometimes we simply want to create avatars that look just like we do. Research shows that Black gamers feel like an afterthought, due to the lack of Black avatar hairstyles. To bring representation to the virtual world, Dove (yes, the“soap” brand) collaborated with Open Source Afro Hair Library, a platform for accessing 3D models of Black hairstyles. Together, with the help of celeb hairstylistNai’vasha, they developed “Code My Crown,” a guide on coding afro-textured hair in avatar creation. With more brands embracing the many forms us real-life avatars can come in, the hope is to create virtual worlds that look more like our own. G’bye alien tentacles, hello all-natural hair.
It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times
From the beloved to the boring to the downright ugly, no two fonts are the same. In 2010, Simon Garfield, in the book Just My Type, used a 2007 study to decide the least favorite fonts among designers. To no one’s surprise, Times New Roman was number one, and Comic Sans also made the list. Over a decade later, Fast Company has compiled a new list, complete with a bit of graphic designer-backed evidence. Was Times New Roman’s position usurped? Did the infamous Comic Sansget a redemption arc? The answers aren’t so simple when it comes to typeface. There is deeper reasoning behind the good, the bad, and the ugly, whether it be overuse, complexity, or even age of the user. Comic Sans stans (you know who you are), get ready to defend yourself.
Museum of Ice Cream, an art installation and experiential museum, was highlighted in the Events & Experimental category of Inc. Magazine’s Best in Business 2023.
Oula Health, a modern maternity clinic, was one of three women’s health companies named in The Most Promising Digital Health Companies of 2023.
