Corporate Memphis, commonly referred to asAlegria art, is anart style named after theMemphis Group that featuresflat areas of color and geometric elements. Widely associated withBig Tech illustrations in the late 2010s[1] and early 2020s,[2] it has been met with a polarized response, with criticism focusing on its use in sanitizing corporate communication,[1] as well as being seen as visually offensive, insincere, pandering and over-saturated. Other illustrators have defended the style, pointing at what they claim to be its art-historical legitimacy.[3]
Flat art developed out of the rise ofvector graphic programs, and anostalgia formid-century modern illustration.[3] It began to trend ineditorial illustration and especially the tech industry, which relied on simple, scalable illustrations to fill white space and add character to apps and web pages.[1] The style was widely popularized whenFacebook introduced Alegria, an illustration system commissioned from design agency Buck Studios and illustrator Xoana Herrera[1] in 2017.[4]
The name "Corporate Memphis" originated from the title of anAre.na board that collected early examples,[1] and is a reference to theMemphis Group, a 1980s design group known for bright colors, childish patterns, and geometric shapes. The style itself was inspired by a synthesis of elements spanning the 20th-century, including theArt Deco style of the 1920s, futurism in interior design from theAtomic Age, and color and patterns from thePop Art movement.
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Commonmotifs are flat human characters in action, with disproportionate features such as long and bendy limbs,[2] small torsos,[5] minimal or no facial features, and bright colors without any blending. Facebook's Alegria uses non-representational skin colors such as blues and purples in order to feel universal,[4] though some artists working in the style opt for more realistic skin colors and features to show diversity.[1]
Corporate Memphis is materially quick, cheap and easy to produce, and thus appealing to companies; programs such asAdobe Illustrator can be used to produce such designs rapidly.[citation needed]
Once Facebook had adopted the style, the sudden ubiquity of vector graphics led to a critical backlash.[3] The style has been criticized professionally and popularly (including in myriadinternet memes) for being overly minimalistic, generic,[6]lazy,[2] overused, and attempting to sanitize public perception of big tech companies by presentinghuman interaction inutopian optimism.[1]Illustrator Julien Posture argues that criticism of the art style is rooted in larger anxieties about the creative industry undercapitalism andneoliberalism.[5] Others have argued that Corporate Memphis deserves to be understood on its own merits separate from the corporations which regularly employ it.[3]
Writing inThe Globe and Mail, Jen Gerson criticized the new 2023Canadian passport design by likening it to the Corporate Memphis art style.[7]
