Digital designer and systems thinker. I build websites, brands, and content that work as one.

The Margin of Crudeness: Ornament After Intricacy Became Free

A stock-image company says ornament is back. I checked the claim against the trend data, the history of ornament and the research on handmade goods. The look of labor became free when machines learned to draw it, so ornament now proves less than it seems to, and two older jobs are returning in its place: the trace of a particular hand, and the emblem that makes a name recognizable in a crowd.