While the algorithm for TikTok is a well-guarded secret, we do know a few things. Overall, the algorithm is designed to personalize the user experience and surface content that is likely to be of interest to each individual user. Read that again. It doesn’t prioritize who a user is following. It prioritizes the content.

As a digital marketer with nearly 15 years of practice, this is the biggest shift I see in how brands, marketers and creators are having to rethink their content strategies. “Building your audience” and “creating for your followers” is no longer good enough. Each piece of content needs to be created with the potential, and the assumption, that it will be viewed by someone who has never heard of your brand before. I’ve spent several years coaching clients and coworkers to avoid chasing trends or obsessing over viral ideas. It’s possible in 2023 that might be bad advice.

The adoption of influencers gave brands a more intuitive feeling way to capitalize on social media, while newly minted content creators sought ways to monetize their carefully curated aesthetics. “Real people” seemed to be the salve, until they weren’t. Realistically, influencers should be oscillating between influencing and deinfluencing often and honestly.

We live in a post-advertising era. Right? Media divergence, social platforms, and a new generation of brand-savvy (and skeptical) consumers have collided to effectively demand a more layered approach, changing the entire communications landscape—and with it, what it means to be a designer.

The feeling of surfing has been described as the feeling of weightlessness, power and propulsion —a mastery that, once unlocked is absolutely addictive. Watching a surfer paddle madly through the furious white is a portrait of dedication, and a commitment to conquering the challenges and chaos of the breaks.

Did you find it hard to choose what to wear today? Or what to eat for breakfast? If so, you’re not alone. According to the American Psychology Association, 32% of adults are so stressed they struggle to make everyday decisions.

Consumers increasingly demand more environmentally friendly products, while retailers are also putting on the pressure, spurred by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies, for more recyclable packaging from brands. So what’s going on? Why are recycling rates so abysmal, and what can brands do to reduce this disconnect to empower consumers?

The agency tier system is an endemic way of thinking. Most requests for proposals stipulate whether brands are looking for a tier one, two or three agency, with set definitions of the exact nature of work each agency should expect to receive. While it’s understandable that brand owners find it helpful to organize their agencies in this way, there are some deep-rooted challenges with this concept.

Consumers (and advertisers) just can’t get enough of paper. So much so, that in our quest to reduce the amount of plastic in product packaging, we’re actually contributing to a global paper shortage. If we're to take recent sustainability-led marketing campaigns at face value, I'd certainly believe that paper packaging is the way forwards on our way to eliminating plastic waste and reducing our carbon footprint. However, as a product designer with 12 years of experience in the branding industry, I have a more balanced view.