PROJECT

I DON'T THINK WE'RE IN (CORPORATE) MEMPHIS ANYMORE

TOOLS USED

Adobe Creative Suite

ROLE

DESIGNER // RESEARCHER

I Don't Think We're in (Corporate) Memphis is a reimagination of the Corporate Memphis visual style that has taken over the tech world. Through an eerily realistic depiction, this project aims to bring into question who these flat figures really are, what they represent, and what they hide.

Once adopted by tech companies to signal trust and optimism, Corporate Memphis now feels more like a mask (this is especially ironic, considering the style’s name being inspired by the anti-establishment Memphis Group). Instead of a challenge to dominant narratives, it has become a strategy for the profit-motivated.

Even as Corporate Memphis begins to fade, its once dominant presence goes to show how possible and invisibly design can be co-opted by profit-driven motives.

Whatever the next trend may be, let’s not forget to question what it promotes and what version of humanity it puts forward.

REFERENCES

Huang, Liz. “Blue People and Long Limbs: How One Illustration Style Took Over the Corporate World.” Webflow Blog, Webflow, 22 Mar. 2022, https://webflow.com/blog/corporate-memphis.

“Corporate Memphis.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 April 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_Memphis.

Adobe Stock. Various images licensed for design reference and compositing. https://stock.adobe.com.