ISSUE 004

So much good work landing lately. Today I've got the outdoor campaign of the year, another GAP music video masterclass, and a longform video breaking down the storytelling lineage of hooks. But first, one of our MAD contributors goes deep on nostalgia...

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On Noticing Nostalgia

Written by Stefan Szary​

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning boys, how's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and says, "what the hell is water?"

This little parable is from author David Foster Wallace's internet-famous commencement speech at Kenyon College. As a creative director, it does two things. One, it outs me as one of the 'olds.' And two, it perfectly represents one of the key traits an art director needs to nurture: the ability to simply notice the visual world we're always all swimming in.

And that's where nostalgia comes in.

Wut, nostalgia? Article plot-twist? Non-sequitur? Yes, but stay with me.

The Sans-Serification of Everything

As art directors, we've been pushing pixels so long in the digital age we may not have noticed we've been swimming through the sans-serification of so many brand marks.

The why is boring. Digital platforms love sans-serifs, billions of people went online, and the visual tide shifted to accommodate screens. You know the story.

But something fun started to percolate more recently. And to be an art director worth a day rate, it's our job to notice.

Vacation is a sunscreen brand that launched in 2021 looking like it was designed on the set of Miami Vice. Hand-scribbled logo. Serifs. Kerning and hierarchy that feels like it was pulled from a VHS tape. And it's not just the type, the photography, the art direction, the whole thing is drenched in 1980s nostalgia.

And here's why it's smart: sunscreen is a clinical product by category (boring) but an inherently sexy one by lifestyle. The 80s nostalgia threads a very tricky needle, it lets the brand be racy without being creepy. That's not easy to do. That's good art direction.

Noticing the Nostalgia

Now, if Vacation was a one-off? Cool. A curiosity. But it's not a one-off. And as art directors who notice, we can see nostalgia spreading.

Sports brands are always a good weathervane, they're hyper-sensitive to shifts in culture and can update merch far faster than anyone else. Case in point: Sundays are swamped with the dad-hat. Snap back, trucker-style, retro rope. A few years ago you'd see these at yard sales. Now they're $44.99 a pop.

Moving up the food chain, even Pepsi is in on it. Look at their Cream Soda branding. If Vacation is bringing back the 80s and the NFL is flirting with the 70s, Pepsi is going full-on archaeology, tapping into a visual language that predates TV.

But Why?

Our job is to notice trends emerging. Why they emerge is usually left to strategists, but as Jason reminds us, a big part of being an art director is presenting ideas. And if you're going to pitch nostalgia as a direction, it's best done with a POV on why it can work.

Here are mine.

• The world is moving faster than anyone really likes. Visual nostalgia says "slow down." It evokes the time before clickbait, that feels calmer, more chill and just more human.
• Nostalgia is a black sheep in the digital scroll. So much on the feed is clean, flat, sans-serif, but nostalgia crashes that party with a look, a feel and vibe that says "let's go old school." It stands out in a fun way.
• Lastly, nostalgia feels analog, analog feels handmade, and handmade means "someone gave a damn." That never goes out of style.

A Last Word on Noticing

When I was in charge of young creatives (and pretending I knew what I was doing), one of my favourite things to do was give them the day off with one super important caveat: they weren't allowed to go home until 5:00.

I didn't care what they did or where they went, so long as it involved being out of the house and out of the office. I knew they'd go to the movies, or a bookstore, or an art gallery, the park to people-watch or just visit a friend - I knew as creatives, they'd be out absorbing things whether they meant to or not. They would flex the notice muscles.

This always resulted in better work.

So for any creatives (myself included) who need to sharpen those muscles: it's the easiest and most chill workout in the world. Just go out into it.

About this Contributor: Stef Szary

Stef Szary is a Creative Director turned Commercial Director who has worked out of New York, Vancouver, Toronto and now Montreal. He's led campaigns for GM, Ford, McDonald's and Bank of Montreal, helped relaunch the American Apparel brand, and picked up Cannes Lions, D&AD Pencils and Clios along the way. Named one of Canada's fastest rising directors in 2025 by LLB, his recent commercial work includes Can-Am, Ski-Doo and SportChek. His name is easier to remember than it is to pronounce.​
​www.stefanszary.com​

​http://www.instagram.com/stefanszary​

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👁️ More to Digest

​​Nike ACG: A​ World of Endless Attractions​

Nike just relaunched ACG and it might be the most considered outdoor campaign of the year. The absurdist 90s energy, the Jackass co-creator producing, the MTV-style logo idents, the custom type system, treating planet earth like an Action Park ride. This is a full breakdown of the visual DNA and why none of it is nostalgia for nostalgia's sake:

​GAP x Young Miko​

GAP keeps doing this. No voiceover, no product specs, just movement as the product demo. This one breaks down why GAP has such consistent taste right now, and what it actually means to enable an artist vs capitalize on a trend.

​The Lost Art of the Hook​

Social media didn't invent hooks. Storytellers have been using them for centuries and there's a lot more to learn from books, film, and music than most creators realize. This is the longer YouTube version of my viral Instagram lecture:

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Thanks for reading and being a part of the Modern Art Direction community. Even with the chaos in our industry and the wider world right now, there is craft worth celebrating. Art makes us human.

Until next time, trust your eye out there.

Jason 🤘

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