In recent years, the Corporate Memphis style has been widely used for advertising. This form of art is known for its “low-effort” presentation. It is highly popular among platforms such as Google and Facebook.
Corporate Memphis displays pops of color and disproportional anatomy and objects. People in this design will have minimal to no facial expressions. Because of this, these designs are seen as insincere and ingenuine. They gained traction during the 2010s and increased in popularity around 2020 as online presence grew.
You will usually see this aesthetic on social media, but it has bled into forms other than the occasional Facebook ad or pop-up. You may notice certain book covers are beginning to become similar in style. They depict easy illustrations usually containing a simple background or one to two people. There is a profound high-contrast color scheme and cartoon-like designs.
With this comes book covers that do not accurately represent the books’ tones, genres or storylines in the slightest. Take “Icebreaker” by Hannah Grace, for example. This novel is an adult contemporary sports romance portraying itself as “young adult.” (“YA” novels typically suggest they are for readers from 12 to 18 years of age.) The novel follows college students in their 20s and has an excessive amount of adult content. How easy would it be for this book to get into the wrong hands?
Look at “Fast Pitch” by Nic Stone, which is “middle grade” (“MG”) for ages 8 to 12. This is also a sports novel with similar cover art, but it has vastly different content. There is no adult content within this book whatsoever. Though if you put them side by side, who would know?
The only way you can know is to judge the book by its cover! Most books do not label what age range they are targeting. It is best to do research before making the purchase and watch what media your children are consuming.
