In design & identity work, the process by which the extension of a *single project* over time prior to public release can cause a designer to gradually and inadvertently deviate the visual conventions or system for that single project. Inevitably this leads to a series of endless revisions, inexplicable designer deliberation over the stupidest pixel-by-pixel shit, and a bad case of carpal tunnel. (Not to be confused with style creep, which is a far less trendy business term. Also note that stylecreep does not refer to artists' capacity to evolve their styles over time.)
Meet Bob. His project suffers from stylecreep:
After staring at this site for a year, I got bored of the colours and decided to change them. But then another month passed and I was bored of the typeface, so I changed that too. Then a few weeks later I figured that the layout was kinda out-of-date, so I switched that up. But then I was altogether bored of the whole thing, so I started over. But don't worry, when I launch it, my portfolio is gonna be the shit!
After staring at this site for a year, I got bored of the colours and decided to change them. But then another month passed and I was bored of the typeface, so I changed that too. Then a few weeks later I figured that the layout was kinda out-of-date, so I switched that up. But then I was altogether bored of the whole thing, so I started over. But don't worry, when I launch it, my portfolio is gonna be the shit!
by Stackelberg November 4, 2010