How to Break the Curse of “Mediocrity”?

Let’s start today with a phenomenon called the “creative homogenization of influencer faces.” What does that mean? We’ve all seen influencer faces before. The biggest issue is not that they are unattractive, but that they lack distinctiveness. The so-called “creative homogenization of influencer faces” refers to the trend in many fields where design is becoming more and more similar. From the data, these fields are doing quite well, but the problem is that the participants within them are starting to look too much alike.

For example, in the automobile industry, many people feel that new energy vehicles are starting to look more and more similar. After a particular model becomes a market hit, competitors start borrowing design elements, leading to a convergence of styles. It’s said that in the next few years, all new energy vehicles might just have one standard look: a closed front end, squinting headlights, and hidden door handles.

Actually, the same thing happened in the history of gasoline cars. In the 1980s, people noticed that all cars were beginning to look alike. When an SUV passed by, it was hard to tell which model it was. Car designs, from shape to size, and even metal accents, became increasingly similar across all brands.

Why is this happening? There are several reasons.

First, all vehicles have to undergo the same wind tunnel tests. To achieve the highest possible fuel efficiency, manufacturers design their cars to have the most efficient shape and size.

Second, the evolution of car production methods has led to automobile giants sharing vehicle production “platforms,” causing different brand models to become structurally more similar.

Jaguar Land Rover’s chief designer also gave a third reason: the globalization of automobile production and sales. Global car designs must find a common denominator that appeals to the broadest global audience.

Aside from exterior design, car colors are also becoming more uniform. According to incomplete statistics, in 1996, about 40% of cars were either black, white, silver, or gray, while by 2020, this percentage had risen to 80%. Parking lots, once filled with a variety of colors, now resemble a sea of muted gray tones.

This trend toward uniformity is not limited to the automobile industry; it’s a widespread issue.

Alex Murrell, a brand marketing expert in the UK, wrote a highly influential article last year titled “The Age of Mediocrity.” He argued that all creative fields are converging towards a middle ground, and we are entering an “Age of Mediocrity.” The era has not evolved into one of diversity but has instead developed into one of mediocrity, with average products dominating most markets. Material wealth is increasing, but our world is becoming more and more alike.

You may have heard of these trends, but when Murrell presents the concrete numbers and facts, the impact is even more profound.

The first area he focuses on is architectural design, where our living spaces are becoming more and more similar.

For instance, in the case of residential buildings, Bloomberg published an article a few years ago about housing in the United States. In 2017, the number of newly built houses in the U.S. was 187,000, half of which were identical in design. These buildings are the typical boxy structures, about 5 to 7 stories high, with irregular facades and colors like gray or brown. Some architects consider this architectural style to be fast-food design, and even nicknamed it “McDonald’s buildings.” Office buildings are similar, with low-rise buildings surrounded by lawns and parking lots in Silicon Valley.

Another example is how interior design is also becoming globally homogenized. A designer once turned to Airbnb for inspiration for her home’s decoration. However, after browsing for a while, she realized that all the rooms on Airbnb were following the same template. This style includes white walls, wooden furniture, exposed brick walls, open shelving, and identical coffee machines, dining tables, chairs, and retro light fixtures.

Airbnb’s creative director dubbed this style the “International Airbnb” look. The Guardian even published an article saying that this style has spread beyond Airbnb and has become the mainstream design for global cafes. You can walk into a café in any city and likely find the same wooden tables, chandeliers, white walls, and large floor-to-ceiling windows.

The second area is the culture of the content people consume, which is also becoming increasingly alike.

For example, movies. A few years ago, a French blogger collected a series of movie posters and found that movie posters worldwide followed the same template. Romantic comedy posters often feature the male and female leads standing back-to-back in front of a white background. Horror movie posters tend to show a close-up of dilated pupils. Action movie posters often depict a lone figure dressed in black, facing away from the camera.

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh has also mentioned that all movie posters and trailers look the same, and this is the result of testing. Interesting variables are often eliminated, leaving only the so-called optimal solutions that are pushed to the public.

In addition to visual similarities, the homogenization of movies is also evident in the decreasing number of completely original works. Before 2000, only about 25% of the highest-grossing films were sequels, prequels, spin-offs, remakes, or movies from expanded universes. Since 2010, this number has exceeded 50% every year. In recent years, it has been close to 100%. In 2024, all of the top ten global movie box office hits are sequels or remakes.

The successful and proven products dominate the market, leading to a “winner-takes-all” situation. This phenomenon is not limited to movies. Best-selling books in the U.S. often include the word “girl” in the title, such as “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl on the Train,” “The Girl Who Brought the End of the World,” and “The Girl in the Water.” Popular self-help books often include profanities in their titles, such as “No Doubt About Work” and “Rebuilding Happiness,” with the original titles featuring venting curse words.

Similarly, advertising for fashion products is becoming more alike. Cosmetics ads follow a specific pattern, with the product either placed on a glass shelf, alongside a mirror, or shown with water droplets. Popular slogans also follow the same structure, such as “Find your XX” or “XX, your way.”

You see, movies, games, books, and advertisements, once creative strongholds, are now beginning to resemble formulaic factories.

Of course, the third area Murrell mentions is not external, but about us. Celebrity faces are becoming more and more similar.

In 2020, The New Yorker published an investigative article stating that many celebrities and influencers are starting to look alike. They share a youthful face with flawless skin, high cheekbones, cat-like eyes, exaggerated long eyelashes, a delicate small nose, and full lips.

In the West, this look is called the “Insta-face,” and the template for the Insta-face is none other than Kim Kardashian. Instagram influencers love to imitate Kardashian, and there are tutorials everywhere on how to look like her. A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon even said that one-third of his clients want to undergo surgery to look like Kardashian.

In conclusion, Murrell argues that all fields are producing standardized answers. People live in the same kinds of houses, go to the same cafés, watch familiar movies and read familiar books, and recognize the same advertising and marketing formulas. There are reasons for this, perhaps because technology is advancing rapidly, and people are increasingly obsessed with quantification and optimization. Perhaps it is because globalization is transitioning from the product level to the level of inspiration, making intellectual and aesthetic similarities inevitable.

Some may view this as pessimistic. However, from another perspective, this isn’t all bad news. Because, based on past experience, such a state actually leaves vast room for innovation.

The root of homogenization is imitation. When a model is proven effective, imitation is the safe choice. But the history of biological evolution tells us that when dramatic change comes, those individuals who retain the potential for mutation are the ones who are more pioneering. When you feel the world around you is returning to the average and losing vitality, that might just be the moment to unleash your creativity and create a disruption.

Looking at the history of modern civilization, the interplay of homogenization and differentiation has driven progress in various fields.

For example, one of the prerequisites for the breakthroughs in Renaissance techniques was the standardization regulations of the Florence guilds. Similarly, one of the prerequisites for the rise of Impressionist masters in the 19th century was the strict adherence to perspective and sketching techniques by the Paris Academy of Fine Arts.

In the automobile industry, Ford dominated the market with the mass production of the Model T in 1914. However, General Motors immediately launched a strategy of “different wallets, different goals, different models,” breaking the dominance of the black Ford with the colorful Chevrolet.

In the film industry, while Hollywood is said to be flooded with sequels, a group of independent production teams represented by A24 has created new models, producing groundbreaking works like Everything Everywhere All at Once.

In other words, homogenization represents mediocrity, but on the other hand, it also represents technological maturity, and this maturity is precisely what accumulates energy for innovation. When the world turns left, you can turn right. By stepping out of existing paradigms, there’s always a force that prevents us from returning to the average.

Let’s stop here for today’s discussion.