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Guy Goes Around NYC Redesigning Fliers For People, Making Them Way More Appealing For Free
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Guy Goes Around NYC Redesigning Fliers For People, Making Them Way More Appealing For Free

Interview With Artist Guy Goes Around NYC Redesigning Fliers For People, Making Them Way More Appealing For FreeMan Doesn’t Take Money For Improving Fliers In NY And Netizens Are Enjoying Every Second Of ItMan With An Eye For Digital Design Spices Up Random Fliers Around NY For Free (6 Examples)NYC Has Its Street Fliers Spiced Up By This Digital Designer And Here Are 6 ExamplesGuy Goes Around NYC With Project Of Redesigning Fliers, Making Them More Aesthetically PleasingMan Has An Eye For Digital Design, Spices Up Randomly Found Fliers For Free, Posts Videos Online (6 Examples)Guy Goes Around NYC Redesigning Fliers For People, Making Them Way More Appealing For FreeGuy Goes Around NYC Redesigning Fliers For People, Making Them Way More Appealing For FreeGuy Goes Around NYC Redesigning Fliers For People, Making Them Way More Appealing For FreeGuy Goes Around NYC Redesigning Fliers For People, Making Them Way More Appealing For Free
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If you think that print fliers are an outdated marketing concept, you are wrong. Apparently, people still widely create and distribute print fliers. Unfortunately, not all of these designs are eye-catching. And if they are, it’s a good chance that it’s not for their satisfying aesthetics.

Fortunately, the digital artist Max on TikTok comes to the rescue. On his account, he has a series where he redesigns various fliers around New York without anyone asking him to.

More info: TikTok

RELATED:

    TikTok user @cool_lookin_bug posts these wholesome videos of him redesigning various fliers he finds on the streets in NY, and, well, folks online are mesmerized

    Image credits: cool_lookin_bug

    “So, I’ve been redesigning signs in New York City without anyone asking me to”

    “For instance, take this flier that I found for Mayra the dog walker. Don’t get me wrong, this photo is incredible. But in a city with a million signs on the street, Mayra’s design just doesn’t pop.”

    “So, I went ahead and made Mayra a logo by modifying a vintage font”

    Image credits: cool_lookin_bug

    “Then I added some cute illustrations and comforting colors that reflect the warmth and playfulness that shines through in her photo. I couldn’t draw Mayra in a way that would top this, so I found a way for her original photo to shine through my design.

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    But hold on just a second.”

    “As I’m putting up Mayra’s flier, I noticed a second Mayra flier. Guys, Mayra is a certified hustler”

    Image credits: cool_lookin_bug

    “It’s a good thing I already established her brand identity, which makes creating the second flier for her babysitting business much easier.

    See, I don’t know who Mayra is. But hopefully, after all this, the Mayra brand, the Empire is gonna be known by the whole neighborhood.”

    Image credits: cool_lookin_bug

    Check out this video here

    @cool_lookin_bug Welcome to the Mayra extended universe. Music by @Miles? #art #design ♬ original sound – MAX KOLO

    TikToker user @cool_lookin_bug is also known as Max Kolomatsky or Max Kolo. He is a digital artist and filmmaker who is based in New York City. 

    Max works as a freelancer. Some of the more notable projects of his career are:

    • Being an illustrator for the New York Times; 
    • Being an animator of commercials for Vans Shoes;
    • Being a creator of a viral web series for Adobe;
    • Being a director of a music video for Sony. 

    On TikTok, Max went viral for posting videos about redesigning various fliers and signs without anyone asking him to.

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    Image credits: cool_lookin_bug

    Bored Panda reached out to Max himself. Make sure to check out his Instagram

    Max told us a story about how he came up with the idea for this TikTok series. “I spend hours walking around New York looking to find a flier or sign that is not only poorly designed but also posted with good intent. I prefer to help individuals and small businesses, people with wholesome goals. These hidden-gem flyers, ones with charm, aren’t easy to find. So when I come across something I’m excited to redesign, it’s like discovering a treasure and the ideas just come flowing.” 

    He also added some thoughts about the aesthetic inspiration for the designs. “I’m someone who is constantly taking photos of things that I like, collecting screenshots from Instagram, and building Pinterest boards. I love pushing the boundaries of my art style and these flier redesigns are a great way to challenge myself as an artist.

    I always begin by considering the target audience and brand characteristics of whatever I’m redesigning — What vibe should this flier give off? Then I try to find a way to make it creatively exciting for me as well.”

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    Max shared that since the project went viral, he keeps getting plenty of requests from small businesses, who ask for his help with designing their fliers. “It’s a bit overwhelming for me because there are so many people who deserve a good flier. Freelance art is the way that I pay my bills, so I unfortunately can’t be the guy who designs everyone’s flier for free. I will certainly continue to redesign flyers around NYC for free, anonymously. But for now, I’m sticking with the ones that I find on the street myself.”

    Image credits: cool_lookin_bug

    Lastly, the creator told a story about a design story that stood out to him. “I very much enjoyed doing the flier redesign for this goth band, Miss Teen America. When they were looking for new bandmates, they had a really simple, amateur flier posted all over Brooklyn and I did an anonymous redesign of it. I thought my redesign looked sick, I was very proud of it!” 

    But the story did not end there. Max continued: “I couldn’t help but notice a lot of folks in the goth community thought that the original sign was more fitting for goth counterculture. This was a turning point for me because it made me reconsider what things I should be redesigning. Redesigning something professionally makes it stand out more on the street and might be more beautiful. But it also makes something feel less home-grown and more expensive. For many goths, it’s cool for a flier to look amateur.

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    This was a really valuable lesson for me and helped me move forward with this project in a more thoughtful way. In the end, though, the goth band found my video and LOVED the flier. They wanted to meet me so we hung out in the park and I gave them signed copies of the flier I had designed — great people.” 

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    Image credits: cool_lookin_bug

    Moving on from Max to the concept of fliers itself, did you know that the earliest form of the modern flier first appeared during the Renaissance period in Italy? And that is just the modern version; more primitive ones existed even before that. Printed fliers were a game changer in the area of information communication to wide audiences.

    Soon after its “birth”, it could be said that it even became an art form. Or a vital part of marketing art. Although, it should be noted that it was not used only for advertising, but for the spread of propaganda, political, religious, and scientific ideas too.

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    Many movements in history were successful because they spread their messages through these pieces of paper. For example, the Suffrage movement in the early 1900s used fliers to promote their cause. And so, they played quite a significant role in the success of feminism.

    Image credits: cool_lookin_bug

    And that is just one of the examples. Just think how many various other movements or businesses have used fliers to spread their messages. Let’s imagine an alternative reality where the idea of fliers was not created. It’s probably a way different reality than ours, right?

    And in that reality, Max Kolomatsky would have to come up with a different idea to go viral (if going viral is even a thing there).

    But since in our reality, Max can create this TikTok series, let’s look at the comments on the video about Mayra’s poster. There, the creator himself came back with the update that Mayra saw his videos and loved the designs. Most of the comments from other people praised Mayra for her dedication to her craft and wished her success.

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    People online were praising Mayra, whose poster Max redesigned, for her hustle

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    Ugnė Bulotaitė

    Ugnė Bulotaitė

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I am a writer at Bored Panda. I have loved creating and writing down stories about people and things since I was little and I think this passion led me to get degrees in sociology, communication, and journalism. These degrees opened various paths for me, and I got a chance to be a volunteer in the human rights field, and also try myself out in social research and journalism areas. Besides writing, my passions include pop culture: music, movies, TV shows; literature, and board games. In fact, I have been dubbed a board games devotee by some people in my life.

    Read less »
    Ugnė Bulotaitė

    Ugnė Bulotaitė

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    I am a writer at Bored Panda. I have loved creating and writing down stories about people and things since I was little and I think this passion led me to get degrees in sociology, communication, and journalism. These degrees opened various paths for me, and I got a chance to be a volunteer in the human rights field, and also try myself out in social research and journalism areas. Besides writing, my passions include pop culture: music, movies, TV shows; literature, and board games. In fact, I have been dubbed a board games devotee by some people in my life.

    Denis Krotovas

    Denis Krotovas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. While studying at Vilnius Tech University, I learned how to use Photoshop and decided to continue mastering it at Bored Panda. I am interested in learning UI/UX design and creating unique designs for apps, games and websites. On my spare time, I enjoy playing video and board games, watching TV shows and movies and reading funny posts on the internet.

    Read less »

    Denis Krotovas

    Denis Krotovas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. While studying at Vilnius Tech University, I learned how to use Photoshop and decided to continue mastering it at Bored Panda. I am interested in learning UI/UX design and creating unique designs for apps, games and websites. On my spare time, I enjoy playing video and board games, watching TV shows and movies and reading funny posts on the internet.

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    Molly Whuppie
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't like the choking one. That needs to be plain and simple and easy to read so the information can be seen at a glance during an emergency. I mean it's cute and all, but I can read almost everything and see the phone number on the first one, and I can't on the second one.

    Brainmas
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Now I want to be in a goth band. Unfortunately I play no instruments.

    Na Schi
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Funny, as I would now have refrained from forming this Goth Band - as the new Flyer makes them look like they are totally into (Death) Metall. Quite the opposite to 80s/90s Goth that the first flyer indicated (Edit: me, grammar and spelling will never become friends)

    Load More Replies...
    Zoe Vokes
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I like the “FedEx” and the “Please press bell” designs because they are simple and easy to read. The rest are over complicated with the writing too small. The original signs were easier to read.

    Load More Comments
    Molly Whuppie
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't like the choking one. That needs to be plain and simple and easy to read so the information can be seen at a glance during an emergency. I mean it's cute and all, but I can read almost everything and see the phone number on the first one, and I can't on the second one.

    Brainmas
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Now I want to be in a goth band. Unfortunately I play no instruments.

    Na Schi
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Funny, as I would now have refrained from forming this Goth Band - as the new Flyer makes them look like they are totally into (Death) Metall. Quite the opposite to 80s/90s Goth that the first flyer indicated (Edit: me, grammar and spelling will never become friends)

    Load More Replies...
    Zoe Vokes
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I like the “FedEx” and the “Please press bell” designs because they are simple and easy to read. The rest are over complicated with the writing too small. The original signs were easier to read.

    Load More Comments
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