Warmth Is Making a Comeback
Thoughts on life, creative observations, and the comfort of slowing down
Hello! I’m writing to you from my new-to-me couch, in my new apartment that is drenched in light and has many French doors. To say I’m obsessed is an understatement.
I’ve been a busy bee lately unpacking and trying to decorate and make my new place feel like home. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a place surrounded with ALL of my stuff, and it has been really fun going through it all and rediscovering all of the pieces I love. I hope you never understand what it’s like to be separated from your favorite coffee mugs… I missed them dearly.
My mind has been in a bit of a spiral because I am the type of person that wants everything put together quickly and doesn’t like taking things slow. Seeing little piles and more boxes to unpack drives me a little nuts… but I am working through that, lol.
At the same time though, I have had a rush of the feeling of hopefulness. Like I am finally in the place I am meant to be. The energy of this place (New Orleans, if you didn’t already know) is just unmatched. I love the community, the culture, and most of all the food. I haven’t had one bad meal since I got here a month ago. I’ve also been experimenting with my own recipes in the kitchen, and it feels really good to have the capacity to do that!
On top of the chaos of moving, I have some exciting new client projects in the works. I’m hoping to bring back some project walkthroughs again so I can share the creative process. I’ve been loving when someone comes to me with something unexpected and different than the typical look and feel for their industry. It makes me feel like I have accomplished what I wanted to in my own brand positioning, and that I am attracting the right folks. Couldn’t be happier about that.
One thing this whole experience has taught me is that you should live near your closest friends. There is no better feeling than being able to spontaneously grab dinner or a coffee with your closest friend who lives nearby. Such a new feeling for me honestly, but I am so so so grateful for it.
Though I will say, I still am an advocate for going out and seeing the world and trying out living in different places. I don’t think I’d have the same perspective on my current situation if I didn’t get out there and try new things. Especially because I never saw myself wanting to resettle in the South, but here we are!
In my free time, I’ve been catching up on It’s Nice That articles and tracking design trends… man, the design world has been BUSY! It’s almost hard to keep up! But I’ve got to admit I have been really excited by the current trends I’ve been seeing. It seems like everyone is diving a little deeper and using more thoughtfulness in their process.
One positive that has come out of the AI movement is the human pushback. Creatives specifically have been putting a bigger emphasis on research, diving a little deeper, and adding in more thoughtfulness than ever before. Proving once again that NOTHING is better than the good old human mind. I am in awe of the designers who are pushing boundaries and really pushing themselves to dig deep. It has been showing up everywhere and makes for a much clearer vision and more successful campaigns (or projects).
Another thing I’ve noticed lately is that people aren’t taking things as seriously. There has been more playfulness and less of the same old thing showing up. Things have been sterile for far too long in my opinion, so seeing people experiment offline with their projects (the way it was supposed to be) and then bring it all together digitally is really special. I love seeing all of the quirky photography, mixed media assets, and less playing it safe. It really grabs my attention and makes me pay attention.
In that realm though, I saw an article recently (that I can’t remember the source of and I am sorry for that) highlighting how the lighting in movies nowadays is much more stark and way less warm than it used to be in the ’90s. They were using the new Devil Wears Prada movie as an example (and if you haven’t seen it yet, it was fabulous, highly recommend!) and showing directly the difference in lighting between the new movie and the original and wow, what a difference. The old films had much more grain and color than the new ones.
It made me start comparing other films from different times, and the warmth of the ’90s has definitely faded. It made me wonder if that’s why so many of us find comfort in older films. The content in the new ones is great, but there is much less rewatching than there used to be. Watching rom-coms from the ’90s feels like a big warm hug that is always waiting for you to return to when you need it, while the newer films have a bit more coldness to them. Maybe I am overthinking this a bit, but I did start to notice a difference.
One thing that has definitely not lost the warmth is music. Ugh, there has been so much great music coming out recently, and it’s been giving me all of the comfort and motivation I need to keep getting things done!
Anywho, it’s probably about time for me to get back to it. I don’t have any upcoming travel at the moment, and it feels good to say that honestly. I’ve been in need of some downtime.
I hope your week has been fabulous! If you get through this post and want to make my day, leave a comment about the best part of your week so far, exciting plans you have for the weekend, or something that’s inspiring you lately. I’d love to hear it!
Talk soon! Thank you SO MUCH for being here!
Until next time,
Bailey x
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And if you’d like to work together on a creative project in 2026, feel free to email me at bailey@staticcatstudio.com
The warmth of human expression coming to the forefront as a response to the coldness of AI and productivity culture is so inspiring. I’m so excited to see what else comes out of it. I just posted my first YouTube video in a year and I’m excited to be posting more consistently as well as on here!