Design Observer Review 10/10

Invasion of the Neutered Sprites
by Michael Bierut

Great article. Bierut, in a typically amusing style, calls attention to what he describes as an epidemic of faceless, raceless, genderless little stick figures. I don't think I've ever really thought about it before, because the idea of a stick figure is such a basic concept (or more accurately, visual cliche). But there is no question about the tendency to over-use this convention, especially when it comes to design that deals with community, children, sharing, family, cooperation, and so on. As Bierut puts it, the primary offenders are "organizations dedicated to... any kind of relentlessly positive thinking".

Why do designers fall back on this cliche? Certainly there must be better ways to depict groups of people, let alone complex concepts like diversity and brotherhood? Maybe it has to do with the sterile, politically-correct appearance of these "neutered sprites". The're definitely neutral enough to represent anyone. Maybe it has to do with their visual simplicity: they're easy to draw, and they blend minimally into almost any design or typographical layout. Or maybe it's just because we've seen so much of them already, they're rooted in our subconscious, blocking us from more creative thinking. I admit to having used them once or twice myself, in my weakest moments. And I should point out that several commentator's on Bierut's article have defended the occasional use of these figures, if done carefully and thoughtfully.

Despite the counter-argument, after reading this article, and seeing Bierut's 50+ examples of poor "sprite" usage, I think I shall certainly avoid ever using them again. There's got to be a more inventive way of portraying friendship than a bunch of stick figures holding hands.