Six curious Instagram profiles to discover at the beach

Some may say this is no time to look at things superficially, that life is far too demanding for that at so many levels: geopolitically, environmentally, health-wise, climate-wise… In short, life is no laughing matter. But the summer’s here, and beyond that, perhaps for these very reasons, every now and then it’s worth taking an offbeat look at things, going on a walk on the lighter side.

After all, the design world often takes itself so seriously, all understatement, restraint or highbrow aestheticism. There are few half-measures in design, so why not just accept that perhaps the secret lies in sometimes just taking ourselves a little less seriously, horsing around, having a laugh... All the more so under a seemingly unbearable heatwave.

Not surprisingly, social media has this down and dusted. Perfectionist aesthetics, picture-perfect sunsets, post-produced photos, the best version of ourselves and our lives, are less and less cool; on the up are (seemingly) less-gussied images, moments immortalized not for being ideal but because they are asymmetrical, imperfect… precisely because they are realistic.

There are more and more followers out there for images, memes, and accounts that celebrate such imperfections, partly out of fashion, partly because, perhaps, they far more accurately represent what people experience in their everyday lives. This veritable aesthetic is becoming dominant, ushering in a new golden ratio with its offbeat approach. Let’s take a look at how design fits in to all this.