This image was posted by Will (of It’s Nice That) on the old 21 Downham Road* Instagram account. It’s a reference to the 2007 university brief that itsnicethat.com was originally in response too.

I’ve heard Will mention it a number of times, and this version was from a presentation he gave to students, who I believe he was re-setting the brief for. Because, it’s a great student brief.

For me though – perhaps naïvely – it’s also a no-brainer, because…

Why would you do anything that didn’t?

I’ve always wondered if this thought is evidence of my ineligibility to ever be a proper capitalist? It reminds me of a bit from 1988’s Twins, where Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, Julius (an innocent and inexperienced idealist), is searching for his long lost twin (Vincent, a streetwise and opportunistic petty criminal, played by Danny DeVito).

Julius arrives at the Catholic orphanage where Vincent grew up and is shown where he slept. Julius makes the assumption that his brother chose that bed because it was near the fire alarm and window, so that in an emergency he could have raised the alarm and ushered everyone to safety.

As I remember it though, Vincent actually chose the bed so he could get a better view of the nun that he fancied, or something. Whatever, it’s that feeling of Julius assuming the best in everyone else’s actions that resonates.

A bit of a random reference, but the idea that some designers might start their days with anything in their mind other than making things better for people, makes me feel like I’m missing some street smarts.

Anyway.

*Updated July 2024: Now a dead link 😥 so another great example of why it’s so important to own your own URLs as often as you can in order to keep control over your content. Remember, Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere.