I was reading Lia Haberman’s Substack last week (highly recommended, by the way), and she shared where creativity stands right now — here are my takeaways.

• Takeaways: 

• Design is emotional, not just aesthetic. “Well-designed” doesn’t mean polished or corporate — it means content that connects emotionally, feels human, and is easy to process

• Stop chasing polish; prioritize connection and authenticity

• Gen Z leads the shift. They embrace imperfection, experimentation, and co-creation. Their “creative maximalism” blends memes, layered visuals, and global cultural references

• It’s not about the format, it’s about how it makes you feel. It’s about content that hits an emotional chord. It could be a scrappy TikTok or a graphic carousel 

• Thoughts in regard to Sircle:

• There’s still room for stylized content, but the bar is different now

• There is still a time and place for photography, stop motion, and 3D animation, but they have to do more than “look pretty” 

• Which we have always said at Sircle! Every piece of content needs to be strategic and have a WHY

• The biggest takeaway is that content must feel human, emotional, and connected. A polished stop motion or 3D piece works best when it has storytelling, humor, or surprise baked in

• Content variety is all about balance

• Brands that only put out “perfect” content risk seeming out of touch. But when polished assets are layered into a mix with UGC, scrappy iPhone shots, and trend-based content, they feel intentional and premium, not sterile.

• UGC can be positioned as the always-on content and keep photography/3D/stop motion as the hero moments (launches, campaigns, brand storytelling).