What sets a brand apart? Often, not much, and apparently that’s just how consumers like it. There’s a certain aesthetic that has become ubiquitous for men and women who like ‘high-end modern essentials’, expressed through minimalist design, beige colour palettes, and a heavy dose of virtue signalling. I came across the concept of Airspace a while ago, and though it applies in its original context to physical space rather than the digital realm, it resonates to me with how the bulk of brands present themselves online. Airspace was a term author Kyle Chayka used to describe a curious global phenomenon. It’s the curation of physical locations such as cafes, bars, and shops by tech platforms like Foursquare that fit into a certain aesthetic- think low hanging bulbs, exposed brickwork, tasteful leather decor, food served on anything but plates.
‘It’s the realm of coffee shops, bars, startup offices, and co-live / work spaces that share the same hallmarks everywhere you go: a profusion of symbols of comfort and quality, at least to a certain connoisseurial mindset. Minimalist furniture. Craft beer and avocado toast. Reclaimed wood. Industrial lighting. Cortados. Fast internet. The homogeneity of these spaces means that traveling between them is frictionless’
It’s essentially premium mediocre executed to an internationally recognised template. With roots in Silicon Valley, it means that a certain strata of millennial can move easily from one airspace bubble to another, without ever having to interact with ‘Realspace’, or real people. It’s worrying because it’s a loss to local economies and small businesses that don’t adhere to the unspoken rules of Airspace aesthetics. Instead they reflect their people, places and culture. In gravitating towards frictionless places that don’t challenge or otherwise stimulate our worldview we punish difference and genuinely local places- eventually rinsing uniqueness out.
Digital Airspace
Could the same not be said of digital brands, perhaps even more so? Consumer surveys have made it clear that younger demographics prefer to purchase from value-driven brands with a simple design aesthetic, and brands have responded accordingly using the right language and visuals to make a certain consumer feel comfortable. The same consumer that feels right at home amongst exposed red brick, minimalist furniture and reclaimed wood. If anything, it’s even easier to jump through Airspace online than when you’re on the move in the real world. You can go from tab to tab on your laptop, without even realising you’ve moved on to a new brand. As an illustrative example, we’ve put together a few different home pages below. If we blanked out the name on the header, would you be able to tell they’re all different brands?
They don’t all just look the same, either. Common language is used to set us at ease. I collated ‘five about us’ sections from the brands in the images above, and there’s some words consistently used to tap into millennial values that reflect digital airspace:
What are we losing?
The way I see it, there’s a problem. We risk losing any individuality or distinction if consumers are encouraged to move towards brands that tap into digital airspace. It’s a shame, because the potential for direct to consumer brands to genuinely challenge traditional retail practices and provide a better, locally rewarding and more sustainable way to shop is immense. Consumers may feel as though they’re getting a better alternative than they would with traditional, brick and mortar retail when they shop digitally from brands that position themselves as challengers. But in reality a lot of the problems that pervade traditional retail exist here too, from questionable supply chains to exorbitant markups and low quality.
There are no checks and balances in retail on ethics or quality, despite positive strides and rising consumer awareness. Digital airspace brands are free to virtue signal and say people, craft and quality come first without ever having to back their claims, because they answer to nobody and it’s an entirely unregulated space. And consumers don’t ask too many questions when they’re in the comfort of an aesthetic they associate heavily with their values and design preferences. It's a massive loss for brands that do things a bit differently, that reflect specific cultures or places, that can't or don't want to create their own airspace bubble. Often, they’re the ones that don’t have the budget for a massive social media campaign and a slew of influencers to tout their wares, because they invest primarily in product, local communities and people.
It’s time we started rewarding the brands that step beyond digital airspace, or never bother entering it. The ones that care and honour their makers and materials without diluting for palates accustomed to a specific worldview. The ones that genuinely offer a different retail model and can provide an alternative to vast global supply chains and shoddy product.They may not set us immediately at ease, but they’ll pique our curiosity in a meaningful way that airspace will never manage. It’s a truth universally known that comfort is the enemy of invention and creativity- so let’s not get too comfortable, because if we do we’ll end up losing any diversity or challengers in the online retail space. And if the reward is a different, better and fairer way to shop it’s definitely worth a step outside our sleepy, all-too-comfortable airspace bubbles.
