Media helps designers and creative industry professionals spot visual phenomena before they become mainstream trends. The project gathers information from numerous sources, identifies recurring techniques, themes, and aesthetics, and then the editorial team vets this information and develops it into content.

BEFORE IT’S A THING — Media on early signals in design and contemporary visual culture.

The project’s goal is to observe visual and cultural phenomena in their early stages—new techniques, aesthetics, subtle scenes, and unexpected connections between design, music, fashion, and internet culture.

Segment: design and contemporary visual culture.

Niche topic: early signals and emerging trends in graphic design intersecting with music, fashion, technology, and internet culture.

Competitors can be divided into three groups.

To analyze competitors, you can use 6 criteria:

1. Topic — how niche the media is.

2. Handling of emerging content — whether it features new authors or already established phenomena.

3. Formats — news, roundups, interviews, research.

4. Visual presentation — to what extent the content itself becomes a visual product.

5. Tone of voice — expert, journalistic, friendly, or cultural.

6. Depth of curation — simply showcasing a discovery or explaining why it is important.

A major international media outlet covering contemporary creative culture. It publishes work and interviews with designers, illustrators, studios, and other creators, and regularly highlights emerging talents.

Similarities: discovering new artists, visual culture, focus on emerging designers.

Distinction: BEFORE IT’S A THING focuses specifically on early signals and minor phenomena before their mass distribution, including scouting on the underground scene.

Media focused on graphic design, illustration, branding, and the contemporary creative industry. It publishes interviews, projects, and articles on trends.

Similarities: graphic design, emerging artists, trends.

Distinction: «Creative Boom» primarily discusses the existing professional scene, while «BEFORE IT’S A THING» focuses on what is currently being formed.

An editorial platform on contemporary design, focusing on creators, professional environments, and the cultural context of design.

Similarity: Design is viewed not only as a visual object but also as a cultural phenomenon.

Difference: BEFORE IT’S A THING establishes the signal—not a single designer or project—as the primary unit of content, appearing simultaneously across multiple authors or within a specific scene.

It functions beyond design, but it constantly connects design, fashion, music, and youth culture. For example, the publication features articles dedicated to emerging fashion designers and independent scenes.

Distinction: Design is only one part of modern culture.