Category: Blog

“Language is not merely a set of unrelated sounds, clauses, rules, and meanings; it is a totally coherent system bound to context and behavior.” — Kenneth L. Pike

The web has accents. So should our design systems.

Design Systems as Living Languages

Design systems aren’t component libraries—they’re living languages. Tokens are phonemes, components are words, patterns are phrases, layouts are sentences. The conversations we build with users become the stories our products tell.

But here’s what we’ve forgotten: the more fluently a language is spoken, the more accents it can support without losing meaning. English in Scotland differs from English in Sydney, yet both are unmistakably English. The language adapts to context while preserving core meaning. This couldn’t be more obvious to me, a Brazilian Portuguese speaker, who learned English with an American accent, and lives in Sydney.

Our design systems must work the same way. Rigid adherence to visual rules creates brittle systems that break under contextual pressure. Fluent systems bend without breaking.

Consistency becomes a prison

The promise of design systems was simple: consistent components would accelerate development and unify experiences. But as systems matured and products grew more complex, that promise has become a prison. Teams file “exception” requests by the hundreds. Products launch with workarounds instead of system components. Designers spend more time defending consistency than solving user problems.

Our design systems must learn to speak dialects.

A design dialect is a systematic adaptation of a design system that maintains core principles while developing new patterns for specific contexts. Unlike one-off customizations or brand themes, dialects preserve the system’s essential grammar while expanding its vocabulary to serve different users, environments, or constraints.

When Perfect Consistency Fails

At Booking.com, I learned this lesson the hard way. We A/B-tested everything—color, copy, button shapes, even logo colors. As a professional with a graphic design education and experience building brand style guides, I found this shocking. While everyone fell in love with Airbnb’s pristine design system, Booking grew into a giant without ever considering visual consistency.  

The chaos taught me something profound: consistency isn’t ROI; solved problems are.

At Shopify. Polaris () was our crown jewel—a mature design language perfect for merchants on laptops. As a product team, we were expected to adopt Polaris as-is. Then my fulfillment team hit an “Oh, Ship!” moment, as we faced the challenge of building an app for warehouse pickers using our interface on shared, battered Android scanners in dim aisles, wearing thick gloves, scanning dozens of items per minute, many with limited levels of English understanding.

Task completion with standard Polaris: 0%.

Every component that worked beautifully for merchants failed completely for pickers. White backgrounds created glare. 44px tap targets were invisible to gloved fingers. Sentence-case labels took too long to parse. Multi-step flows confused non-native speakers.

We faced a choice: abandon Polaris entirely, or teach it to speak warehouse.

The Birth of a Dialect

We chose evolution over revolution. Working within Polaris’s core principles—clarity, efficiency, consistency—we developed what we now call a design dialect:

Constraint	Fluent Move	Rationale
Glare & low light	Dark surfaces + light text	Reduce glare on low-DPI screens
Gloves & haste	90px tap targets (~2cm)	Accommodate thick gloves
Multilingual	Single-task screens, plain language	Reduce cognitive load

Result: Task completion jumped from 0% to 100%. Onboarding time dropped from three weeks to one shift.

This wasn’t customization or theming—this was a dialect: a systematic adaptation that maintained Polaris’s core grammar while developing new vocabulary for a specific context. Polaris hadn’t failed; it had learned to speak warehouse.

The Flexibility Framework

At Atlassian, working on the Jira platform—itself a system within the larger Atlassian system—I pushed for formalizing this insight. With dozens of products sharing a design language across different codebases, we needed systematic flexibility so we built directly into our ways of working. The old model—exception requests and special approvals—was failing at scale.

We developed the Flexibility Framework to help designers define how flexible they wanted their components to be:

Tier	Action	Ownership
Consistent	Adopt unchanged	Platform locks design + code
Opinionated	Adapt within bounds	Platform provides smart defaults, products customize
Flexible	Extend freely	Platform defines behavior, products own presentation

During a navigation redesign, we tiered every element. Logo and global search stayed Consistent. Breadcrumbs and contextual actions became Flexible. Product teams could immediately see where innovation was welcome and where consistency mattered.

The Decision Ladder

Flexibility needs boundaries. We created a simple ladder for evaluating when rules should bend:

Good: Ship with existing system components. Fast, consistent, proven.

Better: Stretch a component slightly. Document the change. Contribute improvements back to the system for all to use.

Best: Prototype the ideal experience first. If user testing validates the benefit, update the system to support it.

The key question: “Which option lets users succeed fastest?”

Rules are tools, not relics.

Unity Beats Uniformity

Gmail, Drive, and Maps are unmistakably Google—yet each speaks with its own accent. They achieve unity through shared principles, not cloned components. One extra week of debate over button color costs roughly $30K in engineer time.

Unity is a brand outcome; fluency is a user outcome. When the two clash, side with the user.

Governance Without Gates

How do you maintain coherence while enabling dialects? Treat your system like a living vocabulary:

Document every deviation – e.g., dialects/warehouse.md with before/after screenshots and rationale.

Promote shared patterns – when three teams adopt a dialect independently, review it for core inclusion.

Deprecate with context – retire old idioms via flags and migration notes, never a big-bang purge.

A living dictionary scales better than a frozen rulebook.

Start Small: Your First Dialect

Ready to introduce dialects? Start with one broken experience:

This week: Find one user flow where perfect consistency blocks task completion. Could be mobile users struggling with desktop-sized components, or accessibility needs your standard patterns don’t address.

Document the context: What makes standard patterns fail here? Environmental constraints? User capabilities? Task urgency?

Design one systematic change: Focus on behavior over aesthetics. If gloves are the problem, bigger targets aren’t “”breaking the system””—they’re serving the user. Earn the variations and make them intentional.

Test and measure: Does the change improve task completion? Time to productivity? User satisfaction?

Show the savings: If that dialect frees even half a sprint, fluency has paid for itself.

Beyond the Component Library

We’re not managing design systems anymore—we’re cultivating design languages. Languages that grow with their speakers. Languages that develop accents without losing meaning. Languages that serve human needs over aesthetic ideals.

The warehouse workers who went from 0% to 100% task completion didn’t care that our buttons broke the style guide. They cared that the buttons finally worked.

Your users feel the same way. Give your system permission to speak their language.

Picture this: You’re in a meeting room at your tech company, and two people are having what looks like the same conversation about the same design problem. One is talking about whether the team has the right skills to tackle it. The other is diving deep into whether the solution actually solves the user’s problem. Same room, same problem, completely different lenses.

This is the beautiful, sometimes messy reality of having both a Design Manager and a Lead Designer on the same team. And if you’re wondering how to make this work without creating confusion, overlap, or the dreaded “too many cooks” scenario, you’re asking the right question.

The traditional answer has been to draw clean lines on an org chart. The Design Manager handles people, the Lead Designer handles craft. Problem solved, right? Except clean org charts are fantasy. In reality, both roles care deeply about team health, design quality, and shipping great work. 

The magic happens when you embrace the overlap instead of fighting it—when you start thinking of your design org as a design organism.

The Anatomy of a Healthy Design Team

Here’s what I’ve learned from years of being on both sides of this equation: think of your design team as a living organism. The Design Manager tends to the mind (the psychological safety, the career growth, the team dynamics). The Lead Designer tends to the body (the craft skills, the design standards, the hands-on work that ships to users).

But just like mind and body aren’t completely separate systems, so, too, do these roles overlap in important ways. You can’t have a healthy person without both working in harmony. The trick is knowing where those overlaps are and how to navigate them gracefully.

When we look at how healthy teams actually function, three critical systems emerge. Each requires both roles to work together, but with one taking primary responsibility for keeping that system strong.

The Nervous System: People & Psychology

Primary caretaker: Design Manager
Supporting role: Lead Designer

The nervous system is all about signals, feedback, and psychological safety. When this system is healthy, information flows freely, people feel safe to take risks, and the team can adapt quickly to new challenges.

The Design Manager is the primary caretaker here. They’re monitoring the team’s psychological pulse, ensuring feedback loops are healthy, and creating the conditions for people to grow. They’re hosting career conversations, managing workload, and making sure no one burns out.

But the Lead Designer plays a crucial supporting role. They’re providing sensory input about craft development needs, spotting when someone’s design skills are stagnating, and helping identify growth opportunities that the Design Manager might miss.

Design Manager tends to:

• Career conversations and growth planning
• Team psychological safety and dynamics
• Workload management and resource allocation
• Performance reviews and feedback systems
• Creating learning opportunities

Lead Designer supports by:

• Providing craft-specific feedback on team member development
• Identifying design skill gaps and growth opportunities
• Offering design mentorship and guidance
• Signaling when team members are ready for more complex challenges

The Muscular System: Craft & Execution

Primary caretaker: Lead Designer
Supporting role: Design Manager

The muscular system is about strength, coordination, and skill development. When this system is healthy, the team can execute complex design work with precision, maintain consistent quality, and adapt their craft to new challenges.

The Lead Designer is the primary caretaker here. They’re setting design standards, providing craft coaching, and ensuring that shipping work meets the quality bar. They’re the ones who can tell you if a design decision is sound or if we’re solving the right problem.

But the Design Manager plays a crucial supporting role. They’re ensuring the team has the resources and support to do their best craft work, like proper nutrition and recovery time for an athlete.

Lead Designer tends to:

• Definition of design standards and system usage
• Feedback on what design work meets the standard
• Experience direction for the product
• Design decisions and product-wide alignment
• Innovation and craft advancement

Design Manager supports by:

• Ensuring design standards are understood and adopted across the team
• Confirming experience direction is being followed
• Supporting practices and systems that scale without bottlenecking
• Facilitating design alignment across teams
• Providing resources and removing obstacles to great craft work

The Circulatory System: Strategy & Flow

Shared caretakers: Both Design Manager and Lead Designer

The circulatory system is about how information, decisions, and energy flow through the team. When this system is healthy, strategic direction is clear, priorities are aligned, and the team can respond quickly to new opportunities or challenges.

This is where true partnership happens. Both roles are responsible for keeping the circulation strong, but they’re bringing different perspectives to the table.

Lead Designer contributes:

• User needs are met by the product
• Overall product quality and experience
• Strategic design initiatives
• Research-based user needs for each initiative

Design Manager contributes:

• Communication to team and stakeholders
• Stakeholder management and alignment
• Cross-functional team accountability
• Strategic business initiatives

Both collaborate on:

• Co-creation of strategy with leadership
• Team goals and prioritization approach
• Organizational structure decisions
• Success measures and frameworks

Keeping the Organism Healthy

The key to making this partnership sing is understanding that all three systems need to work together. A team with great craft skills but poor psychological safety will burn out. A team with great culture but weak craft execution will ship mediocre work. A team with both but poor strategic circulation will work hard on the wrong things.

Be Explicit About Which System You’re Tending

When you’re in a meeting about a design problem, it helps to acknowledge which system you’re primarily focused on. “I’m thinking about this from a team capacity perspective” (nervous system) or “I’m looking at this through the lens of user needs” (muscular system) gives everyone context for your input.

This isn’t about staying in your lane. It’s about being transparent as to which lens you’re using, so the other person knows how to best add their perspective.

Create Healthy Feedback Loops

The most successful partnerships I’ve seen establish clear feedback loops between the systems:

Nervous system signals to muscular system: “The team is struggling with confidence in their design skills” → Lead Designer provides more craft coaching and clearer standards.

Muscular system signals to nervous system: “The team’s craft skills are advancing faster than their project complexity” → Design Manager finds more challenging growth opportunities.

Both systems signal to circulatory system: “We’re seeing patterns in team health and craft development that suggest we need to adjust our strategic priorities.”

Handle Handoffs Gracefully

The most critical moments in this partnership are when something moves from one system to another. This might be when a design standard (muscular system) needs to be rolled out across the team (nervous system), or when a strategic initiative (circulatory system) needs specific craft execution (muscular system).

Make these transitions explicit. “I’ve defined the new component standards. Can you help me think through how to get the team up to speed?” or “We’ve agreed on this strategic direction. I’m going to focus on the specific user experience approach from here.”

Stay Curious, Not Territorial

The Design Manager who never thinks about craft, or the Lead Designer who never considers team dynamics, is like a doctor who only looks at one body system. Great design leadership requires both people to care about the whole organism, even when they’re not the primary caretaker.

This means asking questions rather than making assumptions. “What do you think about the team’s craft development in this area?” or “How do you see this impacting team morale and workload?” keeps both perspectives active in every decision.

When the Organism Gets Sick

Even with clear roles, this partnership can go sideways. Here are the most common failure modes I’ve seen:

System Isolation

The Design Manager focuses only on the nervous system and ignores craft development. The Lead Designer focuses only on the muscular system and ignores team dynamics. Both people retreat to their comfort zones and stop collaborating.

The symptoms: Team members get mixed messages, work quality suffers, morale drops.

The treatment: Reconnect around shared outcomes. What are you both trying to achieve? Usually it’s great design work that ships on time from a healthy team. Figure out how both systems serve that goal.

Poor Circulation

Strategic direction is unclear, priorities keep shifting, and neither role is taking responsibility for keeping information flowing.

The symptoms: Team members are confused about priorities, work gets duplicated or dropped, deadlines are missed.

The treatment: Explicitly assign responsibility for circulation. Who’s communicating what to whom? How often? What’s the feedback loop?

Autoimmune Response

One person feels threatened by the other’s expertise. The Design Manager thinks the Lead Designer is undermining their authority. The Lead Designer thinks the Design Manager doesn’t understand craft.

The symptoms: Defensive behavior, territorial disputes, team members caught in the middle.

The treatment: Remember that you’re both caretakers of the same organism. When one system fails, the whole team suffers. When both systems are healthy, the team thrives.

The Payoff

Yes, this model requires more communication. Yes, it requires both people to be secure enough to share responsibility for team health. But the payoff is worth it: better decisions, stronger teams, and design work that’s both excellent and sustainable.

When both roles are healthy and working well together, you get the best of both worlds: deep craft expertise and strong people leadership. When one person is out sick, on vacation, or overwhelmed, the other can help maintain the team’s health. When a decision requires both the people perspective and the craft perspective, you’ve got both right there in the room.

Most importantly, the framework scales. As your team grows, you can apply the same system thinking to new challenges. Need to launch a design system? Lead Designer tends to the muscular system (standards and implementation), Design Manager tends to the nervous system (team adoption and change management), and both tend to circulation (communication and stakeholder alignment).

The Bottom Line

The relationship between a Design Manager and Lead Designer isn’t about dividing territories. It’s about multiplying impact. When both roles understand they’re tending to different aspects of the same healthy organism, magic happens.

The mind and body work together. The team gets both the strategic thinking and the craft excellence they need. And most importantly, the work that ships to users benefits from both perspectives.

So the next time you’re in that meeting room, wondering why two people are talking about the same problem from different angles, remember: you’re watching shared leadership in action. And if it’s working well, both the mind and body of your design team are getting stronger.

As a product builder over too many years to mention, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen promising ideas go from zero to hero in a few weeks, only to fizzle out within months.

Financial products, which is the field I work in, are no exception. With people’s real hard-earned money on the line, user expectations running high, and a crowded market, it’s tempting to throw as many features at the wall as possible and hope something sticks. But this approach is a recipe for disaster. Here’s why:

The pitfalls of feature-first development

When you start building a financial product from the ground up, or are migrating existing customer journeys from paper or telephony channels onto online banking or mobile apps, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of creating new features. You might think, “If I can just add one more thing that solves this particular user problem, they’ll love me!” But what happens when you inevitably hit a roadblock because the narcs (your security team!) don’t like it? When a hard-fought feature isn’t as popular as you thought, or it breaks due to unforeseen complexity?

This is where the concept of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) comes in. Jason Fried’s book Getting Real and his podcast Rework often touch on this idea, even if he doesn’t always call it that. An MVP is a product that provides just enough value to your users to keep them engaged, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming or difficult to maintain. It sounds like an easy concept but it requires a razor sharp eye, a ruthless edge and having the courage to stick by your opinion because it is easy to be seduced by “the Columbo Effect”… when there’s always “just one more thing…” that someone wants to add.

The problem with most finance apps, however, is that they often become a reflection of the internal politics of the business rather than an experience solely designed around the customer. This means that the focus is on delivering as many features and functionalities as possible to satisfy the needs and desires of competing internal departments, rather than providing a clear value proposition that is focused on what the people out there in the real world want. As a result, these products can very easily bloat to become a mixed bag of confusing, unrelated and ultimately unlovable customer experiences—a feature salad, you might say.

The importance of bedrock

So what’s a better approach? How can we build products that are stable, user-friendly, and—most importantly—stick?

That’s where the concept of “bedrock” comes in. Bedrock is the core element of your product that truly matters to users. It’s the fundamental building block that provides value and stays relevant over time.

In the world of retail banking, which is where I work, the bedrock has got to be in and around the regular servicing journeys. People open their current account once in a blue moon but they look at it every day. They sign up for a credit card every year or two, but they check their balance and pay their bill at least once a month.

Identifying the core tasks that people want to do and then relentlessly striving to make them easy to do, dependable, and trustworthy is where the gravy’s at.

But how do you get to bedrock? By focusing on the “MVP” approach, prioritizing simplicity, and iterating towards a clear value proposition. This means cutting out unnecessary features and focusing on delivering real value to your users.

It also means having some guts, because your colleagues might not always instantly share your vision to start with. And controversially, sometimes it can even mean making it clear to customers that you’re not going to come to their house and make their dinner. The occasional “opinionated user interface design” (i.e. clunky workaround for edge cases) might sometimes be what you need to use to test a concept or buy you space to work on something more important.

Practical strategies for building financial products that stick

So what are the key strategies I’ve learned from my own experience and research?

1. Start with a clear “why”: What problem are you trying to solve? For whom? Make sure your mission is crystal clear before building anything. Make sure it aligns with your company’s objectives, too.
2. Focus on a single, core feature and obsess on getting that right before moving on to something else: Resist the temptation to add too many features at once. Instead, choose one that delivers real value and iterate from there.
3. Prioritize simplicity over complexity: Less is often more when it comes to financial products. Cut out unnecessary bells and whistles and keep the focus on what matters most.
4. Embrace continuous iteration: Bedrock isn’t a fixed destination—it’s a dynamic process. Continuously gather user feedback, refine your product, and iterate towards that bedrock state.
5. Stop, look and listen: Don’t just test your product as part of your delivery process—test it repeatedly in the field. Use it yourself. Run A/B tests. Gather user feedback. Talk to people who use it, and refine accordingly.

The bedrock paradox

There’s an interesting paradox at play here: building towards bedrock means sacrificing some short-term growth potential in favour of long-term stability. But the payoff is worth it—products built with a focus on bedrock will outlast and outperform their competitors, and deliver sustained value to users over time.

So, how do you start your journey towards bedrock? Take it one step at a time. Start by identifying those core elements that truly matter to your users. Focus on building and refining a single, powerful feature that delivers real value. And above all, test obsessively—for, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, Alan Kay, or Peter Drucker (whomever you believe!!), “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

Curious Leaders Build Stronger, Smarter Teams written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Catch the full episode:   Episode Overview In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, John Jantsch interviews Dr. Debra Clary, a leadership strategist, narrative scientist, and author of The Curiosity Curve: A Leader’s Guide to Growth and Transformation Through Bold Questions. With more than 30 years of experience across Fortune 50 companies, Debra […]

Curious Leaders Build Stronger, Smarter Teams written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Catch the full episode:
 

Episode Overview

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, John Jantsch interviews Dr. Debra Clary, a leadership strategist, narrative scientist, and author of The Curiosity Curve: A Leader’s Guide to Growth and Transformation Through Bold Questions. With more than 30 years of experience across Fortune 50 companies, Debra shares her insights into how cultivating curiosity can drive performance, culture, and innovation at every level of leadership.

About Dr. Debra Clary

Dr. Debra Clary is a narrative scientist, executive coach, and leadership strategist with decades of experience at top organizations including Coca-Cola, Jack Daniels, and Humana. She holds a doctorate in Leadership and Organization Development and is the author of The Curiosity Curve. She is the founder of the Curiosity Curve Assessment and a leading voice on curiosity-driven leadership. Visit her at DebraClary.com.

Key Takeaways

• Curiosity in leadership is measurable and can be developed over time.
• The most effective leaders ask bold, open-ended questions instead of providing answers.
• Curiosity drives engagement and productivity—especially among millennials.
• Leadership that promotes curiosity helps organizations adapt, innovate, and thrive.
• Culture change starts at the top—curious leaders model the behavior they want to see.

Great Moments & Timestamps

• 00:00 – Intro and Dr. Clary’s corporate leadership background
• 01:14 – How stand-up comedy shaped her speaking and leadership
• 03:01 – Why adults ask fewer questions than toddlers
• 04:06 – MIT research linking curiosity to team performance
• 07:05 – Restructuring meetings to foster curiosity
• 12:34 – Millennials’ disengagement and how curiosity solves it
• 14:21 – One question that changed a major executive decision
• 16:53 – What sparked her deep research into curiosity
• 19:11 – Practical curiosity-building habits for leaders

Notable Quotes

“Leadership is about playing the long game, not the short game.” – Dr. Debra Clary

“Curiosity is not just a mindset—it’s a muscle that can be measured, taught, and strengthened.” – Dr. Debra Clary

Resources & Links

• DebraClary.com
• The Curiosity Curve on Amazon

Hollywood is built on “what ifs.” For every role that became iconic, there’s another version of that movie that almost existed, with a very different face at the center of it. Casting decisions come down to timing, contracts, gut instincts, and occasionally pure bad luck. Sometimes an actor turns a role down. Other times, they […]

The post 20 Actors Who Almost Landed Iconic Roles appeared first on Den of Geek.

The trailer for I Love Boosters begins with Keke Palmer as a would-be store clerk who gives a very unique, but very honest, answer during her job interview. When asked about the challenges she would face in that position, her character admits, “I feel like I should have it all. I just want to take it all home, eat it up, and shoot it out of my eyes. It’s just feel, like, give it to me. It’s mine anyway.”

Even if Palmer’s declaration wasn’t accompanied by bold pastel images, shots of women breaking into a store, and a hip-hop infused soundtrack, the words alone would be enough to identify I Love Boosters as a Boots Riley project. The mix of Leftist politics, absurd imagery, and genuine sincerity have been the director’s calling card since his debut movie Sorry to Bother You.

In I Love Boosters, Palmer plays Corvette, leader of a shoplifting group calling themselves the Velvet Gang. Along with fellow members played by Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Poppy Liu, the Velvet Gang fights to liberate the fashion industry, advocating for what Paige’s character calls “Triple F: Fashion Forward Filanthropy.” The Velvet Gang’s revolutionary activities run afoul of fashion mogul Christie Smith, played by Demi Moore. Somehow getting even more unhinged than her character in The Substance, Moore spits lines such as, “They take my shit, and sell it to their low-class, urban bitches!”

Along the way, Smith and the Velvet Gang run into more outlandish characters played by LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, and Will Poulter, all with distinctive hairdos.

The incredible cast gathered is a sign of Riley’s status in the film industry. Before releasing Sorry to Bother You in 2018, Riley was most well-known for his music, fronting the rap-punk group The Coup. In The Coup, Riley mixed together pop genres to take on everything from fighting the police (“Pork and Beef”) to the excesses of upper class youths (“Your Parents’ Cocaine”). No matter how strident his messaging became, Riley kept the music ecstatic and fun.

He brought that same aesthetic to the anti-capitalist satire Sorry to Bother You and to the weirdo superhero series I’m a Virgo. With its bright colors and over-the-top performances, I Love Boosters promises to do the same. The Velvet Gang’s approach of clothing theft as community service feels like a direct rejoinder to the hierarchy that Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) describes during her “cerulean” monologue in The Devil Wears Prada.

As played by Palmer, Corvette isn’t going to be just the result of millions of dollars and countless jobs. She’s going to take the fashion industry for herself. It’s hers anyway.

I Love Boosters comes to theaters on May 22, 2026.

The post Boots Riley Skewers the Fashion Industry in First I Love Boosters Trailer appeared first on Den of Geek.

Some album covers are instantly iconic but not always for the reasons the artist intended. From surreal imagery to completely inexplicable design choices, these covers make you pause, wonder, and sometimes just shake your head. They’ve been analyzed, parodied, and celebrated for decades, yet the “what were they thinking?” factor never goes away. In this […]

The post 8 Iconic Album Covers That Still Don’t Make Any Sense appeared first on Den of Geek.

The trailer for I Love Boosters begins with Keke Palmer as a would-be store clerk who gives a very unique, but very honest, answer during her job interview. When asked about the challenges she would face in that position, her character admits, “I feel like I should have it all. I just want to take it all home, eat it up, and shoot it out of my eyes. It’s just feel, like, give it to me. It’s mine anyway.”

Even if Palmer’s declaration wasn’t accompanied by bold pastel images, shots of women breaking into a store, and a hip-hop infused soundtrack, the words alone would be enough to identify I Love Boosters as a Boots Riley project. The mix of Leftist politics, absurd imagery, and genuine sincerity have been the director’s calling card since his debut movie Sorry to Bother You.

In I Love Boosters, Palmer plays Corvette, leader of a shoplifting group calling themselves the Velvet Gang. Along with fellow members played by Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Poppy Liu, the Velvet Gang fights to liberate the fashion industry, advocating for what Paige’s character calls “Triple F: Fashion Forward Filanthropy.” The Velvet Gang’s revolutionary activities run afoul of fashion mogul Christie Smith, played by Demi Moore. Somehow getting even more unhinged than her character in The Substance, Moore spits lines such as, “They take my shit, and sell it to their low-class, urban bitches!”

Along the way, Smith and the Velvet Gang run into more outlandish characters played by LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, and Will Poulter, all with distinctive hairdos.

The incredible cast gathered is a sign of Riley’s status in the film industry. Before releasing Sorry to Bother You in 2018, Riley was most well-known for his music, fronting the rap-punk group The Coup. In The Coup, Riley mixed together pop genres to take on everything from fighting the police (“Pork and Beef”) to the excesses of upper class youths (“Your Parents’ Cocaine”). No matter how strident his messaging became, Riley kept the music ecstatic and fun.

He brought that same aesthetic to the anti-capitalist satire Sorry to Bother You and to the weirdo superhero series I’m a Virgo. With its bright colors and over-the-top performances, I Love Boosters promises to do the same. The Velvet Gang’s approach of clothing theft as community service feels like a direct rejoinder to the hierarchy that Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) describes during her “cerulean” monologue in The Devil Wears Prada.

As played by Palmer, Corvette isn’t going to be just the result of millions of dollars and countless jobs. She’s going to take the fashion industry for herself. It’s hers anyway.

I Love Boosters comes to theaters on May 22, 2026.

The post Boots Riley Skewers the Fashion Industry in First I Love Boosters Trailer appeared first on Den of Geek.

Is the book always better than the movie? The eternal question readers must answer rages on in 2026, with a ridiculous number of films and TV shows based on popular novels and short stories headed to screens both large and small. Some heavy hitters have already arrived, with HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms […]

The post 15 Must-See Book Adaptations Headed to Screens in 2026 appeared first on Den of Geek.

The trailer for I Love Boosters begins with Keke Palmer as a would-be store clerk who gives a very unique, but very honest, answer during her job interview. When asked about the challenges she would face in that position, her character admits, “I feel like I should have it all. I just want to take it all home, eat it up, and shoot it out of my eyes. It’s just feel, like, give it to me. It’s mine anyway.”

Even if Palmer’s declaration wasn’t accompanied by bold pastel images, shots of women breaking into a store, and a hip-hop infused soundtrack, the words alone would be enough to identify I Love Boosters as a Boots Riley project. The mix of Leftist politics, absurd imagery, and genuine sincerity have been the director’s calling card since his debut movie Sorry to Bother You.

In I Love Boosters, Palmer plays Corvette, leader of a shoplifting group calling themselves the Velvet Gang. Along with fellow members played by Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Poppy Liu, the Velvet Gang fights to liberate the fashion industry, advocating for what Paige’s character calls “Triple F: Fashion Forward Filanthropy.” The Velvet Gang’s revolutionary activities run afoul of fashion mogul Christie Smith, played by Demi Moore. Somehow getting even more unhinged than her character in The Substance, Moore spits lines such as, “They take my shit, and sell it to their low-class, urban bitches!”

Along the way, Smith and the Velvet Gang run into more outlandish characters played by LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, and Will Poulter, all with distinctive hairdos.

The incredible cast gathered is a sign of Riley’s status in the film industry. Before releasing Sorry to Bother You in 2018, Riley was most well-known for his music, fronting the rap-punk group The Coup. In The Coup, Riley mixed together pop genres to take on everything from fighting the police (“Pork and Beef”) to the excesses of upper class youths (“Your Parents’ Cocaine”). No matter how strident his messaging became, Riley kept the music ecstatic and fun.

He brought that same aesthetic to the anti-capitalist satire Sorry to Bother You and to the weirdo superhero series I’m a Virgo. With its bright colors and over-the-top performances, I Love Boosters promises to do the same. The Velvet Gang’s approach of clothing theft as community service feels like a direct rejoinder to the hierarchy that Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) describes during her “cerulean” monologue in The Devil Wears Prada.

As played by Palmer, Corvette isn’t going to be just the result of millions of dollars and countless jobs. She’s going to take the fashion industry for herself. It’s hers anyway.

I Love Boosters comes to theaters on May 22, 2026.

The post Boots Riley Skewers the Fashion Industry in First I Love Boosters Trailer appeared first on Den of Geek.

Gus Van Sant has always been drawn to stories seeped in truth and reality, even when he’s making fiction. One of the defining voices of independent cinema over the last 40 years, beginning with breakout work in movies like Drugstore Cowboy and My Favorite Idaho, the filmmaker has essayed everyone from gay rights activist Harvey […]

The post Gus Van Sant Sees Unlikely Precedent for Cinema’s Future in a Post-Streaming World appeared first on Den of Geek.

The trailer for I Love Boosters begins with Keke Palmer as a would-be store clerk who gives a very unique, but very honest, answer during her job interview. When asked about the challenges she would face in that position, her character admits, “I feel like I should have it all. I just want to take it all home, eat it up, and shoot it out of my eyes. It’s just feel, like, give it to me. It’s mine anyway.”

Even if Palmer’s declaration wasn’t accompanied by bold pastel images, shots of women breaking into a store, and a hip-hop infused soundtrack, the words alone would be enough to identify I Love Boosters as a Boots Riley project. The mix of Leftist politics, absurd imagery, and genuine sincerity have been the director’s calling card since his debut movie Sorry to Bother You.

In I Love Boosters, Palmer plays Corvette, leader of a shoplifting group calling themselves the Velvet Gang. Along with fellow members played by Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Poppy Liu, the Velvet Gang fights to liberate the fashion industry, advocating for what Paige’s character calls “Triple F: Fashion Forward Filanthropy.” The Velvet Gang’s revolutionary activities run afoul of fashion mogul Christie Smith, played by Demi Moore. Somehow getting even more unhinged than her character in The Substance, Moore spits lines such as, “They take my shit, and sell it to their low-class, urban bitches!”

Along the way, Smith and the Velvet Gang run into more outlandish characters played by LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, and Will Poulter, all with distinctive hairdos.

The incredible cast gathered is a sign of Riley’s status in the film industry. Before releasing Sorry to Bother You in 2018, Riley was most well-known for his music, fronting the rap-punk group The Coup. In The Coup, Riley mixed together pop genres to take on everything from fighting the police (“Pork and Beef”) to the excesses of upper class youths (“Your Parents’ Cocaine”). No matter how strident his messaging became, Riley kept the music ecstatic and fun.

He brought that same aesthetic to the anti-capitalist satire Sorry to Bother You and to the weirdo superhero series I’m a Virgo. With its bright colors and over-the-top performances, I Love Boosters promises to do the same. The Velvet Gang’s approach of clothing theft as community service feels like a direct rejoinder to the hierarchy that Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) describes during her “cerulean” monologue in The Devil Wears Prada.

As played by Palmer, Corvette isn’t going to be just the result of millions of dollars and countless jobs. She’s going to take the fashion industry for herself. It’s hers anyway.

I Love Boosters comes to theaters on May 22, 2026.

The post Boots Riley Skewers the Fashion Industry in First I Love Boosters Trailer appeared first on Den of Geek.

1985 was a year that defined a generation of music. From synthesizer-driven pop to rock anthems and unforgettable ballads, the charts were full of songs that are still recognized today. These tracks weren’t just hits, they shaped the sound of the mid-’80s and left a lasting mark on music history. Using chart data and cultural […]

The post The 13 Most Popular Songs in 1985 appeared first on Den of Geek.

The trailer for I Love Boosters begins with Keke Palmer as a would-be store clerk who gives a very unique, but very honest, answer during her job interview. When asked about the challenges she would face in that position, her character admits, “I feel like I should have it all. I just want to take it all home, eat it up, and shoot it out of my eyes. It’s just feel, like, give it to me. It’s mine anyway.”

Even if Palmer’s declaration wasn’t accompanied by bold pastel images, shots of women breaking into a store, and a hip-hop infused soundtrack, the words alone would be enough to identify I Love Boosters as a Boots Riley project. The mix of Leftist politics, absurd imagery, and genuine sincerity have been the director’s calling card since his debut movie Sorry to Bother You.

In I Love Boosters, Palmer plays Corvette, leader of a shoplifting group calling themselves the Velvet Gang. Along with fellow members played by Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Poppy Liu, the Velvet Gang fights to liberate the fashion industry, advocating for what Paige’s character calls “Triple F: Fashion Forward Filanthropy.” The Velvet Gang’s revolutionary activities run afoul of fashion mogul Christie Smith, played by Demi Moore. Somehow getting even more unhinged than her character in The Substance, Moore spits lines such as, “They take my shit, and sell it to their low-class, urban bitches!”

Along the way, Smith and the Velvet Gang run into more outlandish characters played by LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, and Will Poulter, all with distinctive hairdos.

The incredible cast gathered is a sign of Riley’s status in the film industry. Before releasing Sorry to Bother You in 2018, Riley was most well-known for his music, fronting the rap-punk group The Coup. In The Coup, Riley mixed together pop genres to take on everything from fighting the police (“Pork and Beef”) to the excesses of upper class youths (“Your Parents’ Cocaine”). No matter how strident his messaging became, Riley kept the music ecstatic and fun.

He brought that same aesthetic to the anti-capitalist satire Sorry to Bother You and to the weirdo superhero series I’m a Virgo. With its bright colors and over-the-top performances, I Love Boosters promises to do the same. The Velvet Gang’s approach of clothing theft as community service feels like a direct rejoinder to the hierarchy that Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) describes during her “cerulean” monologue in The Devil Wears Prada.

As played by Palmer, Corvette isn’t going to be just the result of millions of dollars and countless jobs. She’s going to take the fashion industry for herself. It’s hers anyway.

I Love Boosters comes to theaters on May 22, 2026.

The post Boots Riley Skewers the Fashion Industry in First I Love Boosters Trailer appeared first on Den of Geek.

In 2022’s Daredevil #5 by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto, Daredevil goes toe-to-toe with his sometimes-ally John Walker aka U.S. Agent. Walker is leading a new variation of the Thunderbolts, who have been turned by NYC mayor Wilson Fisk into a strike squad against costumed vigilantes like Daredevil. When Daredevil refuses to surrender, U.S. Agent […]

The post Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Trailer Shows a City Gone to Hell appeared first on Den of Geek.

The trailer for I Love Boosters begins with Keke Palmer as a would-be store clerk who gives a very unique, but very honest, answer during her job interview. When asked about the challenges she would face in that position, her character admits, “I feel like I should have it all. I just want to take it all home, eat it up, and shoot it out of my eyes. It’s just feel, like, give it to me. It’s mine anyway.”

Even if Palmer’s declaration wasn’t accompanied by bold pastel images, shots of women breaking into a store, and a hip-hop infused soundtrack, the words alone would be enough to identify I Love Boosters as a Boots Riley project. The mix of Leftist politics, absurd imagery, and genuine sincerity have been the director’s calling card since his debut movie Sorry to Bother You.

In I Love Boosters, Palmer plays Corvette, leader of a shoplifting group calling themselves the Velvet Gang. Along with fellow members played by Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Poppy Liu, the Velvet Gang fights to liberate the fashion industry, advocating for what Paige’s character calls “Triple F: Fashion Forward Filanthropy.” The Velvet Gang’s revolutionary activities run afoul of fashion mogul Christie Smith, played by Demi Moore. Somehow getting even more unhinged than her character in The Substance, Moore spits lines such as, “They take my shit, and sell it to their low-class, urban bitches!”

Along the way, Smith and the Velvet Gang run into more outlandish characters played by LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, and Will Poulter, all with distinctive hairdos.

The incredible cast gathered is a sign of Riley’s status in the film industry. Before releasing Sorry to Bother You in 2018, Riley was most well-known for his music, fronting the rap-punk group The Coup. In The Coup, Riley mixed together pop genres to take on everything from fighting the police (“Pork and Beef”) to the excesses of upper class youths (“Your Parents’ Cocaine”). No matter how strident his messaging became, Riley kept the music ecstatic and fun.

He brought that same aesthetic to the anti-capitalist satire Sorry to Bother You and to the weirdo superhero series I’m a Virgo. With its bright colors and over-the-top performances, I Love Boosters promises to do the same. The Velvet Gang’s approach of clothing theft as community service feels like a direct rejoinder to the hierarchy that Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) describes during her “cerulean” monologue in The Devil Wears Prada.

As played by Palmer, Corvette isn’t going to be just the result of millions of dollars and countless jobs. She’s going to take the fashion industry for herself. It’s hers anyway.

I Love Boosters comes to theaters on May 22, 2026.

The post Boots Riley Skewers the Fashion Industry in First I Love Boosters Trailer appeared first on Den of Geek.