A flat, vector illustration style of exaggerated cartoon figures with bendy limbs and bright solid colors, widely used by tech companies to appear friendly and approachable.
Key traits
- Flat
- Illustration-led
- Playful
Palette
- #4a90e2
- #f5a623
- #7ed321
Origins
Corporate Memphis emerged in 2017 when Facebook introduced a design system called Alegria, created by the agency Buck. The name references the Memphis Group, a 1980s Italian design collective known for playful shapes and bright colors. The style spread rapidly through the tech industry in the late 2010s and early 2020s, aided by stock illustration libraries and its scalability for digital interfaces.
Visual language
The style is built from flat vector shapes with no gradients or shading. Human figures are deliberately distorted: small heads, massive torsos, and long, elastic limbs without skeletal structure. Characters often have non-representational skin tones such as blue, purple, or green, and are shown high-fiving, watering plants, or running. Facial features are minimal or absent. Compositions are simple and scalable, often with isometric variants, and typography is typically clean sans-serif.
Palette and type
Palettes rely on a limited set of bright, solid colors, commonly red, blue, green, yellow, and pink, sometimes pastel. Skin tones are unnatural, including purple and blue. Type is usually a simple geometric sans-serif, kept secondary to the illustration and used for clear, functional labels.
What it signals
The style signals friendliness, inclusivity, and approachability, but is often criticized as soulless, lazy, or overly sanitized. It became associated with corporate homogenization and fake positivity, leading some companies to move toward 3D or glassmorphism alternatives.
Where it works
It works well for tech company websites, app onboarding, editorial illustrations, and startup branding where scalable, low-cost imagery is needed. However, overuse has led to backlash, and it can make brands feel generic or insincere.
Related styles
Sources
- Corporate Memphis, Wikipedia accessed 2026-10-22
- Corporate Memphis, Aesthetics Wiki accessed 2026-10-22