On Thursday I published a piece called “Graphic design is my passion: An ode to wonderfully crummy non-AI flyers.” In it, I decried the busy, ugly, and soulless AI flyers that every business seems to use these days, and celebrated the janky, lo-fi, and charmingly old-fashioned flyers that every business used to make themselves. You know, flyers like this:
The piece did super well (ditto the accompanying Instagram reel), and I’ve heard back from numerous folks who enjoyed it. One response was especially interesting: that of Justin Lockridge, general manager of iconic Milwaukee bowling alley Bob-E-Lanes Still (2932 S. 13th St.; 414-966-4577).
Photo: Bob-E-Lanes Still
Justin reached out and shared his own experiences with using AI to promote his business. As a self-professed “one-man show,” he initially embraced the speed and convenience of AI. Soon, however, he leaned away from it. I think it’s an honest and relatable story, and one that could potentially be illuminating to others.
With Justin’s permission, I’m reprinting his full email below. (You can read more of Justin’s thoughts on AI and “the rise of slop culture” HERE.)
I run Bob-E-Lanes Still. When you are basically a one-man show handling everything from fixing pinsetters and ordering beer to running leagues and doing the books, time is tough to come by. Hiring an artist for every tournament, drink special or Facebook post just isn’t in the cards financially.
So I leaned into AI. At first it felt like a lifesaver. I drew up a mascot for the lanes and used AI to drop him into different scenes so I wouldn’t have to redraw him by hand every week. It was fast, clean, and made our ads look like a big design firm handled them without burning up my week or my bank account.
Then I took a step back and remembered who I actually am.
I grew up with actual glue sticks, scrap paper, and CD-ROM discs packed with thousands of cheesy clip art files. I spent high school laying out yearbooks, student papers, and zines on Aldus PageMaker. Later on I bootlegged old versions of Photoshop or edited pixel by pixel in Paint. Somewhere along the way of trying to save an hour, I lost sight of why I liked making stuff in the first place.
I fell into the trap you wrote about, swapping out the scrappy personality of a local bowling alley for that plastic digital sheen. People don’t come to a neighborhood spot for polished corporate branding. They come for the quirks and the character.
I stopped using AI for our regular promo stuff. I attached our latest retro league flyer as proof of life. Sitting down, messing with weird fonts, and making something a little rough around the edges feels way more honest to the alley and the neighborhood.
I don’t think the tech itself is evil (except for the whole destroying the planet thing), but right now we are drowning in the modern version of 1998 WordArt. Most people are hitting generate, letting the computer make every creative choice and posting the muddy slop that comes out. Used sparingly as a utility tool, it has a purpose but people are being lazy with it.
Until folks figure out some restraint, keep sticking up for the badly cropped sandwiches and the clip art dinosaurs. Local bulletin boards are a lot better off with them.
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• Graphic design is my passion: An ode to wonderfully crummy non-AI flyers