My friend listens to a very niche type of music, I call it “Post-Pop”. Post-pop bands are a re-undergrounding of what once was. The sunken Atlantis. One-hit-wonders like Chumbawamba, Bare Naked Ladies, or Live had one famous album and then lost traction. My friend listens to their albums that was released after their famous one. The album released in their post-fame phase.

In the design world, one-hit-wonders are all the rage. You know who they are. Everyone is enamoured with the new, and we hear about one designer’s project in blogs and then never hear about them again. But don’t just wait to passively hear about them, keep your eye on them, pay attention to their Post-Pop status. With marketing and media-access by individuals, there’s no such thing as a has-been any more, only an always-willbe. The good designers keep evolving and changing, and will continue to produce, after that one-hit that got them noteriety. Don’t let the marketing and publicity world determine your media consumption.

In the music world, too often I hear “I like their old stuff better.” If musicians sounded like the same as the album before, they’re not evolving and growing. Stagnation will define you as a one-hit-wonder, so evolve and grow so you can be a first-hit-wonder. Focus hard on how to get to your Post-Pop days and not just your pop-pop days.