Why Nothing Can Replace This Designer
For the first time in history, we’re losing one of our biggest edges over other creatures: the power to create meaningful art. Generative AI, you’re killing us!
But let’s be clear: with every threat comes a chance to rise up.
In this newsletter I’m exploring new ways we can thrive in the future. Today, I’m highlighting a designer and publisher who represents the kind of creativity that remains irreplaceable—not by Amazon, not by mass production, and not even by AI.
Darren Wall is a designer and book publisher who is doing things differently. He’s raised over £1 million for books that no traditional publisher would ever touch!
Let’s look at how he’s changing the game:
Darren Wall is a hybrid designer and editor in the publishing world, recognized for his innovative approach to high-quality books on video game history and visual culture. As the founder of Read-Only Memory, a publishing imprint specializing in video game history books, and co-founder of Volume, a curated publishing platform, Wall has reshaped niche publishing. His focus is on creating beautifully designed, deeply researched books that resonate with passionate fan communities.
There Is No Fine Art
For Wall, passion drives everything. He targets cool, niche topics that hardcore fans love, like video game history and pop culture. Through Read-Only Memory, he’s released over 20 books on subjects like Street Fighter II and classic arcade games. This isn’t just a marketing strategy—it’s personal; he’s been a die-hard Mega Drive fan since the age of 10. By centering his work on video games and their culture, Wall is elevating these topics to “book-worthy” status. For him and his community, games deserve serious, beautifully crafted books, just like any other form of art.
Project-Based Approach
Wall treats each book as a unique project with its own requirements, audience, and production needs. This approach allows for tailored strategies for funding, design, and marketing for each title.
Wall ensures every one of his projects is super high-quality. Besides beautiful design, he does deep research for each book. For example, for the book Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works, he worked closely with SEGA Corporation on every aspect. SEGA gave him access to their archives, where Darren uncovered hidden treasures he used in the book. He also interviewed many SEGA game developers, designers, and musicians who had never been asked for their ideas and stories before. Darren’s method shows that you don’t need to go big to succeed—you just need to go deep.
Crowdfunding and Limited Editions
Using platforms like Kickstarter and his own curated platform, Volume, Darren gets his audience involved early in the process. It’s not just about funding; it’s about building a community that’s just as invested in these niche topics as he is.
Darren gauges real demand before even printing a single page. It’s a win-win: he knows there’s a market, and backers feel like they’re part of something exclusive and high-quality.
Here is a screenshot from one of his crowdfunding pages:
Producer's Mindset
As a commissioning editor at Thames & Hudson, one of the trusted names in traditional publishing, he’s got his hands in everything—development, art direction, even financial modeling. This full-circle approach gave him the skills to launch his own publications later.
This isn’t just about wearing a bunch of hats. It’s about mastering every part of the game. Darren’s got the mindset of a creator AND a producer combined.
He proves that a new era has arrived—where mastering the full spectrum of skills and combining them with new tech tools and platforms means that one person (or a small team) can achieve what once required large resources (and this is the damn paragraph you need to read again and again).
Here Is What We Can Learn From Him:
Blend old with new: he mixes internet crowdfunding with traditional publishing. Uses internet buzz and brings it to books and magazines. He Builds online communities to shape and guide physical publications. Old and new, digital and analog.
Less is more, and more is less: Focus on limited-edition, high-quality work rather than mass production. Prioritize deep research and quality production while everyone else is focused on mass content creation.
Don’t give a shit about the status game or gatekeepers. Work on stuff that’s cool to you.
Learn how to handle every aspect of your job. Do the leg work. Be patient with tasks that don’t make sense now—from editorial to financial—do it all. You will become a full powerhouse one day.
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I’m Reza Bird, a filmmaker and creative producer decoding the chaos and possibilities of the massive shift happening now. The God of creativity blessed your sensitive asses. Now, stop overthinking and get back to work!
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If you want to know how AI can help you in your work but aren’t sure where to start, watch my web series. We recently won a Davey Award for it.