gateclosers & gateopeners

The critical distinction is that today's gatekeepers derive authority not from institutional power but from demonstrated discernment. Cultural capital now flows to those who can navigate overwhelming abundance with skill and intention.

As content multiplies, the challenge isn’t access; it’s orientation. We don’t need more input; we need better filters. That’s where the curator comes in: not just as a tastemaker, but as a trusted lens in a world of endless noise.

While the hipster hides and protects their discoveries, the creative director shills them: as a consultant, as a meme trader, as a curator etc.

Keith never makes a fuss about caring either. Instead, he subtly creates a sense that, if you're there, you belong there, not because you've elbowed through some arduous gatekeeping process, but because your comfort is being seen to, and all you have to do is enjoy it. That feeling, Keith understands, never goes out of fashion. The most stylish amo... See more

The critical distinction is that today's gatekeepers derive authority not from institutional power but from demonstrated discernment. Cultural capital now flows to those who can navigate overwhelming abundance with skill and intention.

Brent’s defense of gatekeeping is a defence of something larger: your toil. “The labour that goes into organising and maintaining a reference library is not to be discounted... it is work that you – as a designer – have done and you shouldn’t be giving that away.”