The designer behind the popular newsletter OMGLORD explains how it began, how it’s evolved and her hopes and fears for the future.
As one half of the independent brand strategy and design studio Superkeen with Lauren Wong, Gabby Lord has become a respected voice in the design community, sharing insights, resources and personal reflections through her long-running newsletter and resource website, OMGLORD.
This year, the Australian designer, now based in Brooklyn, is marking a significant milestone: the 10th anniversary of OMGLORD and is planning a major redesign.
If you haven’t checked OMGLORD out yet, we urge you to do so. In the founder’s words: “It’s a pretty broad range of topics but always through a common lens of design and creative thinking. All resources and links are shared purely because I think they are cool, interesting or helpful. No content on this website is sponsored unless explicitly stated.”
We caught up with Gabby to find out more about her creative journey to date, the changes she’s seen over the last decade, and what’s to come over the next one.
How it all began
The genesis of OMGLORD can be traced back to 2014, a year that Gabby describes as “huge”, both personally and professionally.
“I was a young and hungry designer with a couple of years of agency experience,” she recalls. “But overall, I was feeling pretty discontent. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what I was doing at the time, but I flipped the metaphorical table, and that was my life regardless. I quit my job and sold everything I owned – bar a single suitcase – for a one-way flight to Berlin.”
This bold move coincided with the launch of her newsletter, which was born out of a desire to share her experiences and lessons after she voluntarily turned her life upside down.
“I was at such an impressional moment of my early career,” she explains. “Everything was new. I was learning so much, living in a new country, and starting a new job. I needed an outlet that platforms at the time weren’t really offering.
“Instagram didn’t even have Stories back then, let alone links,” she remembers. “And the long-form options like Medium felt too corporate or serious for sharing design-related finds with my friends. Even though email is a common marketing tool, that’s exactly what I didn’t want it to feel like. I just wanted a space on the internet to share what kept me up at night, and email felt like the right format.”
Evolution of a design resource
Over the past decade, OMGLORD has evolved alongside Gabby’s career, reflecting changes in the design industry and technology. The newsletter has served as a consistent touchpoint for her audience, offering a mix of design resources, personal insights and industry observations.
“It’s taught me much about myself over the years, even though I cringe at so much of what I’ve written,” she reflects. “It helped me realise that consistently showing up without expectations often leads to more inspiration than relying on random bursts of motivation.
“But the main benefit has been the ability to connect with people all over the world in a way that feels authentic to me. Even before social media became what it is today, I craved an outlet void of vanity metrics where I was sharing things because I thought they were useful and nothing more.”
Navigating the pandemic
Like many content creators, Gabby faced challenges during COVID-19 and nearly abandoned the newsletter altogether. “It felt so insignificant and unimportant when the world was enduring such death and distress,” she admits.
“There is still so much suffering, and I struggle with that dichotomy,” she continues. “Between what I choose to share and the many contradictions I embody on a daily basis. I’m trying to embrace my messiness and accept I can’t compartmentalise as well any more.
At the same time, when Gabby shared more emotive content, it made a big impact on her audience. “It’s always memorable when a particular issue resonates with people,” she notes. “Those are usually the ones where I’m more vulnerable with what’s on my mind and am a lot more nervous to hit send on.
“I constantly need to remind myself that people choose to read it, and they can unsubscribe at any point,” she adds. “That I’m allowed to be a woman with opinions, and it feels really good to acknowledge a decade of doing this.”
A new chapter for OMGLORD
To commemorate the 10-year milestone, Gabby has invested in a complete overhaul of the OMGLORD website. Collaborating with Formwork for the custom build and Stephen Grace for motion design, the new site represents a significant upgrade.
“This is the first time I’ve invested in it on this level,” Gabby explains. But she sees this as a vital step in the world of 2024. “You’ll always have more control over your own platforms,” she points out. “It takes time, finances and resources to create them, but I’d encourage people to just start however they can and iterate as they go.”
We asked her for her take on the biggest changes since she started OMGLORD, and her answer was insightful. “The commodity of content, influence, and the many advances in technology are top of mind,” she responded. I also think that now, perhaps more than ever, we crave interactions that feel personal and human but don’t always know how to find, build, or nurture those connections.”
She’s certainly not as thrilled with using social media like Instagram as she was. “In the past, I think it was a great way to discover other designers and connect,” she recalls. “I met so many people in New York before I moved here through the app, just randomly reaching out to people who lived here to grab a coffee. That still exists, but there are just so many other negative aspects to distract you now and make you feel bad about yourself. I find it a necessary evil in my life, but I try to use it in a way that best serves me.”
As someone who works from home, she’s also striving for more real-life connections these days. “I’m also forcing myself to try things outside of design and my comfort zone,” she says. “It’s humbling to find joy in something while also being kinda shit at it.”
Hope for the future
Looking to the future, she’s both excited and worried about AI. “With any new technology, there is excitement and potential,” she reasons, “but she also fears how it will be wielded by those with disproportionate wealth and power. The amount of investment into it seems like a bubble that will burst.”
Overall, though, she’s upbeat about what’s to come. “I recently saw a talk at Config about building affordable housing to fight the current crisis in the US,” she reveals. “It has me feeling so pumped about giant 3D printing robots, which I was not expecting!
“I do experience a lot of dread and anxiety about the future at large,” she adds, “but I’m feeling really optimistic about the smaller, daily interactions in my life. There are more events happening in New York again. The woman at my local cafe is so over-the-top cheery and always makes me smile in the mornings. Lauren and I have a couple of fun projects in the works at Super Keen, too, so I’m excited to bring a few more self-funded projects to life with her.”
