CINXE.COM

<!doctype html><html class="no-js" lang="en"><head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("https://nelsoncash.com/make-it-stranger","20170711170705","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1499792825"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta charset="utf-8"><title>Make It Stranger | Nelson Cash</title><meta name="description" content="Inspired by the Netflix hit Stranger Things, Nelson Cash created a shareable type generator that allowed fans of all stripes to “strangify” themselves. By collecting data from the start, we ended up with not only a visual gallery, but a look at the way people think and act online."><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1"><link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="57x57" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png"><link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="114x114" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-114x114.png"><link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="72x72" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-72x72.png"><link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="144x144" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-144x144.png"><link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="60x60" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-60x60.png"><link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="120x120" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png"><link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="76x76" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-76x76.png"><link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="152x152" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/favicon-196x196.png" sizes="196x196"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/favicon-96x96.png" sizes="96x96"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/favicon-32x32.png" sizes="32x32"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/favicon-16x16.png" sizes="16x16"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/favicon/favicon-128.png" sizes="128x128"><meta name="application-name" content="Nelson Cash"><meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#FFFFFF"><meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="/images/favicon/mstile-144x144.png"><meta name="msapplication-square70x70logo" content="/images/favicon/mstile-70x70.png"><meta name="msapplication-square150x150logo" content="/images/favicon/mstile-150x150.png"><meta name="msapplication-wide310x150logo" content="/images/favicon/mstile-310x150.png"><meta name="msapplication-square310x310logo" content="/images/favicon/mstile-310x310.png"><script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705js_/https://use.typekit.net/gsk4zwf.js"></script><script>try{Typekit.load({async:!0})}catch(a){}</script><link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20170711170705cs_/https://nelsoncash.com/styles/vendor.css"><link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20170711170705cs_/https://nelsoncash.com/styles/main.css"><script src="/web/20170711170705js_/https://nelsoncash.com/scripts/vendor/modernizr.js"></script><meta property="og:site_name" content="Nelson Cash"><meta property="og:title" content="Make It Stranger: Strangify It"><meta property="og:description" content="Inspired by the Netflix hit Stranger Things, Nelson Cash created a shareable type generator that allowed fans of all stripes to “strangify” themselves. By collecting data from the start, we ended up with not only a visual gallery, but a look at the way people think and act online."><meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/header-video.jpg"><meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/https://nelsoncash.com/make-it-stranger"><meta name="twitter:title" content="Make It Stranger: Strangify It"><meta name="twitter:description" content="Inspired by the Netflix hit Stranger Things, Nelson Cash created a shareable type generator that allowed fans of all stripes to “strangify” themselves. By collecting data from the start, we ended up with not only a visual gallery, but a look at the way people think and act online."><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/header-video.jpg"><meta name="twitter:image:alt" content="Nelson Cash logo"><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"><meta name="twitter:site" content="@nelsoncash"></head><body class="case-study-animation" id="cs-make-it-stranger"><header class="site-header site-header-white site-header-overlay" role="banner"><div class="container"><h1 class="site-header-logo"><a href="/web/20170711170705/https://nelsoncash.com/" title="Nelson Cash">Nelson Cash</a></h1><nav class="primary-nav" role="navigation"><h1 class="visually-hidden">Primary Navigation</h1><ul><li><a href="/web/20170711170705/https://nelsoncash.com/" title="Work">Work</a></li><li><a href="/web/20170711170705/https://nelsoncash.com/studio" title="Studio">Studio</a></li></ul></nav></div></header><main class="site-content" role="main"><header class="cs-header"><div class="cs-header-image"><video autoplay preload muted loop class="cs-header-video" poster="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/header-video.jpg"><source src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/header-video.mp4" type="video/mp4"><source src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/header-video.ogg" type="video/ogg"><source src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/header-video.webm" type="video/webm"></video></div><div class="cs-header-text"><div class="container"><div class="grid-column cs-header-titles"><h1 class="cs-header-title">Make It Stranger</h1><p class="cs-header-meta">2.5M titles getting stranger by the day</p></div><div class="grid-column cs-header-intro"><p>Inspired by the Netflix hit <em>Stranger Things</em>, Nelson Cash created a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/http://makeitstranger.com/" target="_blank" title="Make It Stranger">shareable type generator</a> that allowed fans of all stripes to “strangify” themselves. By collecting data from the start, we ended up with not only a visual gallery, but a look at the way people think and act online.</p></div></div></div></header><section class="cs-section cs-section-gray-light"><div class="container"><header class="cs-section-header"><h1 class="cs-section-title">The Inspiration</h1></header><div class="cs-section-content"><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-video"><div class="cs-section-item-video-wrapper"><iframe src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705if_/https://player.vimeo.com/video/174870794?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="1280" height="720" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe></div><p class="cs-section-item-caption">Our inspiration: <em>Stranger Things</em> titles by Imaginary Forces</p></div><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-text"><p>When <em>Stranger Things</em>—a shoo-in entry to the 2016 pop-culture zeitgeist—hit the Netflix binge circuit, many creative agencies rushed to express excitement for their newfound obsession (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/https://blog.nelsoncash.com/the-typography-of-stranger-things-e35771f40d31#.f300vuh4m" target="_blank" title="The Typography of Stranger Things">Nelson Cash included</a>). But a few days later, when all the Medium posts had been read and the LinkedIn articles had been shared, we were still thinking - and talking - about <em>Stranger Things</em>. We wanted to do something more.</p><p>Why? We love typography, and we believe in technology as a force to bring people together. The empowerment and satisfaction that comes from making things is a feeling we know well. If we could share that feeling with designers and non-designers alike, we’d consider our experiment a success.</p></div></div></div></section><section class="cs-section"><div class="container"><header class="cs-section-header"><h1 class="cs-section-title">What We Made</h1> </header><div class="cs-section-content"><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/lg-make-it-stranger.jpg" alt="MakeItStranger.com"></div><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-text"><p>In two weeks, we built and launched a custom title generator, which highlighted Imaginary Forces’ iconic <em>Stranger Things</em> opening title sequence. It enabled anyone who could tap, type, or dictate to create their own title and share it with their friends online—and that’s exactly what they did.</p></div><div class="cs-section-item cs-gallery-three-up"><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-breakfast-burritos.jpg" alt="Breakfast Burritos"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-dialup-internet.jpg" alt="Dialup Internet"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-executive-orders.jpg" alt="Executive Orders"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-hamilton-tickets.jpg" alt="Hamilton Tickets"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-hipster-nonsense.jpg" alt="Hipster Nonsense"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-mozzarella-sticks.jpg" alt="Mozzarella Sticks"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-sega-dreamcast.jpg" alt="Sega Dreamcast"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-serenity-now.jpg" alt="Serenity Now"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-super-tuesday.jpg" alt="Super Tuesday"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-taco-tuesdays.jpg" alt="Taco Tuesdays"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-the-demogorgon.jpg" alt="The Demogorgon"></div><div class="cs-gallery-item"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/ex-true-detective.jpg" alt="True Detective"></div></div></div></div></section><figure class="cs-section cs-section-double-padding cs-section-gray-light"><div class="container"><div class="grid-column-ten"><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/lg-circles.png" alt="Placeholder Image"></div><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-blockquote"><p class="cs-section-blockquote-large">Over 2.4M custom titles (and counting) were generated.</p><p class="cs-section-blockquote-small max-width-five">At peak popularity, over 5,000 people were using the site per second.</p></div></div></div></figure><section class="cs-section"><div class="container"><header class="cs-section-header"><h1 class="cs-section-title">The Impact</h1> </header><div class="cs-section-content"><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-text"><p>Within minutes of launching, hundreds of people were interacting with the site. At peak popularity, personalized titles were being created at a rate of 5,000 per second. As we watched titles like “RIP Harambe” and “Send Nudes” enter the self-perpetuating online landscape, we knew we had reached certified meme status.</p></div><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/lg-cpu-graph.png" alt="CPU Usages Graph"></div><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-text"><p>(Almost) everyone wrote about Nelson Cash and Make It Stranger, and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/https://blog.nelsoncash.com/makeitstranger-com-by-the-numbers-3a3e1e274c85#.7vjaiggpp" target="_blank" title="MakeItStranger.com by the Numbers">we collected data</a> along the way. All-in-all, over 2.5 million <em>Stranger Things</em>-inspired titles emerged from the collective Upside Down.*</p></div><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/make-it-stranger/lg-analytics.png" alt="Peak Session Count"></div></div></div></section><figure class="cs-section cs-section-double-padding cs-section-gray-light"><div class="container testimonials-group"><div class="testimonial"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/http://ew.com/article/2016/08/17/stranger-things-custom-logo-title-card/" target="_blank" title="Stranger Things: Custom Title Cards Generated by Website"><div class="testimonial-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/press/entertainment-weekly.png" alt="Entertainment Weekly"></div><div class="testimonial-text"><p>"Thanks to a generator created by design company Nelson Cash...type in a short phrase and voila, you have a custom Stephen King-inspired, retro red logo!"</p></div></a></div><div class="testimonial"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/17/12515624/stranger-things-type-generator-meme" target="_blank" title="Make Your Own Stranger Things Title Cards with This Site"><div class="testimonial-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/press/the-verge.png" alt="The Verge"></div><div class="testimonial-text"><p>"People have been making this sort of Stranger memes...but there’s nothing like automating the process to ensure that a joke burns red hot..."</p></div></a></div><div class="testimonial"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/http://www.avclub.com/article/read-font-nerd-goes-nuts-explaining-stranger-thing-240314" target="_blank" title="Read This: Font Nerd Goes Nuts Explaining the Stranger Things Credits"><div class="testimonial-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/press/av-club.png" alt="A.V. Club"></div><div class="testimonial-text"><p>"Now we’ve got a blog post...that takes a deep dive into the fonts and techniques that create the intro’s almost-hypnotic appeal."</p></div></a></div><div class="testimonial"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/https://twitter.com/Illustrator/status/768530213374308352" target="_blank" title="Adobe Illustrator on Twitter"><div class="testimonial-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/press/adobe-illustrator.png" alt="Adobe Illustrator"></div><div class="testimonial-text"><p>"The first 52 seconds of <em>Stranger Things</em> is any typographer’s dream."</p></div></a></div><div class="testimonial"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/http://www.psfk.com/2016/08/type-generator-lets-you-write-using-font-from-stranger-things.html" target="_blank" title="Type Generator Lets You Write Using the Font From Stranger Things"><div class="testimonial-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/press/psfk.png" alt="PSFK"></div><div class="testimonial-text"><p>"The show’s logo was inspired by Stephen King...Now, visitors to the Make It Stranger site can create and share their own logo."</p></div></a></div><div class="testimonial"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/31/12732054/stranger-things-meme-tool-data-curse-words-butts-trump-harambe" target="_blank" title="Give the Internet a Stranger Things Tool, and You’ll Get Penis Jokes and Dirty Words"><div class="testimonial-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/press/the-verge.png" alt="The Verge"></div><div class="testimonial-text"><p>"Nelson Cash provides a rich amount of detail about what goes into a viral hit...Of course the best data visualization captures how the internet, when given a marker, will write dirty words on the bathroom wall."</p></div></a></div></div></figure><section class="cs-section"><div class="container"><header class="cs-section-header"><h1 class="cs-section-title">The Insights</h1></header><div class="cs-section-content"><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-video"><div class="cs-section-item-video-wrapper"><iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170711170705if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tza5SZAVmcU?rel=0&showinfo=0?ecver=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><p class="cs-section-item-caption">*Also, our long-standing goal of being a political prop and appearing on C-SPAN came true when Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) used a Make It Stranger reference on the House floor.</p></div><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-text"><h2 class="cs-section-subtitle-alt">Work at the pace of the internet</h2><p>Internet moments come and go before you have time to write a brief (or binge-watch the rest of the season). It’s important that your creative partner is quick, multidisciplinary in earnest, and committed to working at the speed of social media.</p><h2 class="cs-section-subtitle-alt">Start with the icon</h2><p>While there were so many elements of <em>Stranger Things</em> that were inspiring (Winona, Barb, the Upside Down), the title sequence was immediately memorable and a ready-made platform for participation. In other words, the end product should create all the necessary context without needing further explanation.</p><h2 class="cs-section-subtitle-alt">Pay attention to your passions</h2><p>There are no workflows or diagrams to sell you a way to replicate viral success, but if everyone in your office is talking about something, chances are other groups are, too. If there’s contagious passion for your product or service, people (including us) will go to great lengths to create and share it.</p></div></div></div></section><section class="cs-section"><div class="container"><div class="grid-column-ten cs-section-content"><div class="cs-section-item cs-section-item-list"><h1 class="cs-section-subtitle">What We Did</h1><ul><li>Strategy</li><li>User Research</li><li>Physical and Digital Prototyping</li><li>UX Design</li><li>App Development</li><li>Data Visualization</li><li>Web Design</li><li>Content Creation</li><li>Analytics</li><li>Social</li></ul></div></div></div></section><footer class="cs-footer" role="contentinfo"><div class="container row grid-two-up"><div class="grid-column project-card project-card-left" id="project-card-my-lacroix"><a href="/web/20170711170705/https://nelsoncash.com/my-lacroix" title="My LaCroix"><figure class="project-card-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/project-card-my-lacroix.jpg" alt="My LaCroix"></figure><div class="project-card-text"><h2 class="project-card-title">My LaCroix</h2><p class="project-card-meta">898,000 flavors and counting.</p></div></a></div><div class="grid-column project-card project-card-right" id="project-card-google"><a href="/web/20170711170705/https://nelsoncash.com/google" title="Google"><figure class="project-card-image"><img src="/web/20170711170705im_/https://nelsoncash.com/images/project-card-google.jpg" alt="Google"></figure><div class="project-card-text"><h2 class="project-card-title">Google</h2><p class="project-card-meta">A website for every town in America.</p></div></a></div></div><div class="cs-footer-wipe"></div></footer></main><script>!function(e,t,a,n,c,o,s){e.GoogleAnalyticsObject=c,e[c]=e[c]||function(){(e[c].q=e[c].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[c].l=1*new Date,o=t.createElement(a),s=t.getElementsByTagName(a)[0],o.async=1,o.src=n,s.parentNode.insertBefore(o,s)}(window,document,"script","//web.archive.org/web/20170711170705/https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js","ga"),ga("create","UA-22288314-1","auto")</script><script src="/web/20170711170705js_/https://nelsoncash.com/scripts/vendor.js"></script><script src="/web/20170711170705js_/https://nelsoncash.com/scripts/main.js"></script></body></html>