Afton + Sebastian

Co-founders of Regent Park Studio. When we’re not building brands, we’re feeding our dog cheese.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

TikTok didn’t invent the 3-second hook. Rosser Reeves did. In 1955. For a headache medicine ad everyone https://t.co/uNA4yHW6Rs tripled sales and ran for seven years unchanged.

The platforms change. The principle doesn’t.

https://t.co/4V7vdvhbrz

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

What's the piece of work you keep almost making, but talk yourself out of because it won't 'perform'? Sit with that for a minute.

That's probably the thing you were actually put here to make.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

Everyone frames 'consumers can spot the fakes now' as a warning sign. It's the most bullish signal anyone has given for human creative work in a decade.

People aren't just tolerating real effort — they're actively seeking it out, trusting it more, and paying a premium for it.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

Everyone's panicking that search is changing and clicks are dropping. The real story is simpler: the buying decision is moving from 'results page' to 'conversation.'

The format changed. The opportunity didn't.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

Nobody talks about how much of freelance creative work is administrative courage. Sending the invoice. Following up on the invoice. Saying 'that's outside the scope'.

Half of being a successful creative isn't talent. It's the willingness to have uncomfortable conversations.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

We used to think the goal of a good website was to keep people on it as long as possible. Now we realize the best websites let you leave quickly with exactly what you came for.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

What if the most valuable skill in marketing right now isn't knowing how to reach people — but knowing when to stop?

Feeds are oversaturated. Consumers say they can spot manufactured content instantly. Maybe they'll be the ones that knew exactly when to be quiet.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

@Michael_CXT Killer job.

[shirish @shiri_shh]

VERCEL just got breached.

They’re selling internal DB + employee accounts + GitHub/NPM tokens for $2M on BreachForums.

looks like someone got early access to Claude Mythos 💀

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

Ingvar Kamprad started selling matches to his neighbours at age 5, buying in bulk and reselling individually. By 17 he'd founded IKEA. The flat-pack? It happened when an employee removed a table's legs to fit it in a car. A moment of problem-solving became a $47 billion business.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

The scariest part of starting isn't failure.

It's publishing something and having nobody care.

Every founder, every creator, every business owner has posted into silence at some point.

The ones who make it, just kept going anyway.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

The best business decision we've seen entrepreneurs make?

Saying no to a client that wasn't right for them.

It freed up the time, energy, and headspace to say yes to one that was.

Protect your calendar like it's your most valuable asset. Because it is.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

There's a version of your business that looks exactly the same on the outside but runs completely differently on the inside.

Better systems. Clearer offers. Fewer headaches.

Most people never build that version because they're too busy working in the business to work on it.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

Nobody talks about the real reason human-written content is outranking everything else on Google right now. It's not because the algorithm is penalizing anything. It's because actual humans are writing with specificity and lived experience. Your voice still matters online.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

You're allowed to raise your rates. The market for creative work that requires human judgment, cultural fluency, and real taste is growing, not shrinking. Price yourself like someone whose skills are getting rarer. Because they are.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

We keep noticing the same pattern in different corners of the culture this month: bold, almost aggressive color palettes in packaging. Oversized, unapologetic typography in branding. It feels like the creative world collectively decided that whispering wasn't working anymore.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

There’s a new shape in town. Its name: squircle. And yes, it’s as cool as it sounds. It’s a shape that falls beautifully between a square and a circle. Define it in css as corner-shape: squircle;

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

We used to think building a community around your work meant getting more followers. Now we realize it means getting fewer strangers and more people who actually care. The brands winning in 2026 aren't the loudest — they're the ones that feel like a place you'd want to hang out.

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

A 100-year-old shirt brand. $30,000. Zero recognition.

Their president gave David Ogilvy one condition: "Total creative freedom."

Ogilvy stopped at a drugstore on the way to the shoot. A fifty-cent eyepatch. An iconic campaign.

Full story → https://t.co/qcs4enGmJN

[Afton + Sebastian @AftonandSeb]

@contralabs_ai This. AI hasn't replaced a single decision in our studio—it's just reduced the bottlenecks that kept us from being our most creative. More time for design, strategy, and the weird little details clients actually remember. Thanks for the shoutout 🙏