If you’ve lived and worked in the Midwest for an extended period of time, you know what I’m talking about. You’ve seen it first hand and have had to navigate how much to let it go and how much to hold someone’s feet to the fire.

Midwestern Meh is very real. And it bites like a motherfucker.

There you are. Doing your job. And someone who has been hired to work with you in some capacity simply doesn’t live up to expectations. Not even that, they stink. And worse still, they think you won’t notice.

But of course you do, because anyone with eyes would notice.

They think it doesn’t matter because this is the Midwest and things just don’t need to be that nice here. So what’s the big deal anyway?

Turns out, lots.

If we’re all cool with Midwestern Meh then what in God’s name is the point of all this?

I’ve experienced my fair share of Midwestern Meh the last couple years. And I am getting sick and fucking tired of it. I think you are, too.

Years back, I read an article about the percentage of a project that turns out as expected. In this particular designers’s view it was about 87%. Which seems right. Remember, this is the real world of budgets, opinions, timelines, talent, and any number of externalities that happen because that’s what life is.

In terms of a percentage, Midwestern Meh is in the 40s.

Whether graphic designer, architect, web developer, video producer, etc. We are all capable of Midwestern Meh if we don’t put in the time. We must do the work. No way around it.

To all the Midwesterners who phone it in because they think no one will notice, trust me, everyone notices. And there are going to be consequences.

Step ya game up, bud.

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PS. If you happen to not be familiar with Midwestern Meh just think of East Coast Fuck It but more polite and way more bush league.