Introduction

After nearly two decades online, the creators behind Art of Manliness felt the familiar urge to refresh the site's look and purpose. This latest redesign arrives after an eighteen-year journey, reflecting how the site's mission and the founders' own tastes have evolved.

What Happened

When AoM launched in 2008, Brett McKay built it from the ground up using basic HTML PHP and Photoshop. The original design leaned into a vintage aesthetic featuring a parchment-colored background and John L. Sullivan imagery on the masthead. A 2013 redesign brought in a wood-paneled background and a new masthead figure to balance refined and rugged qualities. By the late 2010s the old-timey feel began to feel stale amid a broader cultural trend toward artisanal heritage branding so the team stripped the site down in 2019 embraced a minimal Get Action tagline and adopted a 70s-inspired look focused on doing rather than just discussing. Now in 2026 marking AoM's eighteenth anniversary a full redesign synthesizes the site's history with its current projects aiming for a classic yet modern feel that can endure for years to come.

Why This Matters

This overhaul is not just visual it signals AoM's expansion beyond a single blog into an ecosystem of projects that forward its core mission. The Strenuous Life Dying Breed newsletter and the main site together form McKay Inc each representing thought word and deed. The redesign ties these together offering readers entry points to a broader community focused on timeless virtues. Additionally the site is positioned as a serendipitous counterpoint to algorithm-driven feeds encouraging intentional browsing and discovery.

Key Takeaways

  • The site has undergone its first major redesign in five years marking an eighteen-year milestone.
  • New visuals blend vintage elements wood paneling parchment backgrounds and a revived John L. Sullivan mascot with modern minimalism.
  • The redesign introduces McKay Inc an ecosystem linking AoM The Strenuous Life and the Dying Breed newsletter.
  • The site emphasizes serendipitous browsing and intentional engagement over algorithmic content streams.
  • Readers can claim free AoM stickers by signing up and providing an address.

Conclusion

The new design aims to feel like coming home honoring AoM's history while pointing toward its future. It is intended to be a lasting digital space where readers can wander discover and reconnect with principles that stand the test of time. As the team puts it the goal is to preserve what is good across time looking back only to move forward.