From spray-painted graffiti to colorful murals, there is absolutely no shortage of artwork on the streets of New York. Even street lamps and street signs are decorated with an abundance of curious stickers and strange posters. With so much to look at, it can be hard to grab the attention of daily commuters and curvy runners.

For Brooklyn-based filmmaker and graphic designer Max Kolomatsky, the overwhelming amount of street art was a perfect opportunity to help amplify some voices that needed a boost. After wandering around his neighborhood, he began to read the various flyers and posters affixed to the poles or shop windows and realized that some of them could probably attract more attention, with only some design tweaks.

Now known on Tiktok as @cool_lookin_bug, the artist has amassed over 3 million views for redesigning the street posters he sees every day into a form of artistic community service. Whether it’s an ad for a local appliance store, a flyer promoting a “MAN WITH VAN” service, or just a group looking for more players to join their Settlers of Catan board game group, Kolomatsky has taken it upon himself to offer his illustration skills to enhance the random paper posters he comes across (regardless of how silly or absurd they are).

“The project is meant to help others while highlighting the importance of artists and designers in capturing the attention of the public,” the illustrator explained to Hyperallergic.

Without removing the original poster, Kolomatsky uses his phone to take a reference photo, then returns to his apartment to draw up a new version. In his videos, Kolomatsky walks viewers through his redesign process in Photoshop, showing how he replaces colors and fonts, rearranges text, and incorporates other visual elements that teach people the value of good design.

He said Hyperallergic that he’s often interested in “authentic and wholesome” flyers for local residents and small businesses, adding that he tends to steer clear of “big companies” that can afford to hire a graphic designer themselves.

“I’m especially prone to redesigning something when the design is confusing, cluttered, or boring,” he continued.

“I often call the number or visit the website on a flyer to get an idea of ​​who’s behind the message (without telling them what I’m doing, of course),” he said. He says in his videos that he wants his redesigns to be anonymous and describes himself as an artist “hiding in the shadows”.

When he’s done, he slyly posts the reworked ad alongside the original, because to him removing the first design “looks like vandalism.”

“These are not my signs and I have no idea whether or not the original creators will like my redesign,” he explained.

In his most recent video posted in late June, he opted to revamp homemade street signage reminding dog owners to clean up after their pets, replacing aggressive black lettering and plain cardboard with satisfying colors, clean text styles and fun illustration which better grab people’s attention.

When he started work, he explained that he wasn’t quite sure how the original flyer creators would react to his designs, and he wasn’t sure when he released his first redesign. from a leaflet for Jose’s Fridge & Stove in Bushwick.

“I was nervous about posting this one because I taped my sign to the front of his business without his permission, which felt intrusive,” he admitted. “But after a few weeks I came back to find he had moved my redesign inside the front window, photocopied it and put it on the front door as well. It’s still there! He also didn’t remove his original sign, and I think it’s cool that you can see both versions on display.

Since posting his work online, Kolomatsky has received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from fans and local New York residents. His videos even caught the attention of software company Adobe, who hired him to create several design process videos for their own social media platforms.

“This project is not about replacing existing signs with better ones, or improving the outsiders by improving something,” he said. “It’s about showing how improving the design can help grab people’s attention and reinforce the message.”