By Andrew Wolffe, Creative Director
Two seemingly opposing themes are merging as key trends in brand design. On one hand, there is a clear maturation in attitudes toward AI, and this is married to rising expectations for seamless, intuitive technology. On the other hand, there is a strong move toward raw, unpolished, and emotionally charged creativity across both visual and written content.
Technology and raw creativity are not natural bedfellows. Yet, as we enter the second quarter of this century, I find myself reflecting on the uniquely human traits of creativity, emotion and intuition we bring to the world, and how we can harness technology to free up time and become even more creative.
Technology Helps Us Get Creative
Seamless, personalised interfaces are becoming increasingly prevalent as AI grows more adept at understanding who we are and how we interact with both technology and the world around us. As businesses recognise that AI can deliver meaningful efficiencies, removing much of the data-crunching, administrative work it excels at, we will see humans “come up for air.” The result will, I believe, be a flourishing of creativity, innovation, and invention.
Long gone is the AI elephant in the room. It is here to stay, and our use of it to support our slow-thinking, creative, human brain activity is maturing by the day.
A Cultural Shift Toward Authenticity
There is a growing desire for warmth, authenticity, and connection. Visually, this manifests as raw, unpolished creativity and more flexible brand design systems, moving away from sterile perfection. Scratchy, non-conforming graphics, typography that feels slightly uncomfortable, and imagery that is intentionally un-styled will prevail.
Storytelling Is King
As an antidote to AI-generated sameness, we are seeing a renewed focus on emotionally resonant storytelling. Truer stories, rooted in culture, place, and lived experience, are becoming more prominent. These stories may be harder to find and require more effort to bring to life, but brands willing to dig deeper are creating a stronger sense of belonging and clearer differentiation.
Slick Perfection No Longer Cuts It
Highly polished, slick content has been giving way to a more natural, human delivery for some time, and this shift will continue. We will increasingly embrace human traits: making mistakes, feeling awkward on camera, and showing vulnerability. Videography and photography will feel more like real life; less posed, less perfected, and more honest.
I firmly believe we are on the cusp of a renaissance in creativity and innovation. As AI frees us from mundane tasks, it is allowing us to think better, deeper, and more creatively. New ideas will emerge that we have not yet imagined, and the pace of true invention will be rapid.
One of the best examples I’ve seen of raw creativity meeting high tech is Hermès’ new website which replaces hyper-polished digital visuals for hand-drawn animated illustrations by Parisian artist Linda Merad. This move reaffirms the brand’s long-standing commitment to craft, human creativity, and materiality. As AI-generated imagery becomes more common online, the choice reflects a quieter, more deliberate way of telling visual stories.
Take a look: https://www.hermes.com/uk
Imagine a group of people collaborating to solve problems, all liberated (by AI) from repetitive, data crunching, administrative work. They are comfortable throwing ideas around, debating, discussing, creating, and inventing what comes next. That to me is genuinely exciting.
