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2025 was a year defined by buttholes and fury. AI companies, fueled by unlimited piles of cash, got in line with the same approach to branding: whats been scatalogically dubbed a butthole logo. The amorphous circles neither propel you forward like a Nike swoosh nor ground you like an Apples apple. Instead they spin you around, hypnotizing you into who knows whats next, just keep staring. At the same time, a polarized America debated its way through a newly political era of designwhat you can see everywhere from the Trump administrations choice of typeface to its decision to weigh in on brand plays from Cracker Barrel and American Eagle. Marketers seized this uneasy moment to snag engagement by overtly pissing us off. So whats awaiting us in 2026? Its a question we posed to several leading brand designers. Of the themes that followed, everyone seemed to agree that in 2026, well see the design worlds response to AIor, perhaps more accurately put, its many responses to AI. At the same time, were hearing early indications of designers who plan to draw more lines in the sand with clients, and take a more active role in this tenuous techno-political moment. Just-Exactly-Not-Quite-Right design Lately, most every conversation about design turns very quickly into one about AI: How will it affect our work? Our creativity? Our livelihood? I am sure we dont yet know the answers, but my hope is that we use these new tools in interesting and creative ways. In the meantime, I think a trend we will see in 2026 will be a renewed focus on humanity in the work we do and the brands we create. (And I dont just mean using puppets to sell iPhones.) I think there will be a deliberateness in the use of the quirky. There will be things that are made purposefully off in design, typography, illustration, and photography. The imperfect will become more interesting and powerful. Capturing the in-between moments, qualities that AI would scrub out. [Illustration: FC] I like to call it just-exactly-not-quite-right design, which suggests a skill and precision in making things look off. The wrong and the weird will be even more interesting and desired. I love the idea of logos that make you uncomfortable while still being beautiful, photography that catches the wrong moment, brand colors that shouldnt go together but somehow do. I look forward to seeing things that will look perfectly wrong in a way that only imperfect humans can makea way to show that we are not robots, yet. And one more thing, if I may: Design and designers need to get more involved. This moment on earth calls for it. Obviously, in terms of using our abilities to make a difference, but also to figure out how to responsibly use this AI that we all cant stop talking about. We need to be part of this conversation. What is our responsibility, in terms of ethics, energy, and ecology? What are the standards and regulations we set for ourselves and our clients? How do we protect ourselves and make the (design) world aware of the deeper implications of the use of AI? I think we owe it to ourselves and to our community to put ourselves in the narrative, because if we dont, someone else will make the rules for us. I believe we will (we must) see that happening more in 2026. Emily Oberman, partner, Pentagram Micro-epic: the language of now The micro-epic unfolds in seconds. It is the reel that halts your finger mid-scroll, the meme that captures a cultural mood before you can articulate it. We often view these condensed narratives as a form of manipulation intended to trigger reactions, and, today, to keep us enraged. This skepticism is justified. But criticizing brevity itself overlooks a crucial point: Fitting more into less is not inherently corrupting. This is how stories adapt when attention becomes scarce. History provides us with insight. In 17th-century Japan, Matsuo Bash transformed the initial stanza of collaborative poetry into a stand-alone art formthe haiku; three lines encapsulated entire seasons, fleeting emotions, and universes. Constraint didn’t diminish his artistry; it focused it. Today’s micro-epics can function similarly. A screenshot imparts knowledge. A six-second clip moves us. A sharp edit emits truth. The concise format is a pliable tool. The crucial question is what we choose to make: something true and lasting, or an improved way to sell, enrage, and distract. The grammar of the micro-epic is new, but the choice is old. Forest Young, global design and AI resident, Wolff Olins A renaissance of craft In 2026, well witness the renaissance of craft and detail. A surge of the “How did you do that?!” kind of work, the work that demands serious control and detail-orientedness to execute. A pushback against the ease of automation. A few years ago, when AI started becoming more widely used, optimists (myself included) predicted that the economy of craft would rise as a result, that mediocre work would become even more devalued. My prediction is that this year, we’ll start to see a return on that prediction. Since releasing the ornamental Eternal Research identity, Ive had multiple conversations with fellow design leaders and studio heads who mentioned theyd been attempting similar ideas, which tells me people’s heads are already moving in this direction. I believe this shift will show up across all facets of design, from fashion (see the era-specific details in Chanels recent subway show) to interior design (already having a maximalist moment) to architecture, where Googles top search terms now include postmodern, art deco, and googie. [Images: Fender] How this impacts branding is both a question and a challenge. The strongest logos have notoriously been the simplest ones, and I dont believe that fundamental truth will change. However, we may see more vintage logos redrawn for the digital age (see Mouthwashs Fender), detailed custom typefaces (Ive got my eyes on Sharp Type), and craft that comes forward in design systems and motifs. [Screenshot: Sharp] The real question is whether this resurgence of craft will be a lasting cultural immune response, or if its merely a countertrend. My prediction is that, like all trends, it will rise, peak, and eventually balance out with another trend that fights back (perhaps the return of minimalism in a couple of decades). But whatever is to come, the bottom line is that we are at the very, very exciting beginning of an incredible and mind-blowing design shift, and I couldnt be more excited to witness it. Talia Cotton, founder and principal, Cotton The AI logo apocalypse continues There are more than 212,000 active AI companies worldwide. More than 62,000 are startups. In the past year alone, more than 300 new AI companies launched. The gold rush is real. The money is loud. And the visual landscape looks like a cosmic field of identical swirling apertures paired with bland product interfaces. Call it the AI butthole logo phenomenon. Credit the meme that said what the industry wouldnt. [Screenshot: courtesy Lisa Smith] Despite the anxiety that AI will replace creatives, these companies are still hiring the best ones. Top-tier designers. World-class agencies. Serious budgets. And yet the output keeps collapsing into the same hyper-sanitized aesthetic: abstract gradients, circular vortex marks, glowing rings, vaguely intelligent blobs, and product design so neutral it feels algorithmically flattened. This is branding by autocomplete. Safe. Smooth. Instantly forgettable. This isnt a creativity problem. Its a confidence problem. For an industry obsessed with disruption, AI is remarkably afraid of standing out. Legitimacy is signaled through sameness. Familiar shapes. Approved colors. Visual language thats already been validated by capital. [Screenshots: courtesy Lisa Smith] When OpenAIs sphincter-adjacent logo succeeded, it didnt just brand a companyit branded the category. It quietly set the standard for what serious AI is supposed to look like. Circular. Abstract. Untouchable. Now any AI company that doesnt resemble a glowing anatomical opening risks being written off before its even understood. Innovation everywhere. Originality nowhere. Lisa Smith, global chief design officer, Uncommon Old dogs, new tricks In a disrupted world, new ideas and talent will rise from unexpected places. Incumbents will realize that what got us here will not get us there. As the old guard works to reinvent, many will break away, resulting in unexpected work from unexpected places. It will be the best of times and the worst of times for creativity. We are seeing change to our industry that we have not seen for 100 years. Holding groups are in decline, creative leaders are being replaced with tech and finance experts, and some of the most prolific creative firms have ceased to exist. This fallout creates incredible opportunity, a leveling of the playing field, where independent agencies will claim their space and usher in a new wave of creativity. What will play out this year is a continued battle ver the use of technology: What is real. What is fake. What is human. We will continue to discuss the uncanny valley of AI advertising and whether brand evolutions done the hard way are good, even if no one can tell. Work has become easier to make and harder to remember. As production tools are democratized, speed and scale are mistaken for value, even as quality, memorability, and persuasion are left behind. Tosh Hall, global chief creative officer, JKR Democratic tools drive differentiation Creative tools are easier than ever to access and engage with. Weve moved from desktop, single-serve software that was often the regard of a fewhidden behind downloads and deep technological know-howto cloud-based creative platforms where everyone gets to play. And now we’ve welcomed AI into the mix. Image generation makes an art director of everyone and vibe coding democratizes code. Everyone gets to be grammatically correct and sharp in their writing. Brand guidelines are checked by machines, not people. AI is bringing people closer to the ability to execute their ideas, which means know-how is no longer enough. So what happens? The expectation of brands, and the standard of their design, rises. Weve seen this before in consumer expectations of the webfor example, compare the aesthetic of Web 1.0 to 2.0. The result of better tools is better practitioners and more experience. Design itself becomes more critical than ever, but is less of a differentiator. Its table stakes. So wheres the opportunity? Taste, ideas, andperhaps most importantlydaring to differentiate from the market and vertical you exist within. In today’s world, where everyone can have great design, the meaningful, strategically rigorous brands that take a strong position on who they are and how they appear will ultimately win. Jowey Roden, chief creative officer, Koto A scarcity of taste AI will continue to pollute the world of marketing and communications, contributing noise, clutter, confusion, and complexity through artificial imagery, videos, messaging, and brand elementssomething the world isn’t asking for and surely doesn’t need more of. If you look at the Jaguar, American Eagle, and Cracker Barrel of it all, these brands made noise, and some were immediately rewarded for it. But they could have seen better outcomes if they committed to answering some essential, tough questions beforehand. We will see more cases like this next year as budgets continue to tighten, and as the competition for attention intensifies. At the same time, well see the opposite from truly great brands making investments in what not to do and where not to show up. As asset creation becomes cheaper, marketing budgets will reallocate to high-quality foundational brand building (clarity, consistency, voice). Since audiences can now smell the faintest BS more easily, smart marketers will ask, What do we actually stand for, and how do we say it clearly? This will give rise to the intermediary expert in 2026. The winning brands will almost appear to play it safe, when in fact they’re just intentional, consistent, focused. Deliberately narrow in their ambition and crystal clear in their positioning. They won’t sound like they were written by the algorithmthey’ll sound like someone who knows exactly what they believe, who they’re talking to, and why it matters. If that sounds simple, it’s because it is. But committing to simplicity, clarity, and authenticity so that your customers get you requires the opposite of what AI offers. It requires taste. Jason Cieslak, global president, Siegel+Gale 2000s Techno-Dystopia and the return of Playstation 1 and 2 Whats resurfacing under the name 2000s Techno-Dystopia is not nostalgia for the early internet so much as a reacceptance of its emotional climate. Metallic sheen, hostile minimalism, moody art direction, synthetic hues, sharp typography. This was an era when technology felt powerful, alien, and immersive. Interfaces didnt bend to legibility, they required you to adhere to their logic. They didnt have best practices. They had vision. They didnt baby you. You didnt customize them. You entered them. What makes this trend different from earlier nostalgia cycles is its lack of comfort. There is no warmth, no sepia filter, no promise of simpler times. This isnt classical retrofuturism, its a new retrofuturism. Cyber Y2K is not about childhoodits about adolescence under fluorescent light. When design has taken out all danger, well, thats exactly what we begin to crave. This brand of Cyber Y2K does not ask to be liked. It asks to be registered. Its surfaces are reflective but emotionally opaque. Typography is narrow, sharp, slightly uncomfortable to read. Motion design favors glitches, flickers, abrupt transitions. There is often a sense that the interface is not meant for you. Or at least not designed with you in mind. This is branding that does not flatter the users self-image as a creative collaborator. It restores a kind of asymmetry: The brand has power; you encounter it. Y2K-era Playstation Ads [Images: Sony] For a decade, branding moved in the opposite direction. Platforms softened their edges, adopted warmth, and borrowed the language of care just as they consolidated control. In the age of AI, that friendliness has collapsed under its own dishonesty. Generative systems speak fluently but impersonally; they produce without intention or empathy. Against this backdrop, 2000s Techno-Dystopia reads as truthful. Cold surfaces, dark and shiny, mirror how technology is actually felt now. This aesthetic always carried sex appeal. Early-2000s futurism framed the body as optimized, sharpened, and slightly inhuman. Slick skin, hard lighting, hyper-controlled silhouettes. Desire was technical, not romantic. That logic converges almost perfectly with the cultural rise of GLP-1 drugs. No discipline arc, no wellness sermon. Just outcome. The body, like the interface, becomes something tuned rather than understood. Together, these forces explain whats to come. 2000s Techno-Dystopia rejects reassurance in favor of intensity. It doesnt promise warmth or fun, but it does have momentum and a strange, polished appeal, not optimistic for the future necessarily, but a pomise to look good getting there. This aesthetic is not anti-capitalist. It is capitalism shedding its friendliness. It reflects a recognition that users no longer believe brands are on their side. And so brands can stop pretending. They become systems again. Brands dont need to feel human to be enjoyed. In an era saturated with friendliness, the cold interface is radical. Chrome reflects, but it does not empathize. That may be the point. Rion Harmon, cofounder and executive creative director, Day Job
Category:
E-Commerce
Brands love to insert themselves into cultural conversations or piggyback on buzzy current events, a strategy sometimes called newsjacking. But it can happen without seeking, or even wanting, the attention. The borderline absurd virality of a Nike tracksuit evidently worn by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as he was taken into the custody of American captors is the most high-profile recent examplebut it definitely wont be the last. This form of what we could call involuntary product placement can be a conundrum for brands, which prefer to be associated with upbeat or positive events, not dictators or controversial geopolitics. And thats been made even more challenging by a starkly divided political climate that has put brands from Bud Light to Tesla to Hilton in the crossfire, and a hypercharged social media environment that constantly hungers for new angles, riffs, and takes on whatever is hogging the spotlight. Of course, involuntary product placement isnt new: If you remember the car chase climaxing in O.J. Simpsons arrest, you know he was driving a Ford Bronco. Yet unsolicited pop-culture brand cameos arent always bad. Ocean Spray, for instance, enjoyed a boost after it accidentally had a starring role in a feel-good viral clip of a skateboarder sipping the drink as Fleetwood Macs Dreams played. And in a marketing-soaked world, plenty of accidental brand appearances scarcely register. @420doggface208 Dreams (2004 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac But that same ubiquity is part of what makes brands such handy and ultimately irresistible signifiers for people to latch on to and exploitespecially now, when they pop up in full-on news spectacles amplified by social media. Spawning instant and endless memes (and, increasingly, AI fakery), these events soak up and repurpose all the relevant cultural material they can, brands very much included. When a healthcare executive was gunned down in Manhattan in 2024, for example, coverage of the subsequent manhunt included plenty of online scrutiny of his jacket, backpack, and other gear. Since Luigi Mangione was arrested on murder charges for the crime, brand sleuths have continued to obsess over his courtroom style choices, snapping up items like a merino sweater from Nordstrom he wore to his arraignment. Luigi Mangione arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court on December 23, 2024, wearing a sweater from Nordstrom. [Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images] The Maduro tracksuit has brought all this to a new level, attracting attention for how much attention it was attracting. Searches for Nike Tech spiked, and styles and colorways similar to the jacket and pants Maduro wore were selling out; some reviews on the brands site seemed to wink at the whole scenario. (Viva Venezuela!!) There was something disconcerting about the presence of a globally recognizable brand in a moment typically governed by the visual codes of state power, design writer and educator Debbie Millman observed. Athleisure replaced uniform; a logo supplanted insignia. The specific tracksuit has its own cultural significance, a New York Times style assessment on the matter reported, and has lately served as a uniform of sorts for some rappers and athletes (and their fans). Less seriously, of course, the juxtaposition of a detained head of state and Nike gear was fodder for a slew of ironic meme humora steal his look parody; the mock slogan For the gym. For errands. For federal custody, and so on. A brand caught up in an involuntary product placement moment certainly doesnt want to be seen as celebrating the attention. But really any kind of acknowledgment can be fraught. When the healthcare executives killer was still at large, the CEO of Peak Design recognized the shooters backpack as one made by his company, reached out to law enforcementand ended up being threatened by customers who evidently wanted the fugitive to escape. As for Nike and its tracksuits unplanned week in the spotlight, the company swiftly replied to an inquiry from Fast Company, declining any comment. Sometimes when a brand finds its products placed in the middle of the cultural conversation, the best move is to just do nothing and wait quietly until the news moves on.
Category:
E-Commerce
CES is a show that’s all about the future. Usually, that future is within the next year or two. Companies show off products to kick off marketing campaigns and begin building consumer demand. Sometimes, though, they offer a peek a good bit further down the road. Several prototypes at this year’s CES offered clues about how companies expect the consumer electronics world to evolve. Many, of course, will fall by the wayside. Almost all of them will experience changes before getting anywhere close to market. Despite that, though, they offer a look into a consumer electronics crystal ball. Here are some trends they’re prophesizing for the years to come. Smart watches will get a lot more useful and easier to repair Smart watches already do a lot. They free up users’ hands, letting them check messages, see who is calling them without fumbling for their phone, track health data, and can act as a lifeline if you’re stranded. They’re good for opening hotel room doors, but they’re generally not seen as being secure enough for something like a banking or access system. Cambridge Consultants, however, showcased a prototype luxury watch that also doubles as a digital passkey. The rotary bezel (the rotating ring with markings most often seen on dive watches) utilizes extreme miniaturization to boost security components. At that same demo: a prototype smart watch designed to let consumers repair the device itself without sacrificing the aesthetics. Augmented reality will ditch the cameras Eye tracking, at present, requires a camera. But another prototype being shown by Cambridge Consultants did away with the lens, using a photonics and sensor fusion instead. That could be the push AR needs to gain wider acceptance, as it could make headsets significantly smaller and more comfortable. TVs are about to be a lot brighter This upcoming trend is a lot closer than some of the others. Both Samsung and TCL were showcasing TV sets that blast out the colors, utilizing next-generation backlighting called RGB LED, the latest in the alphabet soup mishmash of backlighting names (which also includes QLED, OLED, LED, Mini LED, and more). The colors pop like never before, but the screens are also significantly brighter to the extent that if you’re too close, you might find yourself squinting. The Samsung prototype reached a brightness of 4,500-nits. That’s about twice the level of current high end TVs. Position sensing could be the next battleground As the robotics industry continues to grow and nudge its way into homes and businesses, it’s going to be crucial for positioning software to be as precise as possible. (It’s fun to watch a robot dance, but a lot less fun when it hits you full force while showcasing its moves.) This year’s CES showed off a number of new position sensing technologies, from Lego’s smart bricks, which incorporate position sensing into play, to a prototype architecture that shrinks the footprint of unidirectional position sensing. That could open the door to adding position sensing to devices where it currently can’t be used — while also ensuring your housebot doesn’t accidentally pop you with a right hook as it takes care of your laundry.
Category:
E-Commerce
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