When generative AI first exploded onto the public scene in 2023, it was in the form of language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. At the time, creatives scoffed at the idea of computer programs creating images, 3D models, and animations from mere prompts. Art, it seemed, would be the last bastion of human ingenuity, untouched by ones and zeroes. Yet in a few short years, AI has evolved into image and video generators in the form of Midjourney, DALL-E, and Sora, essentially reshaping brand’s creative communications. But, fear not! The emergence of Artificial Intelligence is more boon than bane. Below, we will explore the benefits and concerns these programmes bring to creative design in the wonder-filled world of branding.

 P.S. – For the purpose of this article, all images were generated with AI tools (Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjournery) and shaped through human prompts and curation.

Positive Impacts

Image generated by ChatGPT

The world is evolving rapidly and we must keep up or fall into obscurity. For brands, this means redefining their marketing & communications roadmap with AI-driven software to stay ahead of market trends and consumer behaviours. For creatives in branding, this means up-skilling and integrating their processes with technology. By balancing the power of AI with natural creativity, creators can enhance their workflows, push the boundaries of innovative design, and drive success for brands.  

1. Enhance Your Workflow

Image generated by Midjourney

From image resizing and alignment, to asset selection and colour correction, AI automation has the potential to save designers and branding agencies countless hours on repetitive tasks. Adobe Sensei, now embedded into Adobe’s creative suite, helps designers automate tasks like image/video editing, text kerning, asset alignment, and content personalisation. By streamlining the workflow, companies can cut costs on production and brand designers are free to focus on developing more innovative creative strategies.

2. Pushing the Boundaries of Creativity

Image generated by Midjourney

Beyond automation, AI can also be a source of inspiration. Today, creatives can feed mood boards or drafts into Midjourney, Sora, or ChatGPT and instantly receive curated colour palettes and layouts. They can bounce ideas off generative neural networks that spit out fully rendered logos and illustrations based on current market trends and preferences. This means brands can explore multiple creative directions without sacrificing time or effort, resulting in the most effective designs for each project. 

3. Personalisation and Data-Driven Designs

Image generated by Gemini

AI is also reinventing the way we approach design. By analysing user data, it can understand individual preferences to develop more effective, more targeted communications. But, what does this mean for branding? Simply put, it means companies and creatives can significantly increase digital customer engagement with their brands. More than ever, consumers expect brands to speak directly to their tastes and preferences, rather than issue blanket messages directed at large demographic groups. To this end, brands can utilise AI’s analytical capabilities to measure which features and design elements are most effective in generating engagement from specific customer profiles, and use this data to optimise their creative applications.

Designers can also leverage AI to conduct A/B testing of visual concepts and identify which assets will be most effective with their target markets before launching a campaign.

Explore how AI is transforming visual communications here.

4. Accessibility

Image generated by Gemini

Finally, creatives can employ AI to increase accessibility to their brand. Text generators can provide captions for video or audio content, while voice-based tools can describe visuals for users with visual impairments. By integrating technology with their design processes, brands can extend their reach and tap into previously hard-to-reach markets.

Challenges & Opportunities

Image generated by ChatGPT

As with all great technologies, AI has its limits. From job displacement to over-reliance and accountability, brands and designers must understand how to leverage AI without falling victim to its over-promises.

1. Job Loss

Image generated by Gemini

AI’s impact on the job market is becoming more disruptive. As its capabilities continue to grow, the threat on traditional employment is growing far more significant. This is especially true for junior creatives and designers, whose work is traditionally relegated to more repetitive tasks.

But AI is not just replacing jobs, it’s also creating new ones. Artists and designers who learn to integrate AI into their design process can position themselves at the front of the proverbial pack. For instance, AI prompt engineering and AI-assisted creative roles in UX design and 3D modelling are becoming highly sought after skills. Designers who can up-skill and take advantage of AI’s abilities will thrive in the new digital landscape. Similarly, brands that push their creatives to embrace the new technology, nurturing their skills to integrate AI into their workflows, will stay ahead of the curve and outshine their competition.  

Read more about AI’s impact on graphic design roles here.

2. Over-Reliance

Image generated by Gemini

On the other end of the spectrum, agencies that rely too heavily on AI will notice a decline in genuine creativity and effectiveness. In its current state, AI is unable to interpret nuance, understand human culture, and develop original ideas. Depending too much on AI will result in creative stagnation and erosion of brand authenticity. Remember: human creators possess the keenest eye and the deepest understanding of human emotion and context. 

And, therein lies the opportunity. We’ve just started tapping into the potential of marrying human ingenuity with silicon intelligence. Embrace every chance to automate repetitive tasks, so designers are free to focus on what really matters: developing innovative creative strategies that solve problems. 

In the end, AI should amplify creative vision, not replace it. When technology becomes the driver, authenticity and nuance fall by the wayside. With the right balance of AI and human perspective, brands will form deeper, more meaningful connections with their audience.

See how Canva is leveraging AI to enhance workflows here. 

3. Ethical Considerations

Image generated by ChatGPT

Determining the ownership of AI work can be complicated. Brands must take extra care when using generative AI software. Uncredited training on copyrighted work can risk infringement, while fully AI-generated assets may not be eligible for copyright protection. 

That being said, the number of tools in the toolbox has grown exponentially. AI can scour the internet for alternative styles and test potential solutions, enabling brands to explore multiple creative directions simultaneously. By establishing robust guidelines on appropriate AI usage, brands and creators can push the boundaries of innovative design, while staying on the right side of intellectual property laws.  

So What Should Brands Do?

Image generated by Gemini

For all its promises, AI is only as effective as the humans and the strategy behind it. So, to harness its potential and apply it to their brand communications, businesses need to use it with intention.

First, brands should solidify their brand positioning, values, and personality before jumping on the AI bandwagon. Without a strong foundation, AI risks diluting the brand identity.

Second, brands should invest in up-skilling their creative workforce. It is crucial for designers and strategists to be trained in prompting, curating and refining AI outputs. In an interview with Adobe, Piyush Kumar, Global Head Strategy, Strategic Partnerships & Solutions (Digital Experience) at Wipro, put it best when he said the role of a designer “will shift from being a creator to a curator.” 

Image generated by Gemini

Third, brands must establish an AI framework to set clear ethical guidelines around how AI is used. Staff must be trained to understand the complexities of AI usage rights, content approval, and legal boundaries.

Lastly, the most effective brands won’t be the ones using AI most. Instead, successful brands will be the ones who use it the most strategically. Brands that see AI as an enabler, rather than a crutch or a replacement, will be the ones that stay relevant in the years to come.

The Future

Image generated by Gemini

In the words of science fiction author William Gibson, “the future is already here.” As AI evolves, it will become an irreplaceable tool to enhance workflows. But, we must also be cautious. We must not fall into the convenient trap of relying too much on digital algorithms. Brands and designers must learn to embrace, to adapt to, and to grow with AI tools to remain competitive and drive innovation.

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Kodak 1971: Some logos don’t need to change. This 1971 version was resurrected in 2016. If you look hard enough you can nearly see the original ‘Eastman Kodak Company’.

Lego 1972: For a block-based business to have a soft logotype says a lot about the vision and imagination behind it. This is the logo everyone knows as Lego.

Sony 1973: If you like slab serifs, this sets the benchmark for its classic simplicity.

Led Zeppelin 1973: There are too many great band logos (Rolling Stone, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Queen, ABBA, Pearl Jam, The Who, The Clash, The Beatles, Buzzcocks) but for craft, Led Zeppelin takes it.

NASA 1975: Even though the ‘worm’ logo was retired in 1992, it’s the one people remember and it’s the granddaddy of squiggly logos.

Apple 1976: Brilliant name, brilliant logo, and there is no going back after the first byte – sorry, not sorry.

Sex Pistols: This logo says everything about 1976, and Jamie Reid’s ‘hostage’ lettering was genius.

I love NY 1977: A classic logo from a classic designer – Milton Glaser

Zildjian late 1970s: I always loved the cursive, slightly mystical script and when I discovered the Turkish heritage of the business, I simply loved it more.

Absolut Vodka 1979: I was surprised to discover this iconic brand identity was developed in 1979 as it went on to define spirit chic in the 80s and 90s.

1980’s: Print technology was maturing but creativity was still largely expressed through drawing.

Stussy (early 80s): Created in the early 1980s by Shawn Stussy, the founder of the streetwear brand (and surfboard shaper). It defined a lasting graffiti spirit.

MTV 1981: This appeared to be the first logo that opened the idea of consistency through flexibility.

Channel 4 1982: For decades there were only three channels in the UK, so when the channel 4 logo came along, you knew the content was going to be different.

La Caixa 1982: What a brilliant idea for a Basque Bank to leverage Juan Miro – just brilliant!

Espana 1982: Twice in one year for Juan Miro – that’s just greedy.

Jones 1985: Seeing the carrier bags around Covent Garden was everything about cool.

WWF 1986: WWF had been using a panda since 1961 but the 1986 design by Jenny Leibundgut at Landor is considered one of the best logos of all time – I agree.

Air Jordan 1988: Under the design direction of Tinker Hatfield. This is arguably the silhouette that made Nike.

First Direct Launched in 1989 by HSBC. first direct promised simplicity through a beautifully understated name and logo.

V&A Museum 1989: Alan Fletcher crafted this piece of elegance.

1990’s: The decade that allowed personal computers to open everything up. This was the decade where technology unleashed creative hands

The Pixies 1991: Vaughan Oliver was a cult hero and everything he did was full of an ethereal craft that came from another world.

BT 1991: The BT piper heralded in a new wave of figurative logos.

The National Lottery 1994: It’s everyone’s logo

Orange 1994: ‘The future’s bright, the future’s orange’. So ambiguous, so clever. Now that was a teaser campaign.

FedEx 1994: from abbreviating the name to FedEx, to the iconic logo, just brilliant. Lindon Leader who was a senior design director at Landor Associates is attributed to this piece of genius.

RAC 1997: It seemed like the first in a futuristic genre of logotypes – it copied nothing – sorry Jaguar

National Geographic 1997: Who knew that a simple rectangular yellow frame could travel so far?

BBC 1997: it’s … definitive words and pictures in a logo.

Pathe 1999: Irreverently French – love it!

100% Pure New Zealand 1999: I was working in Wellington at the time, and this logo was just awesome aye.

2000’s: A brave new world of platforms and tools.

Dopod 2003: The definitive ‘round lettered logo’. not immediately obvious but so cool for one of the first convergent mobile / PDA devices.

Uniquely Singapore 2004: A beautifully crafted destination logo that reflects the sophistication of its multicultural blend.

Rapha 2004 another era-defining logo, that made MAMILs smarten up!

Unilever 2004: Paul Polman’s dream in a symbol that ‘adds vitality to life’.

Tiger Beer 2005: A beautiful illustration from Chris Mitchell for Design Bridge.

Aboitiz 2006: An entrepreneurial conglomerate, whose logo illustrates there are always alternatives.

Visit Australia 2006(ish). Captures the earthy spirit of a nation.

Globe Telecom 2007: There are lots of Telecoms Globes but this is the best Globe Telecom.

Jin Air 2008: The budget airline from Korean Airlines has the fuselage of a butterfly beautifully crafted into the negative space.

Dulux 2009: The ‘Let’s colour’ logo, tagline and activation campaign was a step change for Dulux.

2010 to present: As creativity became commoditized, gems are still everywhere.

Instagram 2011: Didn’t we all love the original? And, it’s great when a co-founder designs the logo. It’s a shame that it got dumbed down again and again.

San Diego Zoo 2010: Makes me want to visit the zoo just because of the logo.

Pinterest 2011: Such a great name that translates in a lovely ‘Favicon’ and logotype – another regrettable move to a simpler typeface.

Owl Coffee 2011: Can you see the coffee bean? A beautifully updated heritage brand that drove a dramatic shift in sales.

Cancer Research UK 2012: Interbrand designed this original logo. It confidently captures the collective struggle.

American Airlines 2013: Redesigning an Icon is tough, but the designer crafted a beautiful solution for American Airlines.

Premier League 2016: One of the best interpretations of the big cat and superbly implemented.

Cadburys 2020: I always loved the Cadburys logo and was pleasantly surprised to see such an elegant historic evolution.

F1 2017: Wieden+Kennedy designed the new ‘F1’ logo. It’s great to see an iconic logo get even more iconic.

Kia 2021: Appropriate to finish on one of my favourites. I love the craft in every letter – it completely changed my view of the brand and looks great on every vehicle.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this stroll through logo memory lane and I hope they illustrate that craft is alive and kicking.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and let’s look forward to a creative 2025

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With the series of redundancies by digital platforms (such as Meta’s Facebook, Snap’s Snapchat and most notably, Twitter) resulting from the decline in their digital advertising revenue, brands should be questioning if there is still any credit left in spending large sums of money on paid ads.

The truth is, the decline in digital advertising revenue is indicative of the increasing ineffectiveness of paid ads in recent years. In other words, brands who are still allocating high budgets for paid advertisements might be wasting money. Fortunately, there are better, more efficient methods in digital marketing which brands can, and should, look into to further their brands’ growth organically; the prime of which is to develop their in-house content marketing capability.

Understanding the decline of digital advertising industry 

So far, more than 20,000 employees were laid off in the slew of retrenchments by Silicon Valley in 2022. Among which, Facebook’s Meta had axed around 13% (11,000 staff) of its workforce, while Snapchat’s Snap dismissed 20%. Further job cuts, hiring freezes and other contingency plans were also executed widely across the Valley.

Meta and Snap are examples of some Big Tech companies in Silicon Valley, whose main source of revenue is generated from ad placements on their platforms. So the decrease in their revenue means brands are spending lesser for ads to be placed on Big Tech’s platforms. The seemingly obvious reason behind this is the threat of an imminent economic crisis; when companies tighten their belts in preparation for upcoming crises, advertising budgets are usually the first to be cut. But assigning blame only to the economic downturn seems too easy a way out. As with all things, there is more than what meets the eye. 

The fact is, the digital advertising industry already hasn’t been performing well since years before the looming economic crisis. Albeit yearly projected increases in revenue, a closer look at the number reveals that the industry’s growth rate is actually on a declining trajectory.

As 19th century businessman, John Wanamaker famously said: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted: the trouble is, I don’t know which half.”, a statement that is especially relevant in the age of digital ads. 

During the nascent stages of the digital advertising industry, companies jumped at the opportunities and potential it seemed to offer. But because the industry’s operation has always been opaque with its obscured metrics, the effectiveness of paid ads remains questionable. Therefore, it is difficult for brands to track the return on investment of their digital ad spend. To that end, brands are starting to realise the money pit they’ve been in, and have increasingly stopped betting on paid ads.

The situation for the digital advertising industry has been made worse due to the rise of privacy concerns in recent years. Paid ads can be accurately targeted the way they do because of data collection by Big Tech. Fearing that their privacy will be compromised, consumers have grown to be less receptive towards paid ads. Hence, when Apple introduced its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature– which gives Apple users the choice to stop apps from tracking their online activities– it was praised by users for taking a step in the right direction towards privacy protection.

Undoubtedly, the limitations placed on data collection have had a huge impact on the digital advertising industry, since advertisers would not be able to track critical data that make ad placements more accurate. With lesser accuracy, the industry loses its appeal and is unable to continue charming brands to spend on paid ads. Apple’s ATT has been estimated to result in a loss of USD 10 billion in Meta’s revenue, and USD 546 million for Snap. 

What’s next? Build an in-house content marketing team. 

In facing the decline of the digital advertising industry, it is crucial that brands venture into other aspects of digital marketing to ensure further growth for their brands. So, what should brands start doing? Instead of spending large amounts of money in paid ads with lost credibility, brands should start investing in building in-house content marketing through hiring and capacity-building. 

What is content marketing, exactly? Content marketing is the development and distribution of valuable and useful content and information that are relevant to target audiences through various means. These include emails, blogs, videos, podcasts, etc. Simply put, it is the creation of strong content that evokes the emotions of target audiences. 

The current shift of focus to content marketing is also timely, as the social media landscape simultaneously moves into a content-driven economy. The proliferation of social media and technology in the last few decades has placed consumers in the driver’s seat to decide for themselves the kind of content they wish to see. With the abundance of information users come across daily, they’ve developed mental shortcuts to sieve out only meaningful and impactful content deemed worthy of their time. Hence, information put out by brands must be meaningful and impactful– they need to tell stories that consumers can resonate with to boost brand loyalty and conversions.

Having an in-house content marketing team has several advantages that can greatly benefit brands (this article does a great job explaining them). But to summarise, an in-house marketing team does a better job at ensuring sustainable business growth, especially for brands with a strong customer base. Of course, building a strong in-house team takes time, effort and capital. But the investment in building in-house content marketing teams can certainly yield better results than paid ads.

What is also crucial is that, with an in-house content marketing team, the marketing process is made dynamic, and brands are able to better adapt to changes as the business needs evolve. 

Unlike paid ads hiding behind obscured metrics, in-house teams are able to embark on a process that lets them continuously see what are the strategies that work, adjusting them accordingly in the right direction to ensure brand growth. In other words, having in-house teams means brands are able to put out more dynamic content that can definitely connect with their ever-evolving target audience in a more effective way.

(Check out this article to find out the roles in an in-house team, areas of focus, and how to ensure efficiency of the team.)

Conclusion

Safe to say, the digital advertising industry has lost its grip on brands. While paid ads may have been effective for brands in the 2010s, the decline in its growth rate in recent years clearly indicates that it’s time for brands to stop relying heavily on paid ads. Instead, the future of brand growth calls for brands to start developing and strengthening their internal capabilities, and going beyond basic advertising to adopting a holistic approach for more sustainable and meaningful brand growth.

Tangible is a brand strategy and business consulting firm, synergising our consulting and creative offers to give clients comprehensive solutions. We believe brands are strategic management tools that should go beyond simply delighting customers. For more information on how Tangible can assist you with your branding, or other related digital services, please contact us here.

Issue 39: Q1 2022

Issue 32: Q2 2020

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