The more AI-generated work I see, the more I value a wonky line.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the sheer volume of creative content flooding the internet. Until recently, I hadn't shared my two cents...

AI tools are generating images at lightning speed. Slick, impressive and visually polished.

But, I’m starting to feel numb to it and a little bored with how 'innovative' I'm meant to find it.

What happened to being able to call bullshit on something?

It’s like scrolling through a thousand pictures of beautifully plated food.
They all look great but none of them make you feel anything.

Because here’s the thing, AI doesn’t know what it’s saying. It’s not trying to communicate or intentionally connect with emotion. It’s just imitating what’s already been said.

No tension. No story. No conviction.

Just because you write AI a prompt asking it to create something that evokes emotion, doesn't mean the image, design or copy will actually do that.

And I think people are starting to notice. Brands included. Quantity is skyrocketing, but meaning is getting forgotten to save a buck or two (in the short term).

That’s where I think hand-drawn illustration still holds its ground.

⚡️ The wobble in a line, the subtle but intensely purposeful line work or idea (big or small) added into an illustrator's work that makes it uniquely their own...

That's what audiences LOVE and connect to.

The tension between your reference and your instinct.

Those tiny decisions that build up over a person's career in creativity. An uncomfortable mind fuck of abstract, literal and surreal all rolled up into one illustration guided by brand parameters, to serve one purpose.

Connect.

As someone who has grown up in various subcultures in music, bmx, skate, surf and now, Jiu Jitsu. I know, it's the art and creativity within these cultures that allow you to connect and identify with them.

The more everything starts to look the same, the more a drawing with a point of view stands out.

So no, I’m not trying to compete with AI.

I use AI all the time, for admin, for clarity, for solving all kinds of problems... I'm not avoiding it or hiding from it. I embrace it.

But when it comes to drawing, the ideas, the marks, the weird little decisions...That’s where the human part still matters, and I leave that in the precariously capable hands of me!

Why the return to analogue is shaping brand communication

After years of being constantly and deeply plugged in, there’s a growing number of people who are starting to crave real-life experiences again.

A realisation that perhaps, constantly being attached to a screen is detrimental to mental and physical health.

Can you relate?

People are craving (myself included)

Getting together
Live events
Making things by hand
Going outside

Doing things that don’t live behind a screen.

These things are neither new or innovative.

But now we’re approaching it from a place of genuine need to get headspace and feel connection.

Before I worked in the creative industry, I spent a lot of time travelling.

I learnt to live off very little money (and food for that matter).
I lived in a van for months chasing warmer weather and surf.
I drank camp stove coffee in car parks with people I met in the water that day.
I explored new places and got lost more times than I can remember.

And yes, I was barefoot for a lot of this!

Not a bar of wifi in sight.

I felt happy and content. Human.

At one point, I became so disconnected from what you call “real life” that coming back to it felt genuinely difficult.

I questioned some of the systems society has in place.

Did we need them?
Aren’t we better off without any of this?

Perhaps that’s a much longer conversation! But those thoughts and experiences developed my point of view.

They’ve inspired my work over the years.
They’ve inspired me. They still do.

Creativity is about being present.
It’s about getting lost.

It’s about paying attention to what’s around you and letting something flow from it.

As more people seek real-life experiences again, they often become more sensitive to texture, imperfection, warmth and presence.

And that changes how they respond to visuals, interfaces and messaging.

Overly polished or system-generated brand worlds can start to create emotional distance.

It adds to the noise we’re getting tired of.

The more people seek out real-life experiences, the more important it becomes for brands to feel human, intentional and grounded in something real.

New ideas
Untapped creativity
Fresh perspectives
Evolved values
New (but old) mediums

Now, I don’t know exactly what any of that looks like from a business sense. That’s far too outside my level of intelligence!

But what I do know, is that if more people are seeking out real-life experiences again, it's likely to influence which brands they connect with and how they respond to products, packaging, UX and visual communication.

In the same way that there has been a rise in demand for story-led cinema. People are becoming fatigued by excessive noise and formulaic content.

As mentalities shift, so does the expectation.

The opportunity.

For brands to evolve
To reconnect
To communicate in ways that feel more grounded and intentional.

Not by changing who they are but by growing in response to what people are beginning to need again.