Ideas, insights, and opinions
18 items
18 items
What’s actually shaping brands in 2026? In this Fast Company piece, leaders from Koto, Pentagram, Wolff Olins and others break down the real shifts behind AI, taste, and creative direction. If everything starts to look the same, this explains why and what to do about it.

2026 won’t be defined by one trend but by tension. On one side, AI is flooding the market with faster, cheaper, more uniform output. The result is already visible: a wave of indistinguishable brands, from “butthole logos” in AI to safe, over-smoothed design systems. When tools are accessible to everyone, execution stops being the differentiator. Taste does.
That shift is triggering a response. Designers are leaning back into craft, detail, and deliberate imperfection. Work that feels human, slightly off, harder to replicate. At the same time, formats are compressing. The “micro-epic” becomes the dominant storytelling unit: short, sharp, and built for attention. The question is not whether brands use it, but whether they use it to say something meaningful or just to chase engagement.
Underneath it all sits a bigger reset. As production gets easier, clarity becomes harder. The brands that win won’t be the loudest or the most reactive. They’ll be the ones with a clear point of view, consistent expression, and the discipline to say no.
Read the full piece in Fast Company.
Los Angeles