There was a time when hiring a design studio wasn\u2019t even a question. If you wanted to be taken seriously as a business, you needed professionals on the job. Logos, brochures, websites, packaging, this was essential infrastructure.<\/p>\n
But maybe that\u2019s starting to change.<\/p>\n
With AI now handling much of the design industry\u2019s everyday workload, leaflets, invites, social posts, small-budget projects, what used to require a studio\u2019s time and talent is being done by machines in minutes.<\/p>\n
And for a lot of businesses, that level of \u201cgood enough\u201d design might be all they need.<\/p>\n
Is commissioning a design studio shifting from a business necessity to a kind of strategic luxury? Not luxury as in indulgence for indulgence\u2019s sake, but luxury as a deliberate choice. A signal.<\/p>\n
Like opting for a bespoke suit when an off-the-peg one would do the job just fine. Or choosing a Herm\u00e8s Birkin bag instead of a standard handbag.<\/p>\n
The Birkin isn\u2019t just a bag. It\u2019s a statement, one of craftsmanship, scarcity, and strategic intent. Each one is handmade by a single artisan over many hours, using the finest materials, and only produced in limited numbers.<\/p>\n
Owning a Birkin signals more than wealth; it signals patience, taste, and a refusal to settle for the ordinary. In the same way, commissioning a top-tier design studio might be less about ticking a box and more about making a statement \u2013 \u201cWe don\u2019t settle for generic. We are here to stand apart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could we see a resurfacing of \u201cdesigned by\u2026\u201d on the bottom of websites, the edge of ads, the back of packs. If that\u2019s the case, should design studios rethink their offer?<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s no longer enough to be a reliable supplier of design work to the many, maybe the future is about becoming a more premium visible brand, to serve the few \u2013 be selected because it is smart to be seen to be selected, on top of what the selection delivers.<\/p>\n
AI is setting a new baseline of competence. It\u2019s flooding the market with polished, predictable outputs.<\/p>\n
Maybe the studios that will thrive are those who can offer something AI can\u2019t \u2013 lateral thinking, human insight, and a signature strategic distinctiveness that algorithms can\u2019t replicate. But more than quirks that AI finds tough to replicate (at the moment) \u2013 to be seen as a company of people that stand for more than delivery.<\/p>\n
Rather than \u201cjust\u201d be highly professional and deliver good things, do agencies need to become more quirky?<\/p>\n
Become a highly recognisable source of creativity. The same we see from photographers like Mert & Marcus, filmmakers like Wes Anderson, songwriters like Lin-Manuel Miranda. All immediately recognisable \u2013 all enormously flexible.<\/p>\n
There used to be agencies that ran on highly visible signature moves. Almost illustrative, studios like Tomato (those Underworld album covers, the Orange ads!) and Why Not Associates, whose Next catalogues designers raced to get hold of, and not because of the clothes.<\/p>\n
These studios carried almost instant seals of approval from the cool kids in design \u2013 seen before they were heard. You could tell immediately that they had designed that catalogue, that poster, that book, that album cover. Could we see a return to that?<\/p>\n
At SomeOne, our work has a signature approach of creating brand worlds, with proven business outcomes, but not really a signature visual output. Everything looks very different.<\/p>\n
Perhaps we need to change that? Do we need to push for a visual twang that connects work back to us?<\/p>\n
Maybe that\u2019s the new luxury for those commissioning commercial creativity. Pick your player based on what they look like, not what they promise.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t sign up for hand-crafted design for its own sake, but for distinctly human-led, work that drives business outcomes by adding value beyond output.<\/p>\n
The value comes from audiences knowing who did it. That it\u2019s a shot by Rankin, that\u2019s it\u2019s a design by Foster+Partners\u2026<\/p>\n
In a market where AI-generated design is everywhere, could deeply idiosyncratic, human-led design become the advantage? Not simply fulfilling a necessity, but a more emotive and powerful and visible choice?<\/p>\n
When budgets, time and effort are in scarce supply, AI may do the trick. But when audiences realise a brand has been made without care, without effort, will those humans care?<\/p>\n
If a brand\u2019s communications are simply churned out, will customers turn up? If they do turn up, will they expect to pay fast food prices when brands are hoping to see restaurant returns.<\/p>\n
It appears that in a new commercial reality that delivers ultra processed creativity, agencies may need to emphasise their celebrated ingredients to offer healthier returns \u2013 and stay in demand.<\/p>\n
Simon Manchipp is co-founder and executive creative director at SomeOne<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n