It\u2019s bizarre now to think back on how quickly AI slipped into our daily lives, shaping the way we work and live. The global AI market is now valued at nearly $391billion, with forecasts suggesting it could grow almost five-fold by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n
But as the sector grows, so too does the need to stand out. A fresh crop of AI brands is entering an increasingly crowded market, yet the products themselves often chart entirely new territory, with tools and services with no clear precedent.<\/p>\n
That gives branding a crucial role \u2013 not only in setting the stage for these products and articulating what they offer, but also in ensuring they stand apart in a teeming landscape.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s striking across this new wave of launches \u2013 as well as established AI platforms undergoing a refresh \u2013 is a deliberate decision to move away from the default visual tropes of tech.<\/p>\n
Gone are the gradients, sparkles, and stripped-back minimalism \u2013 in their place, studios are building identities with more texture, personality, and nuance, presenting AI less as a faceless system and more as a relatable partner.<\/p>\n
How&How\u2019s new brand for Jupi<\/p>\n
When How&How<\/a> began working on the identity for Jupi, an AI-powered decision-making operating system, they set out to create a brand that looked and felt unlike anything that had come before.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we wanted with Jupi was something really out of the category. We wanted it to challenge the conventional, almost chillingly robotic, minimalist, OpenAI-ish aesthetic, and feel more authentic and human,\u201d says Cat How, CEO and executive creative director of How&How.<\/p>\n That ambition was sharpened through strategy led by narrative consultancy FNDR, whose insights underscored Jupi\u2019s dynamic decision-making ability.<\/p>\n The studio decided to focus on this idea of dynamism and translated it visually into a number of elements, from motion that melts like Dali\u2019s clocks to a mascot, inspired by Rodin\u2019s The Thinker, that walks and moves.<\/p>\n The Thinker offered a powerful metaphor for a decision-making operating system. To convey Jupi\u2019s agility and its ability to think on its feet, the mascot was given a pair of legs, allowing it to stride across screens. Its treatment carries meaning too.<\/p>\n The rough, almost-chiselled finish of both the mascot and the wordmark suggests that decision-making is always a work in progress \u2013 imperfect, evolving, and in constant flux. Its hand-hewn texture also injects a sense of humanity, a conscious break from the slick, polished perfection long associated with the tech industry.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, the Magritte-esque illustrations, drenched in metaphors and an air of surrealism, add personality to the brand, while giving it a vivid visual voice that\u2019s unafraid to stick out in the crowd.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just really sad, how, when branding for tech, we\u2019re all forced to fall into the familiar tropes of everything having to look blue and trustworthy,\u201d How says. \u201cIt was important for us that Jupi look nothing like what we usually see in tech, because it shows that they\u2019re confident about being different.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a big appetite for things that are different because people see so much of the same stuff nowadays. So the idea is that you either go big or go home.\u201d<\/p>\n As How points out, tech brands face a unique challenge. They\u2019re often selling something intangible, without the immediate sensory cues of a physical product.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why emotion and storytelling become so important \u2013 they bring life and clarity to something that mostly exists as code and concept. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly easier to sell beer than it is to sell an AI decision-making tool,\u201d How adds.<\/p>\n How&How\u2019s new brand for Jupi<\/p>\n That exercise of taking something intangible and giving it a brand world, that feels immediately human and palpable, was a challenge Parker<\/a> took on when branding Picco. The AI-powered platform is designed to automate and streamline repetitive tasks for sales teams, enhancing productivity and efficiency.<\/p>\n Rather than presenting Picco as a magical fix-all, Parker framed the brand as a true companion to day-to-day work.<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly in the sales space, where demands are fast-moving and often unpredictable, the identity needed to signal a tool that is light, nimble, and reactive. The narrative wasn\u2019t about replacing people, but about supporting them \u2013 removing friction, keeping pace, and helping teams focus their energy where it has the most impact,\u201d says Tyler Eide, creative director and founder of Parker.<\/p>\n Parker\u2019s brand world for Picco<\/p>\n In order to give the intangible product a relatable visual world, Parker rooted the identity in textured illustrations of outdated office tools \u2013 fax machines, typewriters, staplers \u2013 teasing the brand idea of \u201cout with the old, in with the new.\u201d<\/p>\n By elevating these tools \u2013 that literally levitate and leave the screen \u2013 the team nods to the past, while signaling progress.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whimsical treatment turns what once felt clunky into something light and contemporary, a perfect counterpart to Picco\u2019s bird symbol,\u201d Eide says. \u201cIt\u2019s a way of saying: the old technology has had its day, and now Picco is here to take its place.\u201d Meanwhile, the brand\u2019s innate sense of agility is captured in the hummingbird icon and the wordmark that takes cues from performance brands, evoking speed and efficiency.<\/p>\n Parker\u2019s identity for Picco<\/p>\n Together, these playful, narrative-driven elements not only differentiate Picco\u2019s offering, but also give the brand a visual identity that sidesteps conventional norms in tech branding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t interested in making this feel like another piece of \u2018tech.\u2019 Instead, the identity is built around a promise: a lighter, more nimble way of working,\u201d says Eide.<\/p>\n Picco\u2019s approach exemplifies a broader challenge in AI branding \u2013 creating identities that feel human and relatable while reflecting the sophistication and capabilities of emerging tech.<\/p>\n A key part of this lies in understanding, and responding to, our evolving relationship with digital tools. Leading brands in the space create a sense of optimism about what AI can unlock, while taking responsibility for how it is applied.<\/p>\n \u201cVisually, that means brands are becoming more imaginative, rather than presenting themselves as cold, futuristic utilities,\u201d says Ben Lewin, partner at Otherway<\/a>.<\/p>\n Otherway\u2019s identity for Robin<\/p>\n In their comprehensive rebrand for Robin, an AI-powered platform that re-imagines legal work, Otherway knew they had to imbue the identity with a sense of humanity, while also underpinning, \u201cthe cutting-edge innovation that has gone into making such a powerful platform,\u201d says Jordan Mann, Otherway\u2019s design director.<\/p>\n That considered balance reveals itself in several aspects of the identity. The updated Robin icon stands, \u201cas a beacon of humanity and character, while the majority of AI brands are leaning into a more \u2018process\u2019 or \u2018precision\u2019 lead brand mark,\u201d says Mann.<\/p>\n The redbreast brand colour is immediately recognisable amidst a sea of cold blues and purples in the industry, and brings the warmth the brand needs. Typography, UI, and the layout system complete the picture with a framework that is precise, authoritative, and robust, speaking to Robin\u2019s technical foundations.<\/p>\n A significant part of the worldbuilding \u2013 and arguably its most distinctive feature \u2013 is the moving, illustrated landscapes users can actively journey through.<\/p>\n Otherway\u2019s illustrated landscapes for Robin<\/p>\n \u201cThe strategic direction was \u2018New Legal,\u2019 a punchy provocation that reframes the possibilities of legal within the world of business, from roadblock to driver of growth,\u201d says Mann.<\/p>\n \u201cThis drove every decision within the new brand system, but came to life most powerfully within our digital landscapes, framing \u2018New Legal\u2019 as a serene and abundant place you can go to, designed to feel like the antithesis of the stressful experience of old legal.\u201d<\/p>\n And he adds, legal can be intimidating, abstract, and often invisible, which makes it hard to visualise in a way that resonates emotionally.<\/p>\n \u201cIllustration gave us a way to turn those intangible ideas into something expansive and optimistic. Ariel Lee\u2019s painterly style was the perfect way to create a world that felt warm and innately human,\u201d says Mann.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough her landscapes, we could show transformation \u2013 forests opening up, paths emerging, ecosystems flourishing \u2013 and give Robin a world that feels inspiring, not transactional.\u201d<\/p>\n Otherway\u2019s illustrated landscapes for Robin<\/p>\n Perhaps the surge of more expressive branding for AI is a response to the evolving role these tools play in our lives. Increasingly, AI is no longer being cast as a flawless, all-knowing, slap-on solution to every problem, but as a partner that works alongside us.<\/p>\n This shift asks designers to imagine identities that feel less transactional and more relational \u2013 brands that reassure, inspire, and invite collaboration rather than dictate it.<\/p>\n By weaving together narrative, emotion, type, texture, and illustration, studios are giving form to this change, showing that the most compelling AI brands aren\u2019t distant or mechanical, but instead feel present, human-aware, and supportive.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery wave of new tech arrives with a big bang, then slowly finds its place in the world. AI is at that stage now,\u201d Lewin says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re starting to see AI brands moving away from being seen as \u2018machines\u2019 to being understood as \u2018collaborators.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean over-humanising or appearing fake. It means designing with empathy and imagination, so people see AI as a tool that works with them, not against them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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