I’ve been thinking a lot about feeling. And doing a lot of feeling into feeling.
About what happens when everything gets easier to make, faster to produce and increasingly similar...?! AI can help us move at incredible speed. It can generate the image, write the words, build the thing, find the answer. Brilliant. Useful. Crazy. But somewhere in all of that possibility, it’s all feeling a bit...yuck. Same
Because I don’t think the future is going to belong to the businesses, products or brands that can make the most content (contrary to what the algorithm might currently be spinning). Or the prettiest image. Or the most perfectly optimised version of something that already exists. In a world where everyone has access to the same tools, the interesting stuff will be the things that have a squiggly point of view. A genuinely captivating story. A REAL reason to exist. Something with texture and feeling and actually makes people feel moved enough to actually do something. Together, for the better.
That’s the intersection I’m increasingly interested in: right at the pinpoint of innovation and technology, but oh-so-human. The products, services, brands creating real-world connection, community, belonging and experiences — sometimes enabled by AI, but never replaced by it. The businesses making innovation feel more human, or using it to create better experiences rather than simply more efficient ones. The ideas that understand that a brand isn’t just what it looks like online. It’s what people say about it, how it makes them feel, who it brings together and whether they want to come back.
A lot of conversations I’ve had since forming Studio Dawn keep circling this:
✦ With Ruth at Rule Design, we’ve been talking about what it means to actually get found in a world where search is changing, and how SEO and AI discovery can sit alongside distinctive brand thinking rather than flattening it. There’s more to come from that — including a little sneak peek bonus appearing in Ruth’s new SEO & AI “get found” course.
✦ In my mentoring and coaching conversations, we keep circling back to the value of a genuinely good idea, the humanity behind it, and how it’s so subjective. Also coming together as creatives to have these discussions has been an absolute highlight – connection, community and deep deep listening.
✦ And personally, I’m exploring all of this while building Studio Dawn, working on new brands and projects, and continuing my ever-ongoing yoga journey: paying attention to what feels real, what creates connection, and what happens when we stop trying to optimise every bloody thing.
I think feeling might become one of the most valuable things a brand can create. And perhaps, in a world where AI can make almost anything, the most interesting question isn’t “Can we make this?” but “Why should anyone care?”
That feels like a pretty good question to keep exploring.
More to come.
Kimberley Dawn. 🌞
#AI #human #humanity #design #branding #humandesign
As always, find more at Studio Dawn.