Michael
Starkweather
BIO
Boston-based designer.
I build startup brands and make cool stuff.
Currently a brand designer at Torq.
Brand Designer, Web Designer, Motion Designer
CONTACT
In the Era of AI, Escape the Sea of Sameness
In the Era of AI, Escape the Sea of Sameness
THOUGHT
THOUGHT
Published Feb. 27, 2026
Published Feb. 27, 2026
This is a cycle that repeats itself forever.
This is a cycle that repeats itself forever.
When everyone can make anything, you need to be making something new. You cannot build the next big thing without winning mental availability. That is the odds that someone notices, recognizes, or thinks of your brand in real buying moments. Byron Sharp puts it pretty plainly: mental availability is the probability that a buyer will notice, recognize, and/or think of a brand in buying situations.
When everyone can make anything, you need to be making something new. You cannot build the next big thing without winning mental availability. That is the odds that someone notices, recognizes, or thinks of your brand in real buying moments. Byron Sharp puts it pretty plainly: mental availability is the probability that a buyer will notice, recognize, and/or think of a brand in buying situations.
This is how you will escape.
This is how you will escape.
You have heard the lines: “taste is the differentiator,” “when they zig, zag,” and every other catchphrase. “Good” is getting cheaper and easier to generate.
You have heard the lines: “taste is the differentiator,” “when they zig, zag,” and every other catchphrase. “Good” is getting cheaper and easier to generate.
So how do you stand out when everyone can make anything? Creative direction. Slop is not going anywhere just because the tools get better. I have seen people with years of design experience churn out hand-crafted slop, and I have seen smaller teams ship genuinely fresh work because they had taste and a point of view.
So how do you stand out when everyone can make anything? Creative direction. Slop is not going anywhere just because the tools get better. I have seen people with years of design experience churn out hand-crafted slop, and I have seen smaller teams ship genuinely fresh work because they had taste and a point of view.
As a company, you can absolutely replace a lot of production with agents. Blog imagery, landing pages, even whole websites. But without strong creative direction, you are going to churn out slop, or worse, you will be just pretty good. And nobody remembers pretty good. WARC makes a similar point from the brand side: distinctive brand assets are built to anchor brands in memory and trigger faster recall, and they take time to build.
As a company, you can absolutely replace a lot of production with agents. Blog imagery, landing pages, even whole websites. But without strong creative direction, you are going to churn out slop, or worse, you will be just pretty good. And nobody remembers pretty good. WARC makes a similar point from the brand side: distinctive brand assets are built to anchor brands in memory and trigger faster recall, and they take time to build.
Also, the uncomfortable truth is that generative AI makes it vastly easier and cheaper to create and improve outputs. That pushes a lot of work toward commoditization unless you are adding something that cannot be copied so easily.
Also, the uncomfortable truth is that generative AI makes it vastly easier and cheaper to create and improve outputs. That pushes a lot of work toward commoditization unless you are adding something that cannot be copied so easily.
There is a reason companies have invested in human creativity for a long time. It does not matter if you are hand-painting signs or designing through prompts. If you are not finding a way to escape the sea of sameness, you are dead.
There is a reason companies have invested in human creativity for a long time. It does not matter if you are hand-painting signs or designing through prompts. If you are not finding a way to escape the sea of sameness, you are dead.