The world around us is changing. From co-pilots to creative generators, AI is evolving at a head spinning pace, rapidly enabling a world where it’s possible for anyone to create – almost – anything. Entire campaigns, brand systems – not good ones – and product experiences, can be conjured up at unprecedented speed and scale.
This year alone the so-called ‘Big Five’ – Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft – plan to invest over $300bn in AI; up from $151bn in 2023.
The genie’s out of the bottle, the horse has bolted, and yes — the shark’s long since jumped. In other words, there’s no turning back now.
As this acceleration continues, we’re faced with a fundamental question: What happens when everyone has access to the same tools? When quality and quantity are no longer differentiators, what’s left?
A New Kind of Partnership
In May, a surprise announcement rippled through the tech world — the $6.5 billion merger between OpenAI and Jony Ive’s studio, LoveFrom. It landed less like a corporate press release and more like the trailer for a Hollywood bromance — the moment when machine intelligence locks eyes with human sensibility. And that’s the real headline: even AI needs the emotional dimension of design.
Great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people.
Jony Ive has famously always designed for feeling, rather than just utility – “if it’s delightful and joyful, things tend to be used more”. As such his legacy isn’t just in the beautiful objects he’s designed but in the emotional connection people have with them. Sam Altman alluded to this in the announcement around the partnership:
“Great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people.”
The role of design has always been twofold: solve problems and evoke feelings. The first role of functional problem-solving is increasingly being handed off to machines, because AI can iterate, optimise, and execute with breathtaking speed. But the latter? That remains uniquely human. Because whilst AI can reason, it can’t manufacture meaning – not yet anyway.
From Commodity to Competitive Edge
“Without meaning, brands don’t exist — they’re just commodities.” In a world where parity is the norm, Mark Ritson’s words ring true. When features, specs, and performance all feel identical, it’s feeling that sets brands apart.
🤙 Liquid Death turned water into rebellion.
🍕 Mailchimp made email marketing fun.
👨❤️👨 Monzo gave banking a heartbeat.
It’s feeling that sticks.
The most successful brands don’t win on functionality alone — they forge emotional connections. That’s not fluff, but fuel. Fuel that drives loyalty, resonance, and ultimately, profit. Andrew Hogan, Head of Insights for Figma sees the future of product like this:
The defining characteristic for an app won’t be its functionality; it will be how it makes users feel. With more apps than ever, features will only get you so far. It’s time to put resonance on the roadmap
In other words, function gets you in the room, but emotion is the reason you stay.
Design Philosophy: From Data to Depth
At Fiasco, we believe our job isn’t just to make a brand usable — it’s to make it meaningful. That’s why we start with identifying a single, motivating emotion: awe, delight, connection, belonging — and build a brand world around it. Because when design resonates, it doesn’t just work, it sticks.
Google’s recent research into Material 3 (M3) backs this up:
People could identify key UI elements up to 4x faster in expressive interfaces. And 87% of 18–24-year-olds preferred them.
In other words, expression doesn’t just shape how something feels, it can improve how it functions too.
But getting there means going beyond demographic data or surface-level insights. It requires you to go deeper to understand people – with all their contradictions, complexity, and emotional nuance – not users.
In our modern world racing toward automation and efficiency, emotion remains the last true edge.
As AI reshapes what’s possible, it’s how things feel — rather than how they function — that will define what stands out and what sticks. Whether designing brands for B2C or B2B, one truth remains: Design that works is good; but design that moves you is better. The brands and products that thrive in this new era won’t just be built with intelligence, they’ll be built with care.
Written By
Ben Steers
