Charley EM

As spring is blooming all around us, there’s no better time to infuse your creative communications with the spirit of renewal and growth. In this article we’re sharing what’s been inspiring us lately and examining some of the design trends we’re excited to see. 

Sustainability and purpose-driven branding

Sustainable design is not a trendy, niche approach, it’s fast becoming a core principle. Consumers are looking for brands that align with their values and have a clear social or environmental mission. Brands that can effectively communicate their purpose and demonstrate their commitment to making a positive impact are likely to resonate. Customers are placing more value on products and services that prioritise sustainability, with studies finding that 81% of consumers believe brands should actively work to protect the environment. 

From a design style perspective, we’re seeing a lot more thought go into packaging. Not just classic recyclable material and eco postage, but packaging being reusable or rethinking it by giving it a second life.  

Sustainability conscious styling is starting to shift away from cliche ‘green’ to using a wider palette of nature through muted blues, beige and pinks to represent sustainability alongside the classic textured, earthy feel.  

Amble Outdoors | Sustainable clothing

As well as seeing these visual changes, the messaging is diving deeper. As a more well-informed audience which has growing concern over climate change and other environmental issues, consumers are increasingly looking for brands that prioritise sustainability. Messages and campaigns are bold and calling people out when they’re greenwashing or contributing to negative sustainable practices, working towards a force for change. 

Make My Money Matter | Oblivia Coal Mine

The continued rise of AI

AI has made a huge impact on the marketing world over the last year. While the creative industry may feel under pressure from generative AI tools, it has also never felt so full of potential and scope for growth. AI is streamlining the design process, providing insights and generating multiple styles quickly​​. And AI is not going anywhere! AI is only going to get bigger and better, especially as us as humans learn to control it and manipulate it.

In this recent survey by It’s Nice That, 83% of creatives in the industry are already using AI tools. There are still ethical concerns around bias – which still need a human eye to carefully consider outputs – and legal concerns around plagiarism but the technology will undoubtedly continue to improve. 

  Midjourney outputs

Embracing nostalgia

Fashion repeats itself every twenty years or so, and this holds true in design too. The content of nostalgia marketing changes with the generations, as each generation has different cultural references. Gen Z may look to cultural references from the ’90s or early ‘00s, whereas Gen X or older millennials might feel nostalgic about the ’80s and its cultural touchpoints.

We have seen a huge re-emergence of ’90s inspired designs stemming from the iconic Barbie and Mean Girls movies allowing many of us to embrace the childhood nostalgia. This is paving the way for vibrant colours, abstract shapes, funky patterns, and scrapbooking to name a few. These design styles create an emotional bond with the audience, this especially aligns with Gen Z’s growing digital fatigue and their desire for meaningful experiences and authenticity. 

Cadburys | Yours for 200 years

Bold type

Sometimes text needs to do the talking. In a world where there is so much visual information thrown at us and video/social media can be so intrusive, a simple message is effective. More campaigns are using simple type to tell the message and make an impact. Simplicity is key. Clean imagery is being used but enhanced by the typography.  

B&Q | You can do it

Inclusive design

Inclusive design that is both diverse and accessible has rightly become a staple. Ranging from high-contrast graphics, clear typography, alt text for images, and diverse and inclusive messaging.  

Inclusive design enables us to talk to global audiences,  breaking down barriers and challenging stereotypes. 

Nike | This athlete isn’t just an athlete she’s a mother too. 

 Impactful communications that connect with people

It’s clear that the world of graphic design is always changing and we’re seeing exciting trends shaping the way we communicate. 

But amidst all this change, one thing stays the same: our commitment to making impactful designs that connect with people. Whether it’s telling your brand’s story or spreading a message, we’re here to help. If you’re looking to get cut through with your creative communications, reach out to us. Let’s work together to make something that makes a lasting impression. 

In our most recent ‘Navigating AI together’ session, we went on a journey to explore the legal challenges around the use of generative AI tools. We were delighted to be joined by Alex Collinson from Herrington Carmichael, a seasoned expert in commercial and intellectual property law.  

The purpose of the ‘Navigating AI together’ series is to foster a community dedicated to responsible AI usage and to work through these challenges with clarity and integrity, together. In this recap of our discussion, we’re shining a light on the issues around AI and charting a path towards ethical and informed AI usage. 

What do we mean by intellectual property, copyright and trademarks?

Many of us are likely guilty of using language like intellectual property, copyright and trademarks almost interchangeably. But to understand the legal landscape around AI, we need to get these terms nailed down. 

• Intellectual property (IP): refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce.  IP is protected by laws which give the creators or owners exclusive rights to use their creations or discoveries for a certain period of time. 
• Copyright: Copyright grants exclusive rights to creators of original works, such as books, music, and software, allowing them to control reproduction, distribution, and other uses for a limited time. Copyright acts as a deterrent to those who may wish to profit from reproduction, and can be licensed which can create a revenue stream for your business. 
• Trademark: Trademarks protect words, symbols, or designs that distinguish goods or services, providing exclusive rights to their owners to prevent confusion among consumers and maintain brand identity. 

Common copyright misconceptions

Even before we get into the new, complex and unclear realm of generative AI, Alex shared with us that there are a lot of common misconceptions: 

• “Everything on the Internet is free to use”: Contrary to popular belief, just because something is freely available online doesn’t mean it’s in the public domain. Users must be cautious about where they obtain information and how they use it. 
• “My name is protected by copyright”: Names and symbols can’t be protected by copyright; instead, they fall under trademark law. Trademarks prevent others from using similar names or symbols that could cause confusion in the marketplace.
• “You have to register your copyright to protect it”: Under English law, there’s no requirement to register copyright. Copyright protection automatically applies to works once they’re created, including artistic and literary works. 

What the law says about generative AI

While the law is not quite up to speed with generative AI, Alex shared some interesting case examples to help us better understand the legal landscape. 

Copyright 

Alex shared with us a high-profile case, Getty Images (US) Inc v Stability AI Ltd [2023] EWHC 3090 (Ch), that highlights the difficulty generative AI is causing within copyright law. Getty Images alleged that Stability AI unlawfully scraped images from other websites to train its AI model, resulting in infringement of copyright and trademarks. 

Despite Stability AI seeking summary judgment (without a full trial), the court refused, recognising the novel issues surrounding AI and copyright law. These legal nuances reveal the need for the law to adapt to the evolving landscape of AI technology, with more cases expected to emerge. 

It is possible that copyright could be infringed when AI systems are trained, if this process involves copying a substantial part of copyright works that are still within the terms of protection. However, the issue regarding whether copying will be deemed to have occurred where a generative AI system has been trained on copyright works is not straightforward.  

Potential issues include: 

• Proving the use of copyrighted works in training AI: proving that copyrighted works were used to train and develop a generative AI system poses challenges due to the lack of transparency in data usage. 
• Jurisdictional issues: determining the location of training and development activities, especially in cases involving online communication, can be complex. Although even if the activities occurred outside the UK but targeted the UK public, copyright law may still apply. 
• Permitted acts under copyright law: Assessing whether any infringement occurred involves considering permitted acts outlined in the Copyrights Act. These acts include fair dealing defences, such as criticism, review, quotation, parody, caricature, and pastiche, which provide exceptions to copyright restrictions. 

Trademarks 

Given how new generative AI is and the evolving legal landscape, there are very limited case studies available. However, Alex explained how longer existing AI applications may help us to understand potential future legal implications. 

AI-driven recommendation systems, commonly used in e-commerce, analyse user data to suggest products based on preferences and behaviour. Amazon, for instance, employs such AI technology. 

In the case of Cosmetic Warriors and Lush v Amazon ([2014]EWHC 181 (Ch)), Amazon was found to have used Lush products and branding on its website to attract customers and recommend other products without Lush’s consent. Lush claimed trademark infringement, asserting that its intellectual property rights were violated, with the court ruling in its favour. This case highlights the importance of protecting trademarks within the digital marketplace. 

The ethical dilemma

While the law hasn’t yet adapted to the emergence of generative AI, as communicators, we can’t afford to sit back and wait while these tools that can enhance creativity and productivity are available to us. With the ongoing legal uncertainties, it’s up to us to evaluate the ethical implications of our communications practices. 

Consider a scenario shared during our session, involving Keith Haring’s artwork and an AI-generated copy produced on Midjourney, a licensed platform. Keith Haring is perhaps most famous for his art used in the iconic Change4Life public health campaign. 

The Keith Haring Foundation, a charitable organisation dedicated to children in need and those affected by HIV/AIDS, holds the rights to Haring’s iconic artwork. 

However, we posed a hypothetical situation where the government wants to commission a new public health campaign, once again using Haring’s renowned illustrative style. As our Midjourney example shows, instead of licensing art from the Keith Haring Foundation, they could potentially use AI-generated images. 

This capability raises ethical and legal concerns regarding intellectual property rights. Despite the AI’s capability to mimic Haring’s style, using these images without consent from the Keith Haring Foundation could potentially infringe upon their IP rights. Not to mention the ethical impact of not licencing the images from a charitable foundation. 

This example reflects the importance of ethics when incorporating AI-generated content into communication strategies, while we wait for the law to catch up. 

We’d like to thank Alex for guiding us through this complex topic. If you’d like to explore the legal implications of generative AI further, we encourage you to connect with Alex on LinkedIn to stay updated on future discussions and insights.  

 Navigating AI together

Our upcoming session will delve into the role AI should play in marketing efforts and consider how marketers can best leverage AI to streamline tasks and free up valuable time. 

If you’d like to be kept in the loop for details on this insightful discussion, get in touch. 

AI offers amazing opportunities for communicators, from writing creative content to bringing to life a visual idea in a matter of seconds. But its power comes with a challenge: inherent biases.  

Generative AI has been trained on human-created content, and so has inherited deep-seated bias built in. This bias can, and often does, unintentionally permeate AI-generated content, reinforcing stereotypes and misconceptions. 

So as the human hands guiding AI, what can we do to help overcome these biases and use AI as a tool to foster inclusion and authentic representation?  

1. Nurturing AI as responsible guides

It’s important that we hold the hand of AI and safely guide it as generative AI learns from the language we use. We need to ensure we understand the EDI landscape ourselves thoroughly first before we can expect AI to generate outputs that are genuinely inclusive and authentically representative.  

2. Navigating our human bias

The second step to making AI an ally to inclusive communications is self-reflection. We’re human, and we’re fallible, and it is important to remember that in the context of EDI. As humans, we do form stereotypes – it’s a coping mechanism and our brain’s attempt to simplify the barrage of information we encounter daily.  

We must remain vigilant – consciously slowing down and actively recognising these stereotypes within ourselves so we do not bring them into our communications with AI.  

3. Increasing awareness of our unconscious biases

Unconscious bias refers to the automatic attitudes and stereotypes that influence our judgments and actions without our conscious awareness. Shaped by our experiences and societal influences, these biases impact how we view others. 

If you’re considering using AI within your communications, then you must understand what your own unconscious biases are. The Harvard IATs – Implicit Association Tests – are a useful tool to help you begin to do this. Set up by a collaboration of US researchers in 1998, Project Implicit aims to collect data on our biases as we learn about ourselves. We’d recommended picking a test identity characteristic you think you don’t carry bias on and one you think you do – and see how it plays out. These tests can help you identify where your unconscious biases could influence AI. 

4. Learning from our mistakes

AI is still a relatively new tool for many of us – we are still learning how to get the best out of ChatGPT or how to write an effective prompt on Midjourney. We are naturally going to make mistakes as we learn how to use different AI platforms. But we must learn from these and identify where we perhaps need to reword a prompt or change the language, we are using to generate more inclusive results. By taking our time to craft prompts carefully to guide unbiased outcomes we can minimise our mistakes and foster greater inclusion.  

But what about if AI makes a mistake and leans on bias or stereotypes? We can help it learn from its mistakes too! By offering corrective feedback, we can help steer AI responses towards being more inclusive. 

Navigating AI together

Our ‘Navigating AI together’ workshop series has been providing a safe and open space for communicators to discuss various aspects of AI. 

This time, recognising the pressing need, we’re focusing on intellectual property and copyright issues. It’s an area that many communicators have been struggling to grapple with, so in our next session, on Friday 15th March, we’re going to delve into it together. 

We are delighted to be welcoming Alex Collinson, from Herrington Carmichael, who specialises in commercial and intellectual property law matters. Alex will lead an insightful discussion covering copyright, brand protection, confidentiality concerns, and real-world cases of AI IP infringement. 

Book your place here.