Are Friends Eclectic? Why AI is not the death knell for graphic design, illustration and fine art.

A quiet rebellion has been taking place as many creatives quite justifiably felt, "well what next?" after AI appeared to briefly steal the mantle for visual art and communication.

Looking at how illustrators and artists and graphic designers are now creating, has seen a shift towards a more raw and direct means of communication versus the polished brilliance of AI. Humans have both spirit and emotion, things lacking in prompt driven or AI assisted creations. The need to stand out is what drives us forward as a species. We communicate lived experiences ‘tin man’ here, just cannot articulate. This is not a downer on A.I. or a Luddite treatise here by any means. AI is a very useful tool that is growing exponentially in its potential and practical applications. What we are saying is that good quality creativity is flourishing in spite of it.

Raw, bold, and expressive styles are back. The anarchic work of the Neville Brody's and David Carson's that made people want to get into cool graphic designs influences can once gain be seen in posters, packaging and branding. In art and illustration, Matisse and Saul Bass are shoulder to shoulder in use of bold colour and line work. Let the substrate do the talking, with a return to paper and board with personality. This shift represents a deliberate move away from the polished, often recognisable aesthetics that characterise so much AI art. Perfection taken from a human spark to the point of derivative repetitive tedium without the soul and depth that makes us so unique.

In response to the rise of AI-generated aesthetics, a quiet but powerful shift is taking place across the art world. Artists are pushing back - not with grand declarations or a planned manifesto, but through a renewed focus on what makes human creativity singular and irreplaceable. The reaction has taken multiple forms, all rooted in a desire to emphasise the distinctly human qualities that machine-made art cannot mimic.

One of the most visible responses has been the embrace of imperfection. Rather than striving for digital polish, artists are deliberately leaving behind the traces of their hand: smudges, visible brushstrokes, fingerprints, and irregularities. These elements, once seen as flaws, are now celebrated as signs of presence and intention - proof that a human was here. The buzz of incredible cave art and the man-made marks still resonates. Just feel that connection when you look at it and you will know.

There’s also a growing appetite for expressionism, for work that favours raw emotional force over controlled execution. This has brought about a resurgence of bold forms, intense colours, and gestural mark-making. In this approach, emotion takes precedence over accuracy, with artists using visual language to convey something felt rather than something seen.

Materiality as mentioned previously plays an equally important role in this shift. Many artists are returning to physical processes and tactile media - thick impasto, handmade papers, layered collages, and unusual surfaces. These materials, rich in texture and weight, resist digital reproduction, prove a process and reassert the physical dimension of art-making.

At the same time, there’s a renewed interest in narrative depth and personal identity. Artists are turning inward, drawing from their lived experiences, cultural histories, and specific geographies. In doing so, they create work that is grounded in memory and meaning -something generative models, trained on vast generalities, simply can’t recreate with authenticity. So it's not as bad as we might think...

Finally, attention is being paid to the act of making itself. Process-focused art - where creation is treated as performance, ritual, or meditation - is gaining visibility. Some artists document their work through video or live events, not to show off technique, but to underline the time, labour, and intention behind each piece.

Taken together, these developments form more than a reaction - they signal a reclaiming of artistic space, thought briefly lost. In a moment saturated with algorithmic output, artists are choosing to foreground vulnerability, effort, and the particularities and much loved flaws that are actually strengths of the human experience. It’s not about competing with machines, but about reminding us why human expression matters. Trying to be more perfect than a machine is not what it's about. Doing what a machine cannot, is.

At Wodehouse we have always championed human creativity, some of our most off the wall thinking can lead to the best creative solutions. Some prime examples of raw print design can be found here. So why not brighten your home with the work of real human artists rather than a machine. Time to drool... with drool-art

https://drool-art.com/collections/prints?page=1

We love good design and aesthetics and don't feel it should cost the earth either. Across all areas of business and the charity sector Wodehouse have delighted our clients with graphic design, high quality print and direct mail solutions since 2003.