Today, just about anyone can create “perfect” illustrations or digital designs by simply asking Ai models to make one for them. If you ask ChatGPT to generate a marketing poster for an upcoming event that you want to advertise, it will most likely give you a perfectly symmetrical, colorfully cohesive design that may be objectively “good” but clearly shows an emphasis on utility rather than style. Ai is being used more and more to quickly create designs like this, and the culture at large is starting to get fed up.
Shopify listed “Chicken Scratch” typography as one of the top design trends for the year 2025. It is characterized by its “loose, shaky linework”, and “minimalist layouts”. It is arguably meant to highlight the awkward, “ugly” doodles that come from quick sketches or an untrained artist. It is a rejection of polished, Corporate Memphis-Esque designs that were popular in the 2010s, and most likely in opposition to the “pristine” designs that Ai models try to generate.
Ai is becoming very good at mimicking hyper realistic paintings or highly stylized animation styles like Pixar or Studio Ghibli characters. However, these models have trouble imitating human errors and mark making. It’s hard to get these models to make something that looks like it was scribbled in a few seconds by a real human, which is why imperfect design styles like chicken scratch have become so popular lately; because it is a refreshing deviation from the highly saturated market of lifeless Ai art.
New companies like Radford Skincare and Jolene Bakery in London are just some of the many trendy brands that have taken on this style of “chicken scratch” in order to differentiate themselves from prolific corporate minimalism trends, and align instead with the younger generation that is beginning to value human authenticity more and more.
Other new alternative design trends like “anti-design” are clearly in opposition to our new AI immersed world. This method of design can be defined as a style that intentionally breaks away from design conventions/rules in order to create art that disrupts the viewer’s expectations. As opposed to “chicken scratch” typography, it rejects minimalism almost entirely.
Yale’s School of Art webpage is a prime example of what “anti-design” design tries to accomplish. According to the homepage, Yale’s art school website “exists as an ongoing collaborative experiment in digital publishing and information sharing.” Any member of the art school, either current or alumni, is allowed to edit the website, contributing to its messy and striking layout. Some call it pretentious, others say it is straight up ugly, but there is no denying that Yale’s website experiment is a disruption of conventional design norms and is intentionally meant to perplex or excite the viewer.
Even Charli XCX’s album cover for her 2024 album “Brat” can be considered to be in the style of “anti-design”. Its unfinished look and unpleasant shade of green is meant to give off a raw and authentic feel. It may be objectively “ugly”, but it accomplishes its goal of being clearly created by a human being.
The recent popularity of design styles like “chicken scratch” and “anti-design” makes it clear that people are becoming fatigued with the incessant production of AI generated work meant to mimic human style. Consumers are showing that they long for a return to authenticity, even in how they want brands to advertise themselves. People want real people, and real art to be valued again.
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