Responses by Guillermo Brotons, creative director; Raphael Guenassia, producer; and Wenqing Ma, designer, Decimal Studios.
Background: “The purpose of the project was to create a brand identity that supports the Creators Coalition on Artificial Intelligence’s mission to advocate for ethical AI use and protect artists’ rights in entertainment,” says Guillermo Brotons. “It is aimed at creators and professionals in the entertainment business, as well as organizations and technology companies shaping the role of AI in creative fields.”
Design thinking: “When we started this project, we wanted the identity to not just help CCAI vocalize its mission but become an active tool that urges people to be part of the action,” says Wenqing Ma. “This thinking led us back to one of the earliest creative gestures: placing a brushstroke on an empty canvas. The brush tool we developed lets the user draw from existing slogan templates and easily export them to image or video flyers. We chose watercolor as the core texture for two main aspects: First, we wanted the outcome to remain versatile, something that has both a digital and analog touch. Second, we wanted to approach gradient blending—a visual language often used by major tech companies to represent AI—in a human way.
“Gradient colors are now frequently used to construct a myth of AI as a kind of seamless, powerful magic,” Ma continues. “In contrast, we reinterpreted this language with imperfect brush strokes to remind people that AI is ultimately a tool, one that would not exist without the human hand and the accumulated contributions of artistic communities. It is more important now than ever to recognize the community efforts behind AI systems rather than treating AI’s output as independent or original. Hence, I also want to give major credit to Steve of Steve’s Makerspace, Tyler Hobbs and Alejandro Campos of p5.brush for making open source approaches to watercolor strokes in p5.js. This brush tool would not have been possible without their contributions.”
Challenges: “One of the most challenging aspects of the project was working within a tight timeline while still allowing room for meaningful iteration,” says Ma. “We needed to quickly develop a system that could balance institutional legitimacy with the diverse, energetic spirit of a grassroots movement.”
Favorite details: “I’m especially proud of how the identity balances structure and expression,” says Raphael Guenassia. “There’s a very strong system behind it with the color spectrum, accessibility rules and clear guidelines. But at the same time, the brush tool introduces a more expressive layer.
“I think that brush element is what really makes the difference,” Guenassia continues. “It’s simple, but it captures the idea of keeping a human touch in something that’s about AI. What I liked on this project is that we didn’t lose that idea along the way; it stayed present in everything we produced.”
New lessons: “We learned how tricky it is to build something flexible that still holds together,” says Guenassia. “With elements like the brush and the color system, there are a lot of possibilities, which is great creatively. However, it can also go in very different directions if you’re not careful. A big part of the learning curve was understanding how to retain that freedom while making sure everything felt consistent and on-brand.”
Alternate paths: “From the beginning, we would have briefed ourselves to create interactive tools that allow audiences to personalize and generate their own brand expressions,” says Brotons. “The web-based drawing tool was something we came up with almost at the end of the project. If we’d had more time, we would have pushed the community participation aspect even further.”
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