Design with artificial intelligence: what changes for companies

Design with artificial intelligence is already part of everyday studio work: AI generates images, suggests layouts, creates voices and speeds up testing. But it doesn't decide what your brand should say, nor does it guarantee an original result. For companies, the most important change isn't technical: average design became easy to make and, because of that, it stopped setting anyone apart.

In this article we explain what AI does well, where it falls short, which risks deserve attention and how to choose a partner that uses the technology in your brand's favour.

What AI does well in design

Used with judgement, artificial intelligence helps with stages that used to take a lot of time:

• Exploring ideas: generating several visual directions at the start of a project, to discuss options before production.
• Quick tests: trying out compositions, colours and styles without spending days in production.
• Scenes that are hard to film: creating settings, objects and situations that would be costly or impossible to shoot.
• Versions and adaptations: speeding up formats for different channels and languages.

That's why we offer AI videos for companies: the technology widens what can be done within a given schedule and budget.

Where AI falls short

The problem starts when AI is used to skip steps instead of speeding them up.

It doesn't understand your strategy

A tool generates images from prompts, but it doesn't know who your audience is, what sets your company apart or which message needs to stick. Those decisions come from the brief, the script and the art direction.

It produces "good enough" for everyone

When millions of people use the same tools with similar prompts, the results look alike. Good enough has become a commodity. A brand that relies on it alone risks looking like everyone else.

It gets important details wrong

Distorted text, odd hands, warped logos and inconsistencies from one scene to the next are still common. In corporate communication, one wrong detail costs credibility.

Average design doesn't stand out, and that's expensive

The business value of good design can be measured. In The Business Value of Design (2018), McKinsey tracked 300 publicly listed companies over five years and found that those in the top quartile of design maturity grew revenue 32 percentage points faster than their industry average.

With AI, that effect is likely to grow: if any company can produce the basics, what stands out is what goes beyond them. A distinctive visual identity, a video scripted for your audience, a presentation that tells a story.

The tool belongs to everyone. The eye is what makes the difference.

The risk few people consider: copyright

Before using a brand asset or piece made only by AI, it's worth understanding authorship.

In the United States, the U.S. Copyright Office does not register works generated solely by artificial intelligence without human creative input. In Brazil, copyright law protects works created by people, and the protection of machine-only content is still being debated.

In practice, a logo or illustration generated entirely by AI may be hard to protect, and nothing stops another company from arriving at something very similar. For pieces that represent your brand, human authorship (creation, refinement and finishing) matters. In specific cases, talk to an intellectual property lawyer.

How Studio Shoyu uses AI

At the studio, AI is a tool, not a shortcut:

1. At the start, to explore references and visual directions faster.
2. In testing, to validate ideas before investing in production.
3. In production, when it makes sense, to generate scenes, images and voices, always within the defined art direction.

What stays with the team: the script, the art direction, the animation and the finish. In The Bureau, for ANBC, everyday characters and situations were designed to bring a difficult subject, credit, closer to the audience. That's the kind of decision no tool makes on its own. See also how we work with motion design.

How to choose a studio that uses AI

A few questions help tell apart those who use AI with judgement from those who just cut costs:

• At which stages do you use AI? The answer should be clear and specific.
• Who is responsible for art direction and script? There should be people accountable for the creative decisions.
• Do the tools allow commercial use? The studio should know.
• What do we receive as final files? Brand assets need editable, consistent files.

Frequently asked questions

Is design made with AI cheaper?

It can be, at stages like idea exploration and scenes that are hard to film. But a project's cost depends mostly on script, art direction and finishing, which are still human work.

Can I register a logo created by AI?

Logos created only by AI may have limited protection as creative works. A brand created and finished by designers, with clear authorship, is safer. For trademark registration and specific cases, consult a specialist.

Will AI replace designers?

It replaces tasks, not judgement. Choosing what to say, to whom and how is still at the heart of design work.

Do you make AI videos?

Yes. We produce AI videos with the studio's script, art direction and finish.

Want to use artificial intelligence in your brand's favour without becoming generic? Get in touch.