More pencil, less prompts: Now it's humans' turn
“I painted this bottle myself, not a machine.”
That was (literally or emotionally) the Mood at a recent event Brightland, where the brand invited people to customize their own olive oil bottles. Brushes, colors, wine, conversation. Nothing of prompts.
By Gibrán García
Today, artificial intelligence is embedded in everything we do: writing emails, structuring presentations, posts from LinkedIn and blogs (coughs) impeccably punctuated (at what point did we all become grammar and spelling experts?). What we didn't see coming was their natural evolution into design processes and, particularly, visual design.
Today, in a world where visual design is mostly digital, packaging design wages a very particular battle to elevate the analog world and differentiate it as a medium capable of returning creative control to people.
Is this part of the anti-AI movement? Or just a more human, more strategic, and more memorable way to build a brand?
The shelf remains physical
Generative tools accelerate copies, renders and packaging variations at marginal cost. In theory, infinite efficiency. However, a handful of “premium” brands (oils, beverages, preserves) are experimenting with something less perfect and more participatory: Colorable, customizable, or interventional packaging.
Three recent cases help illustrate the pattern:
- Brightland – Paint & Pour Gift Setwas born after an event where attendees painted their own bottles; the community energy escalated to a kit as a gift (it was launched for Mother's Day).
- Ghia - Le Fizz (colorable edition)Black and white label designed for the consumer to color.
- Fishwife – Summertime Art Boxcolorless cases that invite packaging illustration.
What at first glance appear to be playful activations are actually brands that open space for user authorship in response to boom of generative AI.
Efficiency vs. Human Expression
AI promises speed, scale, global consistency, and cost reduction. All of that matters, especially in low-margin, complex distribution categories.
But brands don't just live off logistics; they live off Bond, memory, and cultural significance. The act of coloring, painting, or altering an object turns the packaging into activity, not just in containers.
In other words: if AI homogenizes, human participation individualizes. And individuality is brand memory.
Case 1 – Brightland: Bottled Community
Brightland hosted an event where people could paint their own oil bottles. The enthusiasm translated into product: Paint & Pour Gift Set. According to its founder, Aishwarya Iyer, the intention was to scale that sense of community and bring back childhood memories: painting, coloring, creating together. The result: a gift that is not only consumed; it is Live.
Brand keys Participation, tactile nostalgia, shared quality time.
Case 2 – Ghia: Color Your Celebration
The edition The Fizz It arrived with a black and white label ready to be customized. Melanie Massarin, founder, describes it as a direct invitation for the consumer to enter the world of Ghia: when someone colors the bottle and gives it as a gift, the object becomes personal and thoughtful, two core values of the brand.
Brand keys Personalized gift, social connection, intentionality.
Case 3 – Fishwife: Summer Art for Everyone
Summertime Art Box remove the printed color and leave open space for everyone to make the packaging their own. Co-founder and CEO Becca Millstein connects it to something bigger: people are looking for Community, Creation, and Authenticity. A can with a homemade intervention ends up being a conversation starter at a picnic, barbecue, or gathering.
Brand keys Community around the table, shared authorship, seasonal fun.
The Uncomfortable Designer: What Does Creativity Lose Without Process?
Designer Max Hofert issues a harsh provocation: if everything is resolved with prompts y outputs instantaneous, where is the exploration, the fertile error, and deep user knowledge? Without a trial-and-error system, innovation flattens. The risk: brands that «sell their soul to the machine» and end up with generic, interchangeable, forgettable results.
Your warning isn't artisanal nostalgia; it's strategy. Without creative friction, there's no competitive advantage.
What brands can learncheck list actionable
- Leave blank space (literal): design packaging areas intended for human intervention.
- Turn the product into a social ritual Packaging that invites group painting becomes a shared experience
- Scale participation with kits: What starts as physical activity can be transformed into a gift set or limited edition.
- Use AI to your advantage: Use generative tools to iterate, cost, or version layouts; reserve visible time for personalization.
- Break perfection Crooked lines = proof of life. Imperfection communicates authenticity better than 10 claims printed materials.
In Gerund We believe that technology is valuable when it amplifies human connection, not when it replaces it. Packaging, as a menu, app, or signage, is a living touchpoint. When you invite people to complete it, you turn it into a memory and a shared story.
We also believe that the process is part of the brand equity. Showing it, opening it, or leaving it incomplete for someone else to finish can be the most powerful gesture in an era of outputs perfect and impersonal.
