2 months ago
- Many AI company logos feature circular shapes with central openings, gradients, and radiating elements, leading to comparisons with buttholes.
- Examples include OpenAI's logo redesign, described euphemistically, and Anthropic's Claude logo, which resembles a drawing from Kurt Vonnegut's book.
- Reasons for this trend include circular design psychology (representing wholeness, friendliness), unintentional biomimicry, copycat effects, and design by committee.
- The trend reflects tech industry conformity, where successful logos set templates, making deviations seem unprofessional.
- Historical tech design trends include 3D/glossy, skeuomorphism, flat design, neomorphism, and now the 'butthole era' for AI branding.
- Logo disasters in other industries show unintended anatomical comparisons are not unique to AI.
- To break free, companies can use sharp angles, negative space, avoid radial symmetry, skip gradients, and test with diverse audiences.
- Alternatives include meaningful abstraction (like Slack), letterforms (like Netflix), storytelling (like Stripe), and distinctive colors (like Twitch).
- The post humorously critiques design sameness while suggesting visual innovation is needed alongside technological advances.