Is Polished Design Losing Its Appeal? Insights and Trends 2023

Is Polished Design Losing Its Appeal? Insights and Trends 2023Is Polished Design Losing Its Appeal? Insights and Trends 2023

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Daniel G Bright

max

• 17h

I've been looking at SaaS landing pages all week and I genuinely cannot tell them apart anymore.

Same sans serif. Same gradient mesh. Same "empowering teams to do more" headline. Two years ago that combo made you look legit. Now it just makes people wonder if a human was involved.

The numbers back this up. Consumer preference for AI-generated content dropped from 60% to 26% in three years. Instagram's Mosseri said polished content now "signals the opposite" of quality. Canva is calling 2026 the year of "Imperfect by Design."

AI didn't kill bad design. It killed good enough design. When anyone can look professional in 20 minutes, professional stops meaning anything.

The best brand work I saw this month wasn't even from tech. It was Pentagram's MotoGP rebrand. Five sub-brands collapsed into one system. Every design choice has a reason you can actually articulate. That's the difference between a brand that was designed and one that was decorated.

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Afton & Sebastian | Regent Park

max

• 14h

Great point @Daniel G Bright ! We totally agree. There is definitely a strong trend towards being imperfect and showing a human hand. However I strongly believe that you can't fake "authenticity", as many companies are trying to do. Funnily enough we also wrote a short note about it on our substack last week. Check it out here.

substack.com

Sebastian Kayle (@sebastiankayle)

Hot Take The “authenticity” trend in marketing is already becoming performative. Brands are now strategically posting blurry photos and unpolished Reels to seem relatable. If your messy content is coming from a boardroom brainstorm, it’s not authentic — it’s cosplay.

alexis pilon

pro

• 17h

I agree most startups go for the same dark mode sans serif fonts and similar copy it’s starting to all blend together.

I think a lot of early startups rely too heavily on AI to go fast and simply find assets to use on there hero section the problem is most of the time it has...