🤔 Interesting: Why do all AI company logos look like b*ttholes?

Yesterday, I stumbled upon a blog post by pure chance. Despite my "well-trained branding skepticism", I read it all the way through—and to my surprise, it left a much deeper impression on me than I expected.

The article, written by Radek Sienkiewicz on his personal blog Velvet Shark, presents an intriguing perspective: Many AI companies seem to adopt a strangely similar design language in their logos—something he provocatively describes as a "modernist and abstract b*tthole aesthetic."

Of course, the article itself is far from shallow. Instead, it thoughtfully reveals how today's AI brands often make safe, middle-of-the-road design choices.

Reading it sparked an important realization in me: We designers are so immersed in the refined aesthetics of the design world—so wrapped up in pixel-perfect details and Behance-worthy grids—that we often overlook how these choices are actually perceived by the 95% of the world that isn’t made up of designers.

Obviously, these logos weren’t created to resemble what the article cheekily suggests. But what I took from it is this: Staying trapped in our candy-floss castles of “Swiss design” layouts and industry trends—detached from the real world and real people—may be one of the biggest mistakes we can make.

🎨 Art can be for the sake of art. But design should never be for the sake of design.

❌ We don’t design to impress big agencies, win awards judged by industry elites, or build portfolios that only fellow designers will appreciate.

✅ Design fulfills its purpose when it truly connects with the people it’s meant for.

And to do that, staying grounded—steering away from self-referential trends and aiming for genuine originality—is probably one of the healthiest paths we can take.

👇 Here’s the full article if you’re curious:

https://velvetshark.com/ai-company-logos-that-look-like-buttholes

‍