Design Maturity in the Age of Generative AI: Automated application of brand guides and design systems.
In the fast-evolving AI landscape, design maturity is a central foundation of digital maturity. To adapt to generative experiences, brands must rethink traditional static guidelines.
Brand guidelines are more than just instructions—they are a manifesto and the framework for maintaining a brand’s identity across all activity and touchpoints. Traditional guidelines, often designed for human interpretation, can leave room for ambiguity. To succeed in the AI era with real-time generative content, guidelines will become detailed systems and component libraries that ensure precise and consistent, on-brand experiences at every interaction.
As brands embrace scalable, automated, and generative content and functionality, well-built design systems ensure flexibility, consistency, and growth. These systems enable brands to adapt to emerging technologies and new modalities. At the heart of this transformation are brand guidelines—the key to scaling generative experiences while remaining on-brand.
Generative, real-time experiences are reshaping user expectations. As Joel Pember, Brand Director at Juicebox highlights, “Real-time generative experiences that consider appearance, functionality, content, and modality preferences will become the new normal for users. ” To meet these demands, brands need design systems that dynamically assemble elements based on user data, context and preferences.
Guidelines must be adaptable to evolving technologies like voice and gesture-based interactions. As Henry Modisett, Head of Design at Perplexity explains, “Generative experiences will start to focus on sound, motion, and speed as elements that create familiar feelings that become synonymous with brands. ” Brands that master these elements will strengthen emotional bonds with users while scaling efficiently through automation.
Design maturity and digital maturity go hand-in-hand. As brands move toward automated, scalable content, modular design systems become essential to stay adaptable and consistent. Sound, motion, and speed will shape the emotional resonance of generative experiences, allowing brands to build meaningful connections that reinforce their identity. As real-time generative experiences become the norm, brands must be ready to meet evolving expectations with adaptive design systems.
Before rolling out AI solutions, whether internally with your team or externally with customers, it’s crucial to revisit and optimise your brand guidelines. Without this preparation, any attempt to integrate AI will likely lead to inefficiencies, inconsistent results and off-brand moments. Taking the time to make guidelines ‘AI-ready’ will ensure long-term scalability and success of the technology in your business.
To be AI ready develop flexible, clear and well categorised guidelines:
Build with Flexibility
Design systems should be modular, allowing real-time assembly of elements based on user data. This ensures brands can deliver personalised experiences across rapidly evolving digital platforms and technologies.
Be Clear and Direct
AI thrives on precision and needs explicit, actionable rules. As design systems scale, clarity is key to maintaining consistency across new modalities like voice and motion. Guidelines must become more dynamic and continuously evolve to include new elements while remaining cohesive and consistent.
Build a Strong Taxonomy
Establishing a clear and structured taxonomy to categorise brand elements is crucial for AI to interpret and apply guidelines consistently and accurately. A well-organised taxonomy allows AI to scale experiences efficiently while maintaining brand integrity.
At Juicebox, we combine expertise in strategy, experience design, and technology to deliver brand-led, human-centric solutions. Specialising in brand strategy, digital transformation, and customer experience design, we are well positioned to help forward-thinking clients with the development of next generation brand guidelines.
