Searches for lo-fi design are up 527 percent: how to stop your brand looking like every other brand

Open Instagram, LinkedIn, or any company website, and chances are you'll see the same image three times within a few seconds: a smooth illustration, a product against a flawless pastel background, an icon with exactly the same rounded corners as a competitor's. AI tools make this kind of image nearly free to produce, and that is exactly the problem. When everyone uses the same generator with the same default settings, every brand starts to look the same.

Canva saw that shift in its own search data and released its third annual Design Trends Report in December 2025, with predictions for the year ahead. The company analysed millions of searches on its own platform and surveyed a thousand creators in the United States and Brazil. The conclusion is clear: 2026 is the year of 'Imperfect by Design'.

What the trend report actually shows

The numbers are substantial. Searches for 'lo-fi aesthetic' rose 527 percent year over year. Searches for DIY and collage-inspired elements rose 90 percent. And within a movement Canva calls the 'Opt-Out Era', a return to calm layouts, clear typography and simple branding, related searches rose 54 percent.

Notably, this is not a rejection of AI. Of the creators surveyed, 77 percent now call AI an 'essential partner' in their work. At the same time, 80 percent say 2026 is the year they take back creative control: using AI on their own terms, not the other way around. So this is not about trading AI for a pencil, it is about stopping AI from polishing the texture and personality out of a brand.

Why flawless images are becoming invisible

A few years ago, a flawless image was still a statement. It signalled that a brand had invested money and care in its appearance. Now every generator delivers that same polish for free, which means the very quality that once stood out is now the reason a brand goes unnoticed. A feed full of identically polished images gets scrolled past without anything sticking.

Standing out, as a result, is less about perfection and more about recognisability. A distinct hand in the typography, a photo that does not have the same studio lighting as everyone else's, an illustration with a clear style of its own: details like that show there is a person behind the brand making choices, not just a prompt being entered.

What 'imperfect by design' looks like in practice

Concretely, it comes down to a handful of recognisable choices showing up more often now. Texture instead of flat colour, such as paper, fabric, or a light grain over an image. Hand-drawn lines, arrows, or underlines instead of vector-perfect icons. Photography that shows a real workplace or situation instead of a studio backdrop. Layouts with overlapping elements, like a zine or magazine, instead of the tightly centred grid every generator delivers by default.

For an organisation, this does not mean the whole visual identity needs an overhaul. It means deliberately choosing one or two elements that are human, specific to the brand, and applied consistently: a regular illustrator, a photo style you have made rather than sourced from stock, a handwritten accent in headlines. Small, but repeated across every piece of content, so it becomes a recognisable part of the brand rather than a one-off stunt.

No in-house design team? This doesn't need to be a big step

Not every organisation has a marketing department working on its visual identity every day. That is exactly when it becomes tempting to run everything through a generator, simply because it's the fastest route. That is not a problem for internal documents or a quick social post, but for the materials that form a first impression, the website, a proposal, the core campaign, it pays to deliberately set a few fixed, recognisable elements. A one-time investment in a distinct photo style or illustrative tone then keeps working for months, without anyone having to think it through again each time.

A warning: imperfect is not an excuse for sloppy

The trap is treating 'imperfect by design' as an excuse to simply put in less effort. It isn't. A deliberately rough line, an intentionally uneven texture, or a lo-fi photo style takes just as much craft as a polished design, only differently. A brand that follows the trend by simply skipping revisions doesn't look human, it looks neglected. The difference lies in intent: was a choice made, or did nobody look at it at all?

What you can do this month

Start with a quick look at your last ten social posts, your website, and the last proposal or presentation that went out the door. Does the same smooth AI style show up everywhere? That is the signal to adjust. Then pick one visible element where you deliberately deviate from the default, a photo style, an illustrative tone, or a typographic accent, and write down how and where that element gets applied consistently. Test the result on a few channels before rolling it out broadly, and ask directly for feedback: does it stand out more now than before?

AI remains a valuable tool for speed and volume, but the brands that stand out in 2026 are the ones that deliberately add something recognisable to it. Want us to assess whether your visual identity still stands out among all the generated content, or help building a visual system that actually holds up? Zarioh helps think through branding and design that fits your organisation. Feel free to get in touch for a no-obligation conversation.