Stills 2026 Trends Report: Human-Centred Design Rises as AI-Polished Imagery Loses Appeal
By
Tom May
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Summary
Stills' Photography in Design Trend Report for 2026 highlights a shift toward human-centred design in visual communications. As AI-generated, polished imagery saturates the market, the report argues that audiences increasingly crave work with genuine character, texture, colour, and even "weirdness." It encourages creative professionals to move beyond safe defaults and embrace personality, risk, and intentionality in their visual work.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledAmid a world drowning in sameness, the work that cuts through isn't the work that plays nice; it's the work that gets playful.
As audiences scroll past increasingly perfect, AI-polished imagery, the appetite for work that feels genuinely human has never been stronger.
More texture. More detail. More colour. More weirdness. More intention.
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