The dialogue around AI’s tightening grip on the world as we know it isn’t cooling down anytime soon. As AI infiltrates every industry, we grapple with the best way to navigate a society that’s creeping ever closer toward a potential dystopian nightmare. The art and design world is at the forefront of this conversation, particularly regarding the ethics of AI in attribution and ownership, and the ongoing debate over how to integrate it as a tool rather than being entirely replaced by it.
Italian agency Sangria Creative Studio, which specializes in providing bespoke illustration and design services to brands across the world, has a unique perspective on the topic.
Illustration remains powerful because it captures all the invisible parts of a project: the conversations, the instincts, the shared references. It is visual authorship shaped through human dialogue, not algorithmic pattern.
Luigia Tucci, co-founder and art director at Sangria Creative Studio
Sangria maintains that distinctiveness is an essential element of brand strategy, which is achievable only through the human hand and a human-led creative process. “While advancements in AI can emulate artistic styles, it fundamentally lacks the capacity for genuine emotion,” Sangria said in a statement. “AI tools draw on the work of other illustrators, whereas handmade illustrations, by contrast, draw on imagination. These small inconsistencies and spontaneous gestures of handmade work infuse visual campaigns with vitality that no algorithm can replace.”
But Sangria also understands AI is here to stay, and can serve helpful functions when used responsibly and for the right purposes. “Brands and designers should recognise the potential of combining AI’s efficiency with the authenticity of human expression. While AI can assist in the production and iteration, the emotional resonance for consumers must remain in human hands.”
Sangria’s co-founder and art director, Luigia Tucci, elaborates on these ideas below.
(Conversation lightly edited for length and clarity.)
What is it about the human quality and warmth of illustration design, in particular, that combats the sterile homogeneity of AI?
Human illustration carries something AI cannot replicate because it does not come from data; it comes from relationships. A drawing is the result of meetings, conversations, references exchanged with a client, and small intuitions that emerge only when people work together. You can brief an illustrator with emotions, personal memories, cultural nuances, or even the atmosphere of a place. These inputs have weight and texture, and they shape the final image in ways AI cannot anticipate.
The warmth comes from intention. The decision to make a line slightly imperfect because it feels more honest, or choosing a palette that matches the client’s story rather than a trend. AI is an excellent tool for exploration, but it cannot feel the tension of a room, or the shift in direction that happens when a client says, “That detail reminds me of home,” or “This feels too distant from who we are.” Illustration remains powerful because it captures all the invisible parts of a project: the conversations, the instincts, the shared references. It is visual authorship shaped through human dialogue, not algorithmic pattern.
Are there specific client projects that you think especially capture the power of illustration design and branding?
Lullabay is the perfect example. Lullabay is a beach club in Ostuni, in southern Puglia (Italy), with a Romany (traveler) spirit and a subtle psychedelic edge. It’s a place where vinyl culture, alternative music, and a relaxed summer mood blend naturally. When we began working on the 2025 season, we realized that illustration could become much more than a visual layer. It could become the foundation of an entire world.
We realized that illustration could become much more than a visual layer. It could become the foundation of an entire world.
The Oniric Beach was born, not as a theme but as an actual universe with its own geography, symbols, and creatures. We designed a cast of characters that carried meaning rather than decoration. The Three Eyed Raven, the Serpent of the Dunes, the Oniric Dancers, and many others became messengers, guides, and metaphors of the Lullabay experience. Each one had a purpose, a movement, and a role inside the narrative.
This illustrated universe shaped everything. It influenced the mood of the events, the style of the posters, the staging of the performances, and the tone of the communication. It also expanded into physical objects. We created a collection of merchandise and a custom deck of playing cards, each card connected to the mythology of the Oniric Beach. Illustration was not supporting the brand; it was generating it. It gave Lullabay a world that people could enter, interpret, and carry with them.
For us, this project represents the true potential of illustration in branding. It can build places that do not yet exist, and make them feel real enough to be remembered.
In an ideal world, how can the human hand and AI tools coexist and work together? Do you think this is achievable?
It is absolutely achievable, but it works only when AI is treated as what it is: a tool. A powerful one, but still a tool. The creative direction, the interpretation of the client’s identity, and the ability to craft something custom-made must remain in human hands. That is where intuition lives. That is where ideas change because of a conversation, or because a brand reveals something deeper about itself.
The creative direction, the interpretation of the client’s identity, and the ability to craft something custom-made must remain in human hands.
AI can support this process in a very useful way. It can accelerate research, expand the range of visual options, or help test early atmospheres before committing to a direction. It removes technical friction and gives designers more time to focus on the meaningful part of the work: shaping concepts, refining tone, building a world that reflects a real personality. The coexistence works when each part does what it does best. Humans lead with intention, empathy, and narrative clarity. AI helps explore, iterate, and open up possibilities. When the hierarchy is clear, the result becomes richer, not flatter. Creativity remains human, and AI becomes an amplifier of the custom-made nature of each project.
Humans lead with intention, empathy, and narrative clarity. AI helps explore, iterate, and open up possibilities.
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