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13 July 2025 | Issue #100 (!)

In this issue:

• Issue #100!
• Only 8% of People Willing to Pay More for AI
• The Creepy New World of AI Clones
• 2025 Logo Trend Report
• Sketched Out: An Illustrator Confronts His Fears About A.I. Art
• Denmark to Tackle Deepfakes by Giving People Copyright to Their Own Features
• Marketing Design: The Difference Between Moving People and Impressing Them
• I was a guest on Vativ's recent product launch roundtable
• Design Quote of the Week

Issue #100

Part of me wants to put in the Jeb Bush "Please Clap" meme, but I'll skip that.

You may have noticed the new logo. I knew that the previous Marketing by Design logo was going to be temporary. The idea was to lessen the potential confusion for folks who had been subscribed when the newsletter was called After Design. So I designed two logos: The transition logo, and the new ongoing logo. The idea was to use the transition logo for a month, and then use the new logo going forward.

But of course, when it came time to start putting this issue together, I had some new ideas for the logo. A couple more hours in Illustrator, and here we are!

In some ways, reaching 100 issues is a significant milestone. In other ways, there's a lot of news to get to, so let's jump into it.

Few People Want to Pay for AI

A recent survey by ZDNet and Aberdeen shows that only 8% of adults are willing to pay more to add AI features to a product or service they already use.

While this was surprising at first, it made sense the more I though about it. We're all crushed by the subscription economy. How many streaming services do you pay for? How many AI apps do you pay for?

Everything is a monthly fee, and the prices only go up.

When I tell my kids that we used to watch TV, listen to the radio, and drink water for free, they just don't get it. These are all things we pay on a monthly basis. How long until a car company offers the ability to back up as an optional monthly subscription?

New AI Features Are Expensive

While they're always getting better, a lot of these AI tools launched without being fully baked, so people tried them and abandoned them.

Now that some of the tools are getting very good, they have different payment options.

If you wanted to buy Microsoft 365 for yourself, it's $9.99/month. If you want to add full Copilot capabilities to it, it's an additional $30/month, but you have to pay annually.

I like playing around with new tools to see what they can do. I can usually swing $10-20 to try it for a month. But I'm not going to spend nearly $500 to try it out. The updates are coming fast, but that's a lot to ask of someone who is experimenting with new AI tools.

And people aren't happy with Microsoft's persistent pushes to upgrade to Copilot. Dan Christ talked about these issues in his blog post about AI upgrades.

Consumer-level tools offer more flexibility. But some of these are just adding AI functionality (and raising the price) without the option to opt out or use a lower-tier product.

​Google raised the price of its Workspace suite earlier this year because of the additional AI functionality. Now, that doesn't include it's fully Gemini capabilities, but it has some AI assistance.

This is why we're frustrated by these increases.

We can't opt out. And if we don't upgrade, we get badgered non-stop.

There are some good AI tools out there, but they're being ruined by the apps/services that are taking advantage of users.

What's the Solution?

Just like with any service, you have to vote with your wallet. These days, we cycle through different streaming services. There's no reason to pay for them 12 months a year. When there is enough of a need (a list of new shows/movies) on Netflix, I resubscribe for a month or two.*

Do the same with your AI tools. I cancelled Midjourney a couple of months ago to focus on ChatGPT's image capabilities. I'll soon be resubscribing to Midjourney, but there are times when I don't use it.

There's no reason for me to pay for all of these services if I'm not using them all the time.

How Do Companies Prevent Churn?

*The one thing that companies can do to prevent people like me from turning their service on and off is to bundle their product/service with other products.

For example, I signed up for a Spotify plan and it included Hulu for $2/month. I don't watch Hulu all that often, but I'm not going to cancel it because I know I won't get that price again.

Just like the old cable model, if these companies can bundle their best products with a bunch of junk, people are more likely to stay subscribed for the best product.

​ NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING, DESIGN, & AI

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👯 The Creepy New World of AI Clones

On {grow}, Mark Schaefer shares his personal experience of creating an AI clone of himself—highlighting both the excitement and unsettling implications of duplicating your own voice, style, and persona.

• A Double-Edged Tool: While AI clones can expand your reach (imagine doing podcasts and speaking gigs in multiple languages simultaneously), they also introduce eerie questions about authenticity and control.
• Human Touch Still Matters: Despite impressive tech, Schaefer found that his clone lacked warmth and nuance, reminding us that real human connection remains irreplaceable—even in an AI-driven future.
• My Take: There are some cool aspects to this, but it has to be weighed with the potential downside. Also, Dan Nestle did a great job with this!

​Keep reading​

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📈 2025 Logo Trend Report

In their 23rd annual trend roundup, Bill Gardner of LogoLounge explores how today’s logos ride two contrasting “buses”: one barreling toward bold, AI-fueled futurism, and another anchored in earthy, nostalgic authenticity.

• Bright vs. Earthy: Designers are leaning into ultra-vivid chroma (neon yellows, electric blues) for screen impact, while others embrace muted, natural tones to convey sustainability and warmth.
• The Mascot Revival & AI Editing: Mascots are back as brands seek human connection, and with AI generating endless ideas, editing and focus have become the new superpowers for effective identity design.
• My Take: I spent a day and a half this past week focused on logo design (including the new logo for this newsletter), so this article was perfectly timed.

​Keep reading​

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✏️ Sketched Out: An Illustrator Confronts His Fears About A.I. Art

This was great. Click on the link to scroll through the whole experience.

One of my favorite lines is, "Automating the creation of art is like automating life, so you can make it to the finish line faster."

​Keep reading (gift article)

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🥸 Denmark to Tackle Deepfakes by Giving People Copyright to Their Own Features

Denmark is introducing a groundbreaking law that gives individuals copyright over their own body, facial features, and voice—aimed at stopping the misuse of AI-generated deepfakes.

• Personal Identity as Copyright: Under this new amendment, Danes will have legal power to demand removal of unauthorized deepfake content and potentially claim compensation if their likeness is misused.
• A Model for Europe: The law, which has strong cross-party support, may inspire similar measures across the EU, signaling stricter controls on AI-generated content while still allowing parody and satire.
• My Take: This is something we need today. I hope this follows the natural progression of Europe, then California, then a few more states, and then a federal US law that can protect us.

​Keep reading​

​ THE VISUAL MARKETER

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For the benefits of SEO, I recently wrote an article about Marketing Design and why it matters.

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RECENT AND UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTS

I'm looking forward to attending the Content Entrepreneur Expo in Cleveland next month. This will be my 4th CEX, and I can't wait to catch up with the folks who inspired me to write The Visual Marketer.

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Last week I got to be a guest on Vativ's roundtable where they introduced their latest offering, Integrated Marketing Management.

For companies in the ServiceNow ecosystem, this could really help marketing teams.

Thanks to Ben Doyle for inviting me.

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If you're looking for podcast guests, or want to collaborate on something, shoot me a DM.

DESIGN QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Design is not a thing you do. It’s a way of life.”
– Alan Fletcher

My AI disclaimer: I write the main story and additional sections. For the news section, AI writes the summary, and then I contribute My Thoughts. If AI generates the images, I include the prompt so you can see how I got to that image.

Thanks for reading!

Next week is issue #100!

–Jim

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