Editor’s Note: 
This article is adapted from our podcast interview with Neville Brody, originally recorded for Twos Talks and released on the Twos Studio YouTube channel. It has been edited for clarity and format

In this episode of Twos Talks, we spoke with Neville Brody: a designer who redefined the visual language of rebellion. Once nearly expelled from the London College of Printing for refusing to follow conventional methods, Brody would go on to shape the look of The Face magazine, fuse type design with activism, and become one of the most respected voices in contemporary graphic design. Somewhere in our conversation, we focused on the future: what will happen to human expressionism in graphic design in an era where AI is changing how design looks and feels.

A shift toward graphic engineering

Brody calmly describes that the design world is undergoing a profound shift. What once felt like an expressive, experimental field has narrowed into systems and templates
“Graphic design is now a kind of a niche area. It’s graphic design for graphic designers, or graphic design for educators, or… there’s not many opportunities out there to be a graphic designer anymore.”
He sees a growing focus on systems and component thinking, where designers no longer shape the structure, only the contents that fill it. Logos must scale to mobile screens. Fonts must perform inside fixed digital grids
“What people are doing is they’re focusing graphic design onto the components. So, you build a system and then you have a choice. Either you use a conventional typeface in an unconventional experimental way, or you use an unconventional typeface in a conventional way.”
Designers are left to work within a locked-down environment, with expression limited to elements like color, typography, and iconography. The edges have been rounded. The color palette has been flattened. And sameness is creeping in. 

Designing inside and outside the AI grid

Brody draws a direct comparison between the arrival of AI and the personal computer revolution. At first, both seemed like mere tools. But they quickly evolved into the very environment in which we create
“What we didn’t realize when the PC arrived was that it would transcend being a tool quite quickly and would become the space we live in. The same will happen with AI. That’s inevitable.”
Today’s obsession with AI-generated design reminds him of the airbrush craze of the late 20th century, when polish, virtuosity, and hyper-real finishes overshadowed concept and critique. Still, Brody remains clear: the real power lies with the human
“At the moment, it’s still an area of intuition that we own as human beings... we can think outside of the grid.”
He warns that the looming challenge will arrive with AGI, when machines move beyond reactive processing into abstraction—and if that happens, the very basis of human-centered creativity may shift.

Still thinking outside the grid

Brody also noted more young people than ever are applying to study graphic design, despite fears that the field might shrink. 
“When the PC arrived, people said it would be the end of the design industry. But actually, it was the opposite. There’re more people applying to become graphic design students now than ever before.”
That optimism feeds into his broader belief
“We have the capability of lateral thoughts. So, we can think outside of the grid.”
In a time of increasing automation, Brody reminds us what cannot be automated: intuition, abstraction, and the stubborn will to design differently.

Want more from Brody?

For more insight from one of the defining voices in modern design, including his thoughts on education, rebellion, and the joy of small-batch posters, watch the full interview on our YouTube channel.