Daniel Young / Brand designer, Head of Design at DHD
Made fast with AI. Finished by hand.
I use AI to get through the slow parts quickly. Then I spend the time it saves on what needs a person: the idea, the taste and the final detail.
Move your cursor. The grid moves away from it.
01 / Same brief, two passes
Drag the handle
Where the person comes in.
Elevating brands through innovative solutions
// first pass: generic, correct, forgettable
// could be anyone's headline
Real people make real brands.
We put people first. That hasn't changed in 18 years, and it won't.
Meet the teamOn the right is the headline I led for DHD's brand messaging. On the left is the kind of line a first pass gives you. Both are fast. Only one sounds like the people behind it.
02 / How I work
Machine for the slow parts. Me for the rest.
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01
Understand
Machine
Reads the transcripts, sweeps the competitor landscape and pulls the research into one place.
Me
Talk to the people, then decide what actually matters.
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02
Explore
Machine
Produces many directions in the time it takes to sketch one.
Me
Throw most of them away. Keep the one with a point of view.
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03
Craft
Machine
Resizes, exports, names files and checks colour contrast.
Me
Type, spacing, colour and every word. This part stays by hand.
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04
Ship
Machine
Helps write and test the code, and checks copy for machine-sounding habits.
Me
Read it, use it, sign it off. Nothing goes out unseen.
03 / What the speed buys
2026
apps and tools built this year, with AI helping to write the code.
person making the final call on what each one looks like and says.
04 / Selected work
All work →Things I've made.
05 / Journal
All notes →06 / Contact