Why I'm Refusing to Turn Myself into a Toy (...and how visual trends influence our brains.)
The past two weeks have been chaotic: business travel, speaking, meetings, deadlines, and caffeine overdoses, so that I completely missed my chance to turn myself into a trendy Mattel toy using GPT-4o.
Initially, I resisted, commenting on a post about AI images and copyright. It looked novel, but I was caught up in a state of constant motion.
By the time I finally had five minutes to jump on the bandwagon, the novelty had worn off. Everyone had done it, the moment had passed, and people were making a satire of it. My chance at digital immortality as a plastic doll is gone. Forever.
Throughout my career, I've seen similar visual trends come and go, each promising to captivate attention and enhance communication. But time and again, I've observed how quickly novelty fades into numbness as our brains habituate to repeated stimuli.
With AI image creation in the hands of the masses, the time between novel creation and "been there, done that" can be less than a few weeks.
In the 1980s, I remember how neon typography and bold geometric patterns flooded the media landscape, initially grabbing attention with their vibrant hues and striking visuals. It wasn't long before these designs became so overused that they lost their initial impact entirely.
Then came the 1990s, and with it, the dawn of Photoshop layers. Suddenly, everyone (including myself) was excitedly adding drop shadows, page curls, and bevel effects to every design imaginable.
Initially, it felt revolutionary, but every flyer and even eLearning courses started looking suspiciously similar.
The same happened with Microsoft's ubiquitous clip art—initially helpful, but soon synonymous with blandness rather than innovation.
Entering the early 2000s, I watched as Apple's skeuomorphic designs, with their hyper-realistic textures and buttons, initially charmed but then wore thin.
This inevitably triggered a reactionary shift to flat, minimalist visuals in the 2010s, which rapidly became the new norm, diluting their original freshness.
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Now, in the mid 2020s, AI-driven personalized avatars and Studio Ghibli images are quickly saturating the digital landscape. Initially clever, those Mattel-inspired avatars risk becoming yet another fleeting cliché. Putting a distinct AI fencepost in 2025.
Why Does This Matter to Me (and You)?
Our brains are wired for novelty. Fresh visuals spark a neural buzz: attention sharpens, memory kicks in, and engagement spikes. But show us the same thing too many times, and the buzz fades. The brain shifts gears, activity drops, and we mentally tune out. That’s why trends burn bright, then disappear.
We’re not fickle... just neurologically wired to crave the new.
As someone deeply immersed in visual design, education, and marketing, I’ve learned one truth: novelty captures attention, but only when used with intention.
Overusing trendy visuals might win a quick glance, but the brain adapts fast, and that impact fades just as quickly.
I'm ALL for experimentation, I encourage it every day, but I know someone will use this trend in a professional project.
If you want your visuals to actually stick, here’s what I recommend:
Example: If you are using video avatars, refresh them by changing clothes and environments (if possible) to reset engagement
Bottom line: Visual novelty works... but it’s fleeting.
If you’re serious about standing out, don’t become another visual cliché or LinkedIn clone. Instead, design with awareness, and lead with intention.
Your audience’s brain will thank you.
References:
Let's not forget you are giving them your data and image of yourself. You have no control over how that will be used in the future and, of course, copyright issues!
In this case, the trend seems less important than the skills needed to achieve a desired outcome - namely prompt engineering. I'm not often one to join a trend, but a member of my team shared his with the team, and it sparked my interest. What I like is that the underlying skill of prompt engineering is one many struggle with, myself included, even when a template is present. In the case of this trend, I had to revise and edit the prompts many times to get the results I wanted. It was enlightening to see how nearly anyone could become frustrated by an initial result if they were expecting AI to simply "know what to do". It was fun, which often is the spark missing from so many technical learning opportunities, while being just nerdy enough to keep things interesting as a skill-building exercise. Once I got the hang of it I added a 5-o-clock shadow, then revised the shirt, and added an inside joke about the always missing 10MM socket. I even added my tattoo to make it more like the real me and of course, an action figure physique for good measure. The results were from the first to the last made me feel like I was getting the idea, and the learning is what is still keeping me interested in the topic overall, a real L&D win.
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The trend was a moment of fun during a difficult time. And the fact that it became a trend was actually kinda cool because not one of the people who played around with the tech took themselves seriously. I doubt that the original poster (can’t remember her name) expected her whimsical idea to take off like that. And what a great way to check out the technology. I love watching people having fun while learning.
Ugh. I’m so just not into any of this. Happy to use the millions of others avatars as “stock” , while I just stick with me being genuine me. lol!