In the same way that technology has evolved every other category, the creative industry is now coming under fire. The black box of creativity is being hacked by the black box of technology. We are hurtling beyond the days of computers simply augmenting man’s ability to create – they’re now replacing it. Creativity, once thought to be the bastion of our greatest achievements and the ultimate differentiator between man and machine, is clearly caught in the digital cross hairs. It’s still early days for ‘creation’ software solutions, but we know the pace of technological change is not to be underestimated. What we dismiss today as crude, naive and irrelevant may soon be a force to reckon with as ‘Eureka Algorithms’ become more natural and sophisticated. From music composition to writing, art to ideation – automated software solutions are being tapped to not only facilitate the creative development process, but to actually generate quick, easy, inexpensive solutions.

Brand creation is not immune from this process. Patents like the Automated Advertising Production Portal or websites like Text2logo and Sloganizer are popping up with more frequency. The ability of the Internet to disintermediate every other profession seems to be bearing down on an unprepared creative community. Easily templated solutions for web pages, banner ads, blogs and collateral are some of the earliest manifestations of this trend, leveraging automated software and huge interactive databases of words, numbers, colors, shapes and images to create real-time solutions. Off-the-shelf software like Wordmaker and sites like Dot-o-mater, Makewords or Netsubstance can create brand or product names at the drop of a hat. And although these services may not consider legal, cultural or linguistic sensitivities, they are for many an acceptable starting point. Logos are no exception, with free, fully automated designs available at HP’s LogoMaker, Spiffytext, The Logo Creator or AAA-Logo. It’s hard to beat free when you’re a small business looking for a quick solution.

So how will the creative industry respond to the artist formerly known as the machine? They will have to create value where algorithms cannot go. Creative agencies and consultancies will focus more on innovation and strategy to keep them a step ahead of the software solutions nipping at their heels. They will need to elevate and integrate every aspect of the brand building process into a valuable business solution with proven success and results. Uniquely original, cutting-edge design, naming and copywriting will still cut through the clutter and help leading brands create a distinctive voice. But for some companies, price will win over value and automated solutions may just fit their ‘it’s good enough’ mind-set. Creativity will never die, but it is becoming more commoditized.