VisualGPS Creative Trends Technology 2026 Creative Trends Mid-Year Check-in

Six months after we first laid out our 2026 visual trends, the throughlines haven't changed, but they've matured. AI, authenticity, and sport remain the dominant forces shaping brand visual strategy, and all three point to the same idea: Audiences have a sharp radar for what's real, and they reward brands that show it. 

AI has moved past spectacle, toward visuals of AI quietly supporting real people in real work. Authenticity is now layered and regional, with craft and imperfection read as credibility. Sport and fandom, fresh off the men's World Cup, are told less through highlights and more through fans, and increasingly athletes, as co‑storytellers. 

GLOBALLY

AI remains our top‑searched keyword globally, unchanged since January. Since we don't allow AI‑generated content in our collections, customers are searching for visuals that signpost AI usage, not AI‑made images. Sci‑fi signifiers (glowing circuitry, robots, holograms) are fading everywhere in favor of visuals that put real humans back at the center. 

AMER
Home to most AI labs, AMER sets the tone. A recent OpenAI Super Bowl ad followed a farmer inheriting her family farm, with AI quietly handling reporting in the background. Consumers want AI to support, not replace, them. Visually, that's driving a rise in blue‑collar and everyday‑life storytelling over desk‑bound imagery.

EXAMPLE:
A rural Washington factory shoot from Fly View Productions uses real machinists, including a Latine machinist, a demographic underrepresented in manufacturing imagery. 

EXAMPLE
:
A NYC street image by Ivan Panti shows AI seamlessly woven into daily life, freeing up time rather than dominating the frame.

EMEA
Literal signifiers (neon motherboards, the robotic “Creation of Adam” hand, Minority Report screen‑swiping) are declining, though the hand gesture persists. AI search is down region‑wide while agentic AI, LLMs, and predictive analytics rise. Brands are leaning into playfulness and human craft as a counterpoint to AI‑driven services.  

EXAMPLE
:
Jonathan Knowles' image reflects the humor‑tech trend while drawing on gaming aesthetics. The visual feels nostalgic, immersive, and human, using texture, playfulness, and participation to create warmth and connection.

EXAMPLE
:
Speak to human craft through in‑camera techniques rather than CGI or 3D rendering. Look for long exposure, motion, and other creative camera techniques that feel made, not generated.

WORTH A LOOK
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Norway's Consumer Counsil's “Enshittification” mockumentary, the EU Parliament's anti‑AI‑copyright theft spot, IKEA Denmark's retro‑gaming loyalty campaign, and Coinbase's Oscars spot, playfully dramatizing “breaking out” of an AI system. 

APAC
APAC is moving from abstract AI imagery toward showing what AI actually enables. The palette is expanding beyond blue neon into greens and oranges, and framing is zooming in: Close‑ups on quality control and flaw detection rather than sprawling wide shots. Agentic AI is one of our fastest‑growing regional searches, reflecting AI as something that augments thinking (translation, travel planning, even therapy‑adjacent use) rather than just automating tasks. 

GLOBALLY

We expected authentic imagery to decline as AI content got cheaper to produce. Instead, real, verifiable human‑made visuals are rising in value. A new global survey confirms consumer attitudes are consistent across markets: Authenticity conveys credibility and trust. But what it looks like varies sharply by region. 

APAC
Earlier this year, we talked about authenticity globally becoming more personal and individual. That's still true, but in many APAC markets authenticity is often expressed collectively, through connection to others, family, community and a sense of belonging, rather than pure individual self‑expression.

EXAMPLE
:
A Taiwan image shows tradition (hand‑brewed medicine, framing style) persisting amid a modernizing city. 

EXAMPLE
:
A Japan image counters the “salaryman” trope, showing an engaged, everyday family man, a mismatch with advertising norms that itself reads as authentic. 

AMER
Authenticity here is “on notice”: Audiences have a radar for staged or AI content, and simply “looking real” isn't enough. As culture fragments into subcultures, the trend is toward maximalism: Messy, emotional, layered reality over quietly staged candids. 

EXAMPLE
:
A fisheye NYC clip by Blake Davis captures an unposed, spontaneous friendship moment, nostalgic and current at once. 

EXAMPLE
:
A Brazil‑shot FG Trade series broadens who's shown as an “expert”: Unassuming, real‑bodied, personal style intact. 

EMEA
Briefs have moved from visual realism (2024) to emotional truth (2025) to lived experience (2026), but the picture splits by market. France shows real distrust of imagery and wants more truth in storytelling. The Middle East is far more comfortable with generative AI, yet authenticity matters even more, grounded in local cultural relevance. 

EXAMPLE
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This image from Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez captures a lived‑in authenticity through filmic texture, intimate framing, and subtle imperfections, creating a candid feel that is both crafted and regionally grounded.

EXAMPLE
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Mixed media reinforces authenticity through hand‑crafted techniques like collage, screen printing, and paint layering. Imperfections and messy compositions help create a more human, credible feel.

WORTH A LOOK
:
Birkenstock's cinematic Ramadan campaign and Kuwaiti brand Waba's high‑energy match‑cut Ramadan spot: Different creative approaches, both rooted in lived experience. 

Broadly, the mandate is making culture feel lived in, not observed: Specificity and ritual over simple local casting. 

GLOBALLY

It's been a strong year for sport so far, capped by the men's football World Cup. But the real story isn't the tournament. It's how sport, and its fans get visualized is fundamentally changing. 

Culture matters as much as the game: 55% say sport extends into fashion, food, and events; 50% cite that culture as a major reason they're fans. 

EMEA
The biggest story we're hearing from rights holders and sponsors: Fans, and how they're visualized. World Cup content captured a real shift in demographics: Younger, more female, more global. A forthcoming Sports Fandom report centers on always‑on fandom, sport as culture (sponsors as cultural architects, not just logos), and women's sport setting new visual standards. Within the region, Europe leans into lifestyle and community; the Gulf frames sport as national cultural identity. 

EXAMPLE
:
A Simon KR shoot at Wörthersee Stadium (600 people, 15 cameras) still centers fans: Participation over spectatorship, co‑storytelling alongside athletes. 

APAC
In Asia‑Pacific, sport fandom is about culture, identity, and group expression. Stadium imagery remains popular, but the real opportunity is broader: Pre‑match rituals, year‑round fandom, and community. The strongest visuals feel immediate and participatory, bringing audiences into the moment rather than observing it from a distance.

As explored in our Individualism Within Collectivism video article, shared passions and communities increasingly shape identity across Asia. Think HYROX, run clubs, or Pilates communities: Shared aesthetics, rituals, and neutral tones create a sense of belonging, while small personal details express individuality. 

EXAMPLE
:
This visual is very much sport, but the concept is community. Rather than showcasing distinct personalities, it highlights the particular community these individuals belong to: Shared visual codes and neutral tones, yet with enough individual quirks to express identity within the group.

AMER
AMER adds one more layer: Sport in the first person. The Knicks' championship run showed it: Street interviews, fan footage, parade coverage, and athlete stories all became part of the conversation. Sport is culture, not just competition. 

EXAMPLE
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A softball team shoot in small town America by The Good Brigade features a young player's unique personality and an immersive POV.  First person storytelling is not just about the fandom, it's also about the athletes themselves.

EXAMPLE
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A Lighthouse Films clip shot in Brazil follows a ball through a colorful alleyway in slow motion. Sometimes the story is simply the love of the game, told from ground level. 

Across all three trends, the throughline is the same: Audiences can tell the difference between what's real and what isn't, and they're rewarding the brands that show them the difference.