Dutch design studio Verve, seeking a way to visually express a brand's "irreplaceability," has unveiled a new visual system called "Brand Auras." Combining the texture of analog watercolors with AI-driven motion algorithms, the rebranding captures a simultaneous human and digital sensibility.
"In creating our new identity, the most important thing was to visualize the essence of the brand," said Verve's Creative Director, Valerie Winn de Boer. "These out-of-focus, yet emotive images led us to the concept of 'aura.' In imperfect, hand-painted watercolors, we found an expression of irreplaceability."
These watercolor forms were then moved through an AI image generator. By adjusting layers and rhythms, they blended and transformed repeatedly, creating a lifelike abstract form—a "brand aura." This process, a fusion of human intuition and AI calculations, produced an imperfect but consistent result. Verve describes it as "a brand system as curious, flexible, and always in motion as we are."
Digital Design Lead Sarah de Jaeger describes the new website as "not just a portfolio, but a living canvas." Based on hand-drawn watercolors and markers, the interface emphasizes the aesthetics of the hand and chance over artificial perfection. AI post-processing enhances texture and movement, and each scroll or click reveals a slightly different visual variation. "The warmth of the handmade collides with the precision of code, creating a rhythm," Sarah explains. "It's meaningful not because it's perfect, but because it's alive."
Senior Marketer Patrick Boyle describes the new visual system as "a vessel for content and an expandable toolkit." Brand auras, while taking on different forms, maintain a consistent identity and are used in a variety of contexts, from presentation backgrounds to editorial content. "They're not fixed templates, but organic containers for emotions and stories," he says. "We've gained a language and texture that allows us to naturally express the brand's emotional essence."
