TWA Founder Explains Bespoke AI System Behind Untold Rebrand

In response to a critique of The Working Assembly's rebrand for voice-journaling app Untold, founder Jolene Delisle clarified that the studio's use of AI was not a replacement for human illustrators but a means to create a dynamic visual system. The AI-generated illustrations are designed to respond to users' emotions and evolve with usage, rather than being a static library. Delisle emphasized that the process began with a human-created visual reference, which was then used to build a custom AI agent governed by specific creative rules and guardrails. The team spent considerable time refining outputs to achieve the desired texture, tone, and composition. Delisle acknowledged the tension in using AI for something as personal as voice journaling but framed it as a deliberate exploration of human authorship in a system where the machine interprets human expression. She stressed that the studio regularly commissions illustrators and artists, and that this project was about enabling a responsive experience, not cutting costs. Delisle envisions a future where designers focus on inputs, parameters, curation, and editing, with the human eye and taste remaining critical. The article, published on Creative Boom, follows a previous critique that questioned the use of AI illustration over a human illustrator, prompting a reader's question that led to this follow-up interview.