No AI Creative Policy

Original Ideas. Human Hands. No AI-Generated Design.

At ADLT, we believe creativity comes from people. Our designs are built from human ideas, experiences, references, conversations, observations and artistic expression. That is why we are committed to keeping AI-generated content out of our creative and design process.

We do not believe that creative work should simply be generated, selected and placed onto a product. Every design we release should have an idea, intention and human creative effort behind it.

Our merchandise is created through the work of our in-house creative team, including designers, illustrators, artists, painters and other creatives. From the initial concept to the final artwork, we believe in developing ideas ourselves and translating them through human skill and craftsmanship.

What We Do Not Use AI For

We do not use AI to:

  • Generate original artwork or illustrations

  • Generate characters, graphics or visual compositions

  • Generate design concepts or creative directions

  • Generate typography or lettering artwork

  • Generate product graphics or merchandise artwork

  • Generate or modify illustrations that become part of our final designs

  • Generate images that are subsequently traced, edited, redrawn or incorporated into our merchandise

  • Generate creative ideas that form the foundation of a product

  • Replace the work of our designers, illustrators or artists

In simple terms, AI does not create our designs, and it does not decide what our designs should be.

We also do not consider an AI-generated image acceptable simply because it has been heavily edited afterwards. If the foundation of the artwork comes from generative AI, we do not treat it as original human-created artwork for our merchandise.

Human-Made From Concept to Artwork

Our creative process begins with people.

Ideas are developed by our team through research, observation, conversations, cultural references, visual exploration and our own experiences. Those ideas are then developed through traditional and digital design practices by our designers and artists.

Depending on the project, this can include sketching, illustration, painting, photography, typography, digital composition, vector work, image editing and other forms of hands-on creative production.

The tools may change, but the creative authorship remains human.

We believe this distinction matters. Software can be a tool, but the idea, creative direction and artwork should come from the person using it.

Where AI Assistance May Be Used

Our no-AI policy specifically applies to the creative development and production of our merchandise artwork.

We may use AI-assisted tools in certain non-creative operational areas where they do not create or influence the actual artwork or creative concept of our products.

This may include:

  • Website content and administrative copy

  • SEO research and optimisation

  • Product descriptions and other website-related content

  • Mockups and visualisation of already-created artwork

  • Certain photoshoot or presentation workflows

  • Other operational or technical tasks where AI does not contribute to the creation of the underlying merchandise design

These uses do not replace the creative process. They are limited to supporting how already-created work is presented, communicated, organised or marketed.

For example, if our team creates an illustration, we may use technology to place that finished artwork into a product mockup. The artwork itself remains entirely human-created.

Why We Choose This Approach

We are not against technology. We use technology every day as designers and creatives.

Our position is specifically about creative authorship.

We want our merchandise to represent ideas created by people and artwork made through human effort. We want our designers and artists to experiment, make mistakes, develop their skills and create work that has a point of view rather than simply generating an output from a prompt.

We also believe our customers deserve to know how the products they purchase are made.

When you buy an ADLT design, you are supporting the creative work of designers, illustrators and artists. You are not simply buying an image generated by an algorithm and printed on a garment.

Our Commitment to Our Customers

We are committed to being transparent about our creative process.

Our no-AI policy applies to the creation of the final merchandise artwork and the creative ideas behind it. We will continue to review our tools and processes as technology evolves to ensure that this principle remains meaningful and not merely a marketing statement.

If a tool, workflow or technology begins generating, substantially influencing or replacing the creative artwork itself, it falls outside our merchandise creative policy.

We would rather take more time to develop an idea properly than take the easier route of generating one.

Our designs are imagined by people, developed by people and made by people.

That is the standard we want to maintain.

No AI-generated artwork. No AI-generated creative concepts. No shortcuts. Just human ideas and human creativity.