signs-of-ai-design/SOURCES.md

Sources

Per-part source list. Entries in the README draw on these; PRs adding tells should extend this file.

Part I: Websites and app interfaces

• impeccable.style, "Slop" (46-pattern generated-UI catalog and CLI detector): https://impeccable.style/slop/
• 925 Studios, "AI Slop Fonts and Gradients: The Tells That Give Away AI Design": https://www.925studios.co/blog/ai-slop-design-tells
• solodesign.cc, "AI design slop: the tells, and how I built a tool to catch them": https://solodesign.cc/blog/ai-design-slop-the-tells/
• prg.sh, "Why Your AI Keeps Building the Same Purple Gradient Website": https://prg.sh/ramblings/Why-Your-AI-Keeps-Building-the-Same-Purple-Gradient-Website
• vibecodekit.dev, "AI Slop Design": https://vibecodekit.dev/ai-slop-design
• Sailop, "AI Slop 2026: State of the AI-Generated Web": https://www.sailop.com/blog/ai-slop-2026-state-of-the-ai-generated-web
• The Adpharm, "Claude design without the AI slop look": https://www.theadpharm.com/insights/claude-design-without-the-ai-slop-look
• superdesign.dev, "Why AI design looks generic": https://superdesign.dev/blog/why-ai-design-looks-generic
• freedesignmd.com, "Why shadcn looks generic": https://freedesignmd.com/blog/shadcn-looks-generic
• dev.to, "Why every AI-built website looks the same: blame Tailwind's indigo-500": https://dev.to/alanwest/why-every-ai-built-website-looks-the-same-blame-tailwinds-indigo-500-3h2p
• shitfa.st (archive of AI-written landing pages): https://shitfa.st/
• dev.to, "I analyzed 100 vibe-coded websites and found these common mistakes": https://dev.to/kaplich/i-analyzed-100-vibe-coded-websites-and-found-these-common-mistakes-5275
• Medium / Design Bootcamp, "The rise of Linear-style design": https://medium.com/design-bootcamp/the-rise-of-linear-style-design-origins-trends-and-techniques-4fd96aab7646

Part II: AI-generated images

• GIJN, "Reporter's guide to detecting AI-generated content": https://gijn.org/resource/guide-detecting-ai-generated-content/
• Popular AI, "ChatGPT's piss filter: why AI images turn yellow": https://www.popularai.org/p/chatgpts-piss-filter-why-ai-images
• Know Your Meme, "AI Art Becoming Yellow": https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ai-art-becoming-yellow
• Flitto DataLab, "This orange and teal color bias shouts that your image was AI-generated": https://datalab.flitto.com/en/company/blog/this-orange-and-teal-color-bias-shouts-that-your-image-was-ai-generated/
• FelloAI, "How to tell if a photo is AI generated": https://felloai.com/how-to-tell-if-a-photo-is-ai-generated/
• WhichOneIsReal, detection guide: https://whichoneisreal.com/detect-ai-images/
• Online Tech Tips, "How to spot fake AI images": https://www.online-tech-tips.com/how-to-spot-fake-ai-images/
• Truth-Check, 2026 detection methods: https://www.truth-check.com/blog/comment-detecter-photo-ia-2026
• Vertu, "Why AI still struggles with hands and fingers in 2025": https://vertu.com/ai-tools/why-ai-still-struggles-with-hands-and-fingers-in-2025
• UX Collective, "Lost for words: why text in AI images still goes wrong": https://uxdesign.cc/lost-for-words-why-text-in-ai-images-still-goes-wrong-b5232c39bd11
• Nikita Namjoshi, "The Age of AI Face": https://nikitanamjoshi.substack.com/p/the-age-of-ai-face
• FakeRadar, "Grok Aurora AI image detection": https://fakeradar.app/blog/grok-aurora-ai-image-detector/
• Facia, "The ultimate guide to detecting AI-generated images online in 2026" (62% human accuracy figure): https://facia.ai/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-detecting-ai-generated-images-online-in-2026/
• Patterns (Cell Press), paper on generative convergence to generic visual motifs: https://www.cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S2666-3899(25)00299-5
• Photutorial, Stable Diffusion watermark investigation: https://photutorial.com/stable-diffusion-watermarks-investigation/
• Gizmodo, Getty Images v. Stability AI watermark claim: https://gizmodo.com/getty-images-stable-diffusion-ai-art-generator-1850079852
• 9to5Google, Gemini built-in SynthID detection: https://9to5google.com/google-gemini-built-in-ai-detection-how-to-use-it/
• Midlibrary, cinematic lighting style reference: https://midlibrary.io/styles/cinematic-lighting
• Curious Refuge, Midjourney v7 review: https://curiousrefuge.com/blog/midjourney-v7-ai-image-generator-review

Part III: AI-generated video

• TechRadar, "Can we really tell what's made by Sora 2? 11 tips": https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/openai/can-we-really-tell-whats-made-by-sora-2-11-tips-to-help-spot-ai-generated-video
• FauxLens, "Detect AI-generated video, 2026": https://fauxlens.com/blog/detect-ai-generated-video-2026

Part IV: Logos and branding

• VelvetShark, "Why do AI company logos look like buttholes?" (orb convergence essay): https://velvetshark.com/ai-company-logos-that-look-like-buttholes
• Ebaqdesign, AI startup logo analysis: https://www.ebaqdesign.com/blog/ai-startups-logos
• WorldVectorLogo, "How to spot an AI-generated logo": https://worldvectorlogo.com/blog/how-to-spot-an-ai-generated-logo-and-why-it-matters-more-than-you-think/
• LeftHD, "How to spot an AI-generated logo design": https://lefthd.com/how-to-spot-an-ai-generated-logo-design/
• Studio Maydit, "Why your AI startup looks generic": https://studiomaydit.com/blog/why-your-ai-startup-looks-generic

Part V: Slide decks and documents

• 2slides, "Can AI make slides that don't look AI-generated": https://2slides.com/blog/can-ai-make-slides-that-dont-look-ai-generated
• Alai, "Make AI slides look designer-made": https://getalai.com/blog/make-ai-slides-look-designer-made
• Medium, "We fact-checked 6 AI presentation makers" (hallucination rates): https://medium.com/@neel2108/we-fact-checked-6-ai-presentation-makers-heres-how-often-they-hallucinate-90e6093e42fc
• Gamma community, data-accuracy issue thread: https://community.gamma.app/x/ideas-and-requests/2zqcuu7y4yep/issues-with-ai-data-accuracy-in-gamma-creations

Part VI: Marketing, social, and print

• AOL/press, "Soulless summer fairs" (UK AI poster convergence): https://www.aol.com/articles/soulless-summer-fairs-cute-puppies-050000000.html
• Medium, "Why AI flyers and posters now look the same": https://medium.com/@mdvrobert101/why-ai-flyers-and-posters-now-look-the-same-faffeceb3cdf
• Colecandoo, "Stop making AI slop for social media clout": https://colecandoo.com/2026/02/07/stop-making-ai-slop-for-social-media-clout/
• Euronews, "AI slop is flooding the internet": https://euronews.com/next/2025/02/16/ai-slop-is-flooding-the-internet-this-is-how-can-you-tell-if-an-image-is-artificially-gene
• Wikipedia, "Corporate Memphis": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_Memphis
• Forbes, "The AI-generated Studio Ghibli trend, explained": https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/03/27/the-ai-generated-studio-ghibli-trend-explained/
• Gyre, "Are AI thumbnails ruining YouTube": https://gyre.pro/blog/are-ai-thumbnails-ruining-youtube-or-revolutionizing-it
• QWE, "AI book covers: the hidden problem": https://www.qwe.edu.pl/tutorial/ai-book-covers-hidden-problem/
• Lovelytocu, "How to spot fake AI products on Etsy": https://www.lovelytocu.ca/2026/05/how-to-spot-fake-ai-products-on-etsy.html

Part VII: Copy embedded in design

• Wikipedia, "Signs of AI writing": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signs_of_AI_writing
• NN/g, "The AI sparkle icon problem" (n=107 icon study): https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ai-sparkles-icon-problem/
• Google Design, sparkle icon research: https://design.google/library/ai-sparkle-icon-research-pozos-schmidt
• CSS-Tricks, "The proliferation and problem of the sparkles icon": https://css-tricks.com/the-proliferation-and-problem-of-the-sparkles-icon/
• copyadscontent.com, signs of AI writing catalog: https://copyadscontent.com/signs-of-ai-writing/
• Yahoo Tech, em-dash discourse: https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/articles/em-dashes-really-sign-ai-162348067.html