Illustration · Branding
Performance.gov: about 1,500 icons developed from handmade inputs with Midjourney
A design news report says Pentagram trained an illustration style from paint and cut paper, then produced reusable icons for federal agencies.
Done withMMidjourney
AI use reported by GDUSA, not on Pentagram’s page
WHAT THEY DID
GDUSA reports that Pentagram’s team, including Paula Scher, made paint and cut-paper inputs, fed examples into Midjourney to set the aesthetic, and after several rounds of prompts turned the components into a library of icons agencies can reuse. Pentagram’s own project page credits the team and says the agencies had no in-house art department, but doesn’t mention AI.
HOW IT WENT
GDUSA reports about 1,500 icons (“1,000+” elsewhere in the article). Scher calls AI use a best practice and says the icon count wasn’t possible in three months with five designers.
WORTH KNOWING
Some designers criticized choosing automation over hiring illustrators; the article names no critics and reports no claim of copying. Her quoted reasoning comes via other interviews that weren’t re-read here.
Rates the entry, not the tool.
Source: GDUSA · Dec 2024Open as a page
About this source
Type: Portfolio project · Company claim · Older example, not a recent development
- Pentagram federal website generates AI controversy
GDUSA · GDUSA · Published Dec 2024 (GDUSA shows no date; images are from December 2024. Pentagram’s page is dated December 2, 2024.) · Checked Oct 20, 2026
Design trade press report.
Access: Page text was read during research. - Performance.gov
Pentagram · Pentagram · Published Dec 2, 2024 · Checked Oct 20, 2026
The studio’s own project page.
Access: The project page doesn’t mention AI.
Source check: Spot-checked by the 4TC build team on Oct 20, 2026. Fast Company interview re-tried 2026-10-20: still 403, not read. The AI workflow is attributed to GDUSA throughout. Nobody at 4TC has tested this.
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Added to 4TC Oct 20, 2026 · Last checked Oct 20, 2026
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