What slop looks like in ai startups
Dark mode, a glowing orb or a mesh of nodes behind the headline, sparkles on every button, the words "intelligent", "seamless" and "next-generation" within the first screen, and a waitlist form instead of a product. The team page has stock portraits or none.
What a designer would have done
Say what the model does, on what input, with what output, and show one example end to end. Name the people and show them. If there is no product yet, write "waitlist" in plain words and keep the page to one screen.
Tells to check first
- Glowing blobs and orbs: Blurred circles of colour floating behind the content, or a glowing orb as the hero image of a product that has no shape.
- Permanent dark mode: A near-black page for a business that has no reason to be in the dark: a bakery, a physiotherapist, a tax advisor.
- Gradient text: A headline, or one word in it, filled with a colour gradient and clipped to the letters.
- Elevate, unlock, seamless, empower: Headlines and subheads built from the model's favourite verbs: elevate, unlock, empower, streamline, seamless, effortless, next-level, game-changing.
- A team that does not exist: An "Our team" section with generated portraits and names, or stock people presented as staff, for a business that is one person.
- The swap-test headline: A headline of the form "Innovative solutions for your business" or "Your reliable partner for X": swap in a competitor's name and nothing changes.