Human Brands. So What.
What do people say about your company when you're not in the room?
That's your brand.
For decades, companies had more influence over how their stories were told. Today, customers, communities, algorithms, and AI all play a role in shaping perception. The systems people use to discover, evaluate, and compare companies are increasingly deciding who gets cited, summarized, and surfaced—and who gets skipped.
The challenge is that brands used to have time to adapt. Change happened in cycles. Today, technology moves nonlinearly. Generational expectations shift in real time. Entire interfaces appear and disappear overnight. And somehow, in the middle of all of it, AI is making the web feel more human, not less.
The brands that endure won't be the most rigid or the most reactive. They'll be the ones designed for change.
To explore what that looks like, I'm joined by David Butler and Stefan Kjartansson, co-founders of So What, a brand transformation studio built for what's next. Together, they've helped shape brands ranging from Coca-Cola and CNN to Markforged and emerging startups creating entirely new categories.
This conversation is about building brands that can scale, adapt, and remain relevant, brands that don't just survive a weird future but were designed for one.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Why modular brand systems outlast everything else. How building with consistency and flexibility isn’t a design philosophy, it’s a survival strategy.
How AI is changing the container, not the contents. The web is being rewritten as a discovery surface. What that means for how brand needs to show up.
What brand transformation looks like at scale. Lessons from Coca-Cola, Markforged, CNN, and the early-stage companies that had to get it right before they had room to get it wrong.
How to build brand equity without losing relevance. The tension between stability and change, and the systems thinking that holds it together.
SPEAKERS
Mason Poe
Founder, Edgar Allan
Edgar Allan is the largest U.S.-focused Webflow agency. We build web presences for ambitious brands at the intersection of design, strategy, and the modern web.
David Butler
Partner/Strategy, So What
Coca-Cola’s first head of design. Author of Design to Grow, published in 25 languages. Named a Master of Design by Fast Company. Co-founder of Coke’s first global venture platform.
Stefan Kjartansson
Partner/Design, So What
25+ years transforming brands. CNN’s first Executive Creative Director and part of the CNN.com founding team. Branded the Markforged IPO. Co-founder of Armchair, acquired by IfThen.