Porto Rocha tests limits of AI with YOYOYO ‘project’

The global strategy and design agency set itself the challenge of using Nano Banana Pro, Google’s latest image generation model, to build a brand from scratch. Enter YOYOYO, a simple toy that demonstrates to Porto Rocha that AI and human creativity can coexist.

Porto Rocha might have worked with an impressive list of brands recent times, including Nike, Gemini and Robinhood, but the agency set its sights on a new mission: crafting a hypothetical brand through a collaborative project with Google Deepmind.

The result is YOYOYO, a 3D yo-yo product and brand designed with the aid of the latest Nano Banana Pro models. Porto Rocha believes that, after a process of refinement, adjusting and iterating, the outcome elevates play into a modern design experience.

The crux of the ‘project’ was to demonstrate that AI can be worked with as a creative medium, rather than as a replacement of creativity. The agency says it is committed to integrating AI through approaches tailored to each project.

Martín Azambuja, associate design director at Porto Rocha, adds, “We can’t predict the future, but we can control our relationship with AI, and we approach it with critical optimism; not as a replacement for creativity but an opportunity to expand what’s possible. The tools keep changing, but the vision, craft and guidance remain ours. And that’s not going anywhere.”