THE HYBRID VISUAL INTELLIGENCE MODEL: A NEW CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR REPRESENTING CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS IN EGYPTIAN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

The HVIM is a semiotically informed model that elucidates the co-construction of human creativity and AI in the production of culturally compelling visual communication for Egyptian advertising. The model is based on Peircean semiotics and Barthesian semiosis theory of denotation and connotation, conceptualizing the role of designers as mediators of outputs generated by AI that include semantic anchoring, compositional regulation, and ethical mediation. The design of this study is a qualitative multi-case study that involves an analysis of two campaigns (Pepsi, 2023, and National Bank of Egypt Ramadan, 2025), and interviews with eight professional designers. Results validate the need for human input in the cultural appropriation and emotional connection of the produced AI-generated content, where designers shape the AI to accurately depict Egyptian landmarks, food, and culture, and rectify biases. HVIM positions AI as a creative extender, while humans act as cultural mediators who embed meaning into the final output. The framework emphasizes the role of human agency in keeping the authenticity safe, and provides a model of hybrid visual intelligence which can be applied to culturally rich advertising environments.