Made by a Humanity — The certification mark for human-made work
Certification mark · Independent · Est. 2026

Made by a Humanity

A certification mark for products, work and ideas that were made by human beings. One seal. One promise. Someone was there.

I — Manifesto

When anything can be generated, provenance becomes the product.

We are not against machines. We are for disclosure. A buyer deserves to know whether a pair of hands, a bad night's sleep and thirty years of taste went into the thing they are holding — or whether it appeared in four seconds.

This mark makes that answer visible. Nothing more, nothing less.

— The Registry

II — The Mark

Three degrees of human.

Honesty scales better than purity. The mark is issued at the level that is true — and the level is always printed on it.

MARK I

Fully Human

Conceived, made and finished by people. No generative system touched the work at any stage.

Highest tier
MARK II

Human-Led

People make every creative decision. Machines assist with mechanical steps only, and each one is declared on the public record.

Disclosed assistance
MARK III

Human-Accountable

A named person reviewed, approved and takes editorial and legal responsibility for the finished work. There is someone to answer for it.

Named signatory
III — The Standard

Five conditions. No exceptions.

01

Attribution

Every certified work names the humans behind it. Anonymity is allowed; absence of a responsible party is not.

02

Disclosure

Any machine assistance is declared in plain language, in the public record, before the mark is issued.

03

Traceability

Sketches, drafts, session files, raw footage — evidence of process must exist and be producible on request.

04

Accountability

A signatory accepts that a false declaration revokes the mark permanently, across every product they hold.

05

Renewal

Certification lapses after twelve months. Practices change; the record has to change with them.

IV — Certification

How to earn the mark.

1

Declare

Submit the product, the people behind it, and an honest account of how it was made.

2

Review

Two reviewers examine the evidence of process and assign the tier — I, II or III.

3

Mark

You receive the seal, a certificate number and a public registry page anyone can verify.

V — The Asset

Carry it properly.

The seal is vector, monochrome and never recoloured. Minimum size 18 mm in print, 64 px on screen. Always paired with a certificate number. Misuse of the mark is a revocable offence.

VI — Questions

The obvious objections.

Is this anti-technology?
No. A spell-checker, a camera and a lathe are all technology. The mark is about who made the decisions and who answers for the result — not about which tools were in the room.
How can you possibly verify it?
The same way every certification works: a binding declaration, evidence of process, spot audits, and permanent revocation for anyone who lies. The deterrent is reputational, and it is severe.
What can be certified?
Anything with an author: physical goods, software, music, writing, photography, design, film, courses, consulting. If a human can sign it, it can carry the mark.
Why would a buyer care?
For the same reason they read a label before they eat. Not because generated work is worthless — because knowing is worth something, and right now nobody is telling them.