The farewell gift that stays

The farewell of a colleague is an office ritual with the same outcome for the past decade: a grey envelope with a collective contribution, a bottle of wine they would not choose themselves, a bouquet that does not even make it through the reception. It is all kindly meant, but it carries little of what the colleague actually meant to the team. The more years someone spent at the company, the more painfully obvious that becomes.

An AI portrait breaks through that pattern in a way the colleague themselves did not see coming. Ask the team for their favourite photo of the person leaving — a team day out, a serious headshot, or that one photo from the Christmas dinner that everyone laughs about — and choose a style that suits how they want to be remembered. A classic oil portrait for the colleague who was the heart of the team for years. A cartoon version for the inside-jokes person. A stately royal portrait for the leader who is now departing. A watercolour for whoever provided the gentler forces.

And the beautiful thing about this gift in a work context is that it travels. The colleague takes it home, hangs it in the hallway, the home office, or even at the new workplace. Years later, in a different company, in a different life, the portrait is still there. And every time they see it, they think back to that team and that period. No envelope has ever lasted that long.