With the uprise of Artificial Intelligence in recent years, it can seem daunting as a graphic designer to carry on with a “business as usual” mentality. Many people in this field have already lost jobs, lost work, and lost hope; but I personally stand on the other side of that.
I don’t condone the use of AI by any means. It’s harmful to the environment, the job environment, and our minds. It has been placed as a top priority by world leaders, over any and all environmental and humanitarian causes, all in the name of “progress”. It has infiltrated every last bit of the digital landscape, from Meta all the way down to the programs most designers use on a daily basis. It is hard to avoid, but the general public remains divided on its role in society. Some use it for EVERYTHING. From those cringey profile pictures to auditing important business information and even summing up how to fix a car. This is detrimental to innate human curiosity - the need to SEEK knowledge instead of having it handed to you. It took over the workplace at my most recent job, and I watched our entire marketing department get dismantled and get replaced with Claude… and one guy with IT knowledge. It became the order taker at one of our favorite restaurants. And it’s getting put on society without consent.
I have a multitude of theories about why this is, but I’m not going to pollute business-oriented content with conspiracies….
Anyway, from a business perspective, it has changed the way people view the design industry, and it has thwarted many people’s entire careers. Some spent 4-8 years in college just to have their work taken by machines that can do it for free.
This is not the end for the Design industry though. It will actually be something that separates the good from the great. Over the coming years it will become increasingly obvious who has real skills, talent, and an eye for what grabs attention. The industry will be separated by those who live and stand by values, and those just chasing a dollar. It will also showcase designers who provide true originality, strategy, and genuine value to their clients.
What many of these GenAI users also don’t understand is that AI might be good for generating ideas, but a vast majority of the graphics it spits out are NOT built for the real world.
I dealt with this first-hand not too long ago. I had a client wanting a banner with their AI logo put on it, and I thought “I don’t really support this, but I’ll middle man this transaction to keep good rapport.” I sent their logo straight from the client to the printing company, and I quickly received a message about image quality. Of course. I took a closer look at the file and not only was it a pixelated jpg image, it also contained a multitude of spots with messy linework and inconsistencies. If I hadn’t zoomed in on it, I probably wouldn’t have noticed anything wrong, but after that I was screaming inside. I spent the whole next day creating a lookalike vector image and polishing up every last one of the design’s loose ends. For free. I sent both the printing company AND the client the new files, and their banner came out perfectly.
I will probably never do something like that again, but I’m glad I got up close and personal with one of these projects to see what we’re truly up against, and to see where my skills stack up against the machine.
I’m not intimidated.
I know my skillset, my experience, and my passion for this medium cannot be replicated or generated. I can adapt to a wide range of styles, vibes, and values while AI continues to spit out cookie-cutter graphics, cringey catch phrases, and whatever that weird cryptic language is you see in the fine details of images.
AI also can’t do printing jobs, so at least most of my work is safe for now.
People probably aren’t going to stop using AI for their graphics, flyers, banners etc. anytime soon, but the business owners who choose to cut marketing costs up front will end up making up for those savings in lost revenue. There are hundreds of thousands of people who see an AI design on a business storefront or social media page and simply take their business elsewhere. This adds up over time, and soon business owners will return to designers for help.
I have more faith and hope for my industry than most, and I will continue to push for a more inspiring and innovative future until I can’t anymore. So be it if people choose shortcuts. I’ll be here when they change their minds. :)
If you read this far, thank you! Please keep your vision and your hopes for the future intact. The massive changes we are living through may actually be stepping stones into creating the future we all ACTUALLY want. Holding onto the positive is more important than ever, and fear is a weapon that we can consciously disarm.
Take the time to create a clear image of the perfect future in your mind, curate a tangible plan to achieve it, and cultivate the love, the connection, and the courage it takes to get there. I believe in you, in us, and in the future.