AI is your trusty design apprentice without you even knowing it, but has it moved on to become a fully-fledged designer? The knack AI has for quickly processing large amounts of information and presenting ideas that can spark innovative concepts like never before is revolutionary. It can be the brainstorming partner who never needs sleep or coffee and doesn’t mind feedback. Embedded in much design software now, we rely on it without ever thinking, intuitively it starts to recognise the way we work and helps us get there faster. I like to think of AI as a tool to streamline my work, enhancing the creative process but letting me focus on the things I love, the high-level concepts and wild experimentation that got me into this business in the first place.
The repetitive tasks that were early-day requirements for juniors in the business and we used to dread, like cutouts and background expansions AI can now handle, thank you very much. It also delivers at a higher, more consistent level, allowing for a uniform presentation of content that may have taken ages to achieve manually, therefore the cost savings that many expect from the introduction of AI can be realised in some areas. It is also great at tweaking existing work for the next iteration, changing sizes, or repurposing concepts across different formats which it’s there already doing for us. So yes, AI does help as a colleague, it gives us the prompts to explore new ideas and content and push boundaries we may never have thought about before.
Of course, like any tool, AI comes with its own set of challenges and risks. One of my main concerns is that we might start relying too heavily on AI algorithms, which could lead to designs that all look similar and lack that unique human touch, the trusty apprentice simply emulating its teacher and never actually becoming creative. AI’s dependence on historical data is another issue, perpetuating existing biases and limiting diversity in design. One wrong presentation of an idea to a client could be continually replicated, leading to a host of dissatisfied clients, where feedback is never really learned from before the next iteration is generated in the same way. And let’s face it, there’s a bit of fear that AI could overshadow human creativity, ignoring the unique insights and emotions that we see in client reactions, customer feedback, or just the emotions when face-to-face with a real person. It’s crucial for us, as designers, to stay aware of AI’s limitations and ethical implications as we weave it into our work.
Despite these challenges, the future of AI in creative design is incredibly exciting. The Design Business Association (DBA) 2024 report “What Clients Think,” produced by Up to the Light, states that 80% of the clients questioned recognise that their use of AI in brand marketing is still at an early stage, so clearly there is still some way to go. However, the most mentioned potential benefits were improved personalisation at scale, improved ROI, and better predictability of purchase preferences. As AI technology continues to advance, we can expect tools that truly augment and amplify our creativity. Imagine collaborative AI systems that seamlessly integrate with us, opening new forms of creative expression and problem-solving.
I strongly believe AI-driven generative design approaches will continue to revolutionise our projects, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. After all, we have already put down the pens and picked up the stylus. So, can we get this trusty apprentice to graduate? either way I will be embracing it, educating it, and learning from it. As a designer, though, I will keep the ethical and emotional considerations in mind. I will be seeing real human reactions and feeling real human emotions, and I believe that it is this feeling of pride in a great reaction to a design concept that delights and enhances the client’s brand, something only real human creativity can learn from and deliver.
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