Should Designers Be Scared of AI?
For the best part of the past few years, I have been submerged by the thoughts of a “day of Judgement” level takeover by Artificial intelligence. Questions like “would I be out of work with the rise of AI?”. As a native designer, I cannot help but get worried by these prospects, but should I really be worried? Let’s find out.
I can tell you that the rise of AI and automation has certainly brought some changes and challenges to the field of graphic design. However, whether graphic designers should be worried about AI depends on various factors, including the nature of their work, their skillset, and their willingness to adapt (take note of this*).
While I yet worry, I cannot underemphasize the importance of AI and the outrageous help it has been lately to designers and digital creators alike. Whether its resizing photos, generating AI images or pixelating images or correcting grammatical texts. The automated help it provides is rather astounding! Thus leaving the designers to focus on other strategic and creative tasks.
It is of great importance to state that AI is not yet capable of replacing the creativity, imagination, and human touch that graphic designers bring to their work. Design is often subjective and contextual, and AI may struggle to understand and respond to the nuances and emotions that designers aim to convey through their work.
The grouse shouldn’t be with the AI revolution, because AI is definitely storming the entire tech space and would even take over in the near future, but the task should be for designers and tech stakeholders to leverage the power of AI and the immense benefits it brings to the tech, particularly the design space to improve their efficiency and creativity.
However, those who solely rely on their traditional skills and resist the changes brought by technology may find themselves at a disadvantage. It’s important for graphic designers to keep learning and adapting to the new tools and trends in their field to remain relevant and competitive.
“To lead, one must adapt.”
HOW CAN GRAPHIC DESIGNERS LEVERAGE AI?
Graphic designers can leverage AI in several ways to enhance their work and improve their productivity. Here are some examples:
1. Automating routine tasks: As I mentioned earlier, AI can automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as resizing images, formatting text, or even creating basic designs. This can free up designers’ time and allow them to focus on more creative and strategic tasks.
2. Personalizing designs: AI can help designers create personalized designs based on user data, preferences, or behavior. For example, designers can use AI-powered tools to create product recommendations tailored for each user, customized layouts, or even personalized branding solutions
3. Improving design accuracy: Most professional design gigs require certain ISO standards to be met. AI can help designers ensure that their designs meet these standards, such as accessibility or brand guidelines. For example, AI-powered tools can check for color contrast, font size, and other accessibility requirements to ensure that the design is inclusive and user-friendly
4. Enhancing creativity: AI can inspire designers by generating new ideas and designs based on input data or parameters. For example, designers can use AI-powered tools like Canva, Adobe Sensei, or AI-powered chatbots to generate ideas or even suggest design solutions based on user input and data caches.
5. Collaborating with other professionals: AI can facilitate collaboration between UI/UX designers and other professionals, such as marketers, developers, or data scientists. For example, designers can use AI-powered tools to analyze user data, conduct A/B testing, or even create visualizations and dashboards to communicate insights which would in turn help the development process of products.
There are many free AI-powered tools available for graphic designers that can help automate tasks, generate designs, and improve workflows. Here are some examples:
1. Artisto: Artisto is a free mobile app that uses AI to transform photos and videos into artistic animations and paintings.
2. Deep Dream Generator: Deep Dream Generator is a free online tool that uses deep learning algorithms to transform photos into surreal and dream-like images.
3. AI Image Enlarger: AI Image Enlarger is a free online tool that uses AI-powered algorithms to enlarge images without losing quality or resolution.
4. Designhill AI Logo Maker: Designhill AI Logo Maker is a free online tool that uses AI to generate custom logo designs based on user input and preferences.
5. Fontjoy: Fontjoy is a free online tool that uses AI to generate font pairings based on user input and preferences.
6. Remove.bg: Remove.bg is a free online tool that uses AI to remove the background of images automatically, making it easier to isolate objects or people in photos.
7. NVIDIA GauGAN: NVIDIA GauGAN is a free online tool that uses AI to transform simple sketches into photorealistic landscapes and scenes.
These are just a few examples of the many free AI-powered tools available for graphic designers. By leveraging these tools, designers can automate tasks, generate designs, and enhance their workflow, ultimately saving time and improving productivity.
While AI-powered tools can certainly help improve graphic design efficiency, it’s important to note that they are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Therefore, the outcome of the designs and products would depend on other factors which would include the task at hand, the expertise of the designer and importantly the quality of the input data.
Additionally, these tools can certainly help automate certain tasks or generate designs more quickly, they may not always produce the same level of quality or creativity as a human designer. The human mind is an incredible intelligence on its own.
In summary, the goal for graphic designers is to master and leverage AI to automate routine tasks, enhance creativity, improve design accuracy, personalize designs, and collaborate with other professionals. By embracing AI as a tool, designers can enhance their skills, deliver more value to their clients and users, and have more time for themselves and their families or other important engagements.
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