As generative A.I (Artificial Intelligence) advances and penetrates various sectors, and its application in generating visuals continues to astound many. Notably, innovative platforms such as DALL-E by OpenAI, Adobe’s Firefly, and Midjourney are increasingly capturing the attention of individual graphic designers due to their potential to enhance visual content creation.
However, the fear that A.I will dominate and oust their creative roles is mollified by the realization that the effectiveness of generative A.I is contingent on the quality of prompts provided by their human users.
Nicola Hamilton, the President of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers, opined this, “In the graphic design scene, we encounter the same A.I developments manifesting in other sectors. Systems like ChatGPT provide impressive writing and planning capabilities, while Midjourney and DALL-E, given the right prompts, can generate excellent artwork.”
Hamilton, like many other designers, is no stranger to technological disruptions that have historically touched the creative profession. From the widespread access to printing, the advent of computers and the internet, to the prevalence of social media, every step has been a leap in the evolution of graphic design. Her view of design is intrinsically tied to these technological advancements and the rise of advertising.
Understanding the Impact of Generative A.I on Graphic Design
Exploring generative A.I in their work, designers are beginning to question the actual time this advanced tool would save them and whether the professionals can maintain their dominance over the technology.
Hamilton pointed towards the game-changing work erupting from Midjourney, citing an instance she saw at the Design Thinkers conference in Vancouver. The project, a visually entrancing campaign for Georgetown Optician, a high-end eyewear retailer, was the brainchild of Pum Lefebure, the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Design Army. This imaginary world sketched out of enormous eyeballs demonstrated the extent of time and specific image-making expertise required to guide the A.I effectively.
Jake Lefebure, Pum’s partner and the co-founder and CEO of Design Army, emphasized, “A.I is a resource for us, not a one-stop solution. It cannot magically resolve all your problems at a single command.”
He acknowledged the pivotal role generative A.I could play in a campaign as an image or mood board working alongside the designer. But he warned that fine-tuning and substantial training were necessary to craft the precise vocabulary to achieve the desired results.
Successful image generation, clearly, wouldn’t cost graphic design professionals a thing less than their skills and efforts.
Graphic Design in the A.I Era
The advent of generative A.I is transforming the landscape of graphic design by integrating it within their creative workflow. Designers are not new to the notion of image manipulation – a concept that has always been pivotal to their creative process. Stock photography is a classic example of this.
“Designers are using A.I as an instrument to expedite design creation, and not an entity which merely regurgitates a design,” Jake Lefebure rightly points out.
Adobe’s Evolution in the Generative A.I Era
While startups like OpenAI and Midjourney are only now becoming popular, these ground-breaking A.I innovations are readily being amalgamated into design products offered by one of the most successful companies of the S&P 500 – Adobe. Hamilton mentioned the slow but impactful incorporation of new A.I applications across Adobe’s suite of products.
One such notable feature is Adobe Photoshop’s new A.I Generative Fill, currently stealing the limelight. However, Hamilton states that most designers might not yet be familiar with the feature. She predicts, “Adobe holds a tight rein over the industry. Once they move a feature out of beta, it won’t take much time to become an industry standard.”
For individual graphic designers grappling with competing firms, A.I integrated tools can prove to be solid game-changers. They offer opportunities not just to save time but also scale their workload much more efficiently as Hamilton reiterates, “A.I is fundamentally just another resource.” The future of design, evidently, will be a blend of A.I capabilities and human creativity.
