Hey everyone,
I’m sure my metaphor is a little clunky but I’m basically interested in hearing what other graphic designers are predicting for the future of graphic design and how that is influencing their career plans.
I’ll explain a bit about my experiences and my concern…
I currently handle all the graphic design and marketing for a very small company so my immediate boss is the CEO. He’s always looking ahead and so of course is very focused on AI. I’ve been incorporating AI tools into my work, but I don’t think being a part of the creative work flow is the last stop for AI.
I listened to an audiobook about AI recently and I’m pretty sure my boss’ plan is to have our computer scientist (whose in charge of the company website) take all the data from the website (product photos, brand elements, etc.) and tie it into an AI service that will automatically create and send out all our social media posts and marketing emails (and maybe even printed marketing materials). I don’t think it’ll be ready tomorrow but I think it’s in the oven.
My prediction is that in a year or two, companies may need only one marketer or tech person to use an AI service so that a graphic designer becomes just an unnecessary middleman.
I think we’re training our replacements when we use AI tools like Firefly.
I know that AI will never provide the quality level that a great graphic designer does, and I’m sure there will still be a small handful of graphic design jobs out there just like there are still some sign painting jobs. But I don’t think the severe majority of executives will side with quality over saving money.
I’m always thinking about what would be the most valuable thing to focus on learning and developing for my graphic design career (UX, animation, coding, etc.) but where AI seems to be heading has me feeling incredibly discouraged. It’s learning faster than me.
I saw it coming when my entire marketing team was laid off at a previous company. And now I feel like I’m about to get laid off from an entire industry.
I’d like to hear from other graphic designers about their experiences with AI as it relates to their roles and career plans.
I watched a bit of Adobe Max where they put a positive spin on AI development as a tool for designers, but to be genuine, I’m not looking for positivity. I’m looking for strategy and really pragmatic brainstorming. I’m trying to figure out if I’m on a sinking ship and then plan accordingly.
Thanks for listening.
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