The Pros, Cons and What it Means for Designers [+ Expert Insight]

A number of months in the past, I examined a number of AI brand mills and documented my expertise. Then my buddy Michael Randall, a graphic designer, learn the submit, and I‘ll simply say he wasn’t thrilled about it.

“[Expletive] brand mills? We’re doomed,” have been his actual phrases.

I ended that weblog submit by clarifying that companies ought to use precise graphic designers when designing their logos to face out. And I stand by that, so hopefully, that gave him extra religion in humanity and our friendship.

That stated, I needed to ask my buddy for his perspective on AI in graphic design. So, listed here are a few of Michael’s ideas blended in with my findings from different sources.

After studying, when you’re inquisitive about integrating AI into your personal workflow, try our numerous HubSpot AI tools to see if any may also help together with your subsequent huge marketing campaign. 

AI Graphic Design: What’s it?

AI graphic design is precisely because it sounds. It is using synthetic intelligence to generate graphics reminiscent of infographics, advertisements, logos, and different types of visible artwork.

The logos I created in my earlier submit by way of AI mills are examples of AI graphic designs.

How will AI have an effect on graphic design?

In accordance with Randall, many graphic designers already see AI’s detrimental impacts on the trade and concern it may trigger extra future issues for artists and designers.

“Designers are getting fairly confused,” he says. “For the reason that pandemic, there was a shift. Many freelancers and impartial enterprise house owners have misplaced work in a means you’ll count on due to the pandemic, however then AI began to essentially explode.”

Randall says AI is seen as extra accessible or cheaper to enterprise house owners than hiring an precise graphic designer.

“Making a model id for lower than $5 is one thing most individuals would bounce at in comparison with hiring an expert for lots of of {dollars}—and the latter worth is justified as a result of graphic design is labor, however folks do not consider it like this.”

Due to this fact, there‘s a priority that AI’s guarantees of accessible, inexpensive, and quick graphic designs may additional devalue artists within the design trade.

Nonetheless, some designers say the way forward for AI in graphic design is much less clear and possibly even much less dystopian. In a YouTube video, graphic artist Will Paterson stated whether or not AI may exchange designers is difficult, and nobody actually has the reply.

“All I can say for sure is that regardless of your beliefs of generative AI—whether or not it is good or dangerous—to say aggressive and to be within the industries that we wish to be in, we have to see it as a instrument that may change the artwork and design course of,” he explains.

Paterson then websites new AI graphic tools and platforms like Adobe Firefly, which solely makes use of licensed photographs as its knowledge mannequin.

“Adobe is, fortunately, turning the dialog to extra of ‘How can I make AI assist creators create?’ as an alternative of ‘How can I make AI create for us?’” he says. “I do not know whether or not we’re being changed sooner or later. I consider we can’t be, however we’ll simply have to seek out out.”

The Execs and Cons of Utilizing AI in Graphic Design

The way forward for AI in graphic design is a bit ambiguous, however one clear factor is that AI is right here to remain.

In accordance with Marq, final yr noticed an unprecedented surge in demand for AI design instruments, with the search quantity for AI design-related instruments and software program rising by 1700% from 2022 to 2023.

Moreover, a current Canva survey discovered that 75% of global marketing and artistic leaders agree that AI is important to their inventive toolset.

So, designers and enterprise house owners should weigh the professionals and cons of utilizing AI when integrating it into their advertising or designs.

One good thing about AI in graphic design is that it could possibly assist artists velocity by repetitive or tedious duties. Even my buddy Michael has discovered a use for it in his work.

“I work in structure, significantly signage and wayfinding,” he explains. “I take images of present areas and do mock-ups. As a substitute of doing the laborious activity of eradicating an individual or different present components within the picture I took, I can use the generative fill to chop by that activity fairly simply.”

He stresses, “That is the solely context through which I exploit AI in graphic design.”

One other professional is that it could possibly make graphic design extra accessible for newbies and small enterprise house owners.

For instance, I am not essentially the most design-savvy particular person. I wish to assume I’ve a watch for shade and a powerful sufficient sense of fashion to know how one can match completely different components collectively like puzzle items.

Nonetheless, I lack the experience to make attractive designs like these of skilled artists like my buddy or different graphic designers.

So, I profit drastically from platforms like Canva that boast numerous AI-driven design instruments that assist me create featured photographs, YouTube thumbnails, and high-quality social media graphics which can be straightforward on the eyes.

I am particularly keen on its Resize and Magic Change instrument, which permits me to swap codecs, languages, and dimensions in my designs in seconds.

Nonetheless, one con is that an overreliance on AI in graphic design can lead to supplies devoid of creativity or originality. For instance, I examined 5 AI brand mills and located that each one their designs yielded comparable outcomes and created finally uninspired logos.

One other main con is that AI is flawed and may generate photographs which can be, for lack of a greater time period, wonky. My colleague Ramona Sukhraj examined AI picture mills lately, and so they created some hilarious (and creepy) images.

When to Keep away from Utilizing AI in Graphic Designs

My buddy Michael is fairly simple relating to using AI.

“It may well solely be moral if you end up utilizing it to do a activity that’s not significantly skill-based, you are shortening tedious work, otherwise you’re utilizing it to do issues which can be not possible for a human to perform,” he says.

In different phrases, keep away from utilizing AI to exchange human work. As a substitute, use it as an assistive instrument that helps designers work effectively.

So, what does the longer term maintain for AI in graphic design? Who actually is aware of? I consider AI will finally change into a commonplace instrument for designers, like tablets and digital pens. However I do not consider it will likely be in a position to absolutely exchange actual graphic artists.

AI can generate however doesn‘t host creativity the identical means the human thoughts can, and we’ll at all times want designers’ creativity to craft photographs that can stand out in opposition to opponents.

That stated, Paterson was proper in that artists ought to use it as a instrument to stay aggressive.