How AI has made me a better designer
I'm not the first person to notice the bombardment of AI graphics across my feeds lately. At first, it made me feel a little crazy for pursuing design as a career, when technically anyone can now "do it themselves." But the more I sit with it, the more I've realised AI has actually pushed me to become a better designer.
01 / I'm more experimental in my designs
I'm constantly learning new skills and techniques. When something inspires me, my first thought is how did they do that, and how can I make it my own? Instead of rinsing and repeating the standard, done-before assets, I'm building beautifully considered brand worlds.
02 / I'm consuming content that expands my knowledge
I stay close to the pulse of what's happening in culture, marketing, design and fashion. Not always to follow the trends. Sometimes what you need to do is deliberately move against them and forge a new path. You'll find me deep in Substack articles, trend reports, podcasts, and all the random corners of social media.
03 / I'm researching harder and finding inspiration in stranger places
To offer more than the average, I have to push where I look for references, stock imagery, mockups, and design elements. Then push again once I find them, editing everything to fit the project by adjusting colours, layering textures, adding a little noise. I find inspiration in everyday moments and obscure corners of the internet, then collect, organise and save it all for later.
If someone can generate a logo in minutes for next to nothing, then we as designers have to offer something better: a mind that thinks outside the box, a branding experience that feels supportive and exciting, and design that was made by a human.
This is something I wrote in a recent client's brand direction proposal:
In a world of AI and cookie-cutter templates, I want your brand to feel like it was made by a real person with a real eye for beauty. Your brand should feel almost touchable, so that even on a screen it carries some of the same wonder you feel when you hold a beautiful stone in your hands.
To stand out as creatives, we can't lose our human element. I'm not saying I don't use AI, or never will (I'll share exactly how I use it in another post). Use it as a tool, in the ways your business actually needs, but don't sand away your messiness. That's the part no one can replicate.
