The Tool Isn’t the Talent
I’ve been a graphic designer long enough to see a lot of change. From paste-up, markup and typeset galleys to QuarkXPress, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and digital publishing — every new tool has changed how we work.
AI is simply the latest — and one of the biggest.
AI helped me create the image above. After only eight iterations, I finally captured the essence of progress! More importantly, I didn’t have to spend a day searching through my stock photography subscriptions trying to find a slew of images that might work together. Truth be told, if I had to do that, you probably wouldn’t be seeing a visual at all.
Rather than fearing it, I see AI as an incredible opportunity. It can help us explore ideas, work more efficiently and approach creative problems in new ways.
But we have to keep one thing in mind: AI isn’t a replacement for the designer. It’s a starting point, not the finished product.
AI Can Be a Great Starting Point
One of the things I love about AI is how quickly it can turn an idea floating around in my head into something visual. It helps me explore different directions, try out concepts and get past the blank page.
For my own epubsupport Roadmap Book, AI helped me explore visual approaches and gave me something to react to, refine and build on.
Once I decided on the design direction, AI helped me visualize the idea. It didn’t make the design decisions for me. I still took the image into Photoshop to adjust the colour and make refinements. Then I brought it into InDesign to work on the typography, layout and overall design.
Fast Doesn’t Automatically Mean Finished
AI can generate an image in seconds, but an attractive image isn’t always the right image. It still needs to fit the brand, communicate clearly and meet the needs of the audience. And despite what we sometimes hear, working with AI isn’t always instant.
Nobody needs to know how many prompts, rejected ideas, tweaks, swear words, cups of coffee or ‘Nope, that’s not working for me’ happened between those stages.
AI can save production time. It doesn’t eliminate thinking time.
The Tool Doesn’t Replace the Designer
Good design has never been about knowing which button to push. AI can generate possibilities, but someone still needs to decide which possibility works — or whether none of them do.
Typography, colour, hierarchy, composition, branding and accessibility still require experience and judgment and accessibility is especially important. Something can look beautiful and still be difficult — or impossible — for someone to use.
Human knowledge, testing and decision-making remain an essential part of the process.
AI Is Here. Let’s Use It Wisely.
AI isn’t going away, and I don’t think we should be afraid of it. We do, however, need to use it thoughtfully. That means considering accuracy, copyright and licensing, representation and bias, client expectations and, of course, accessibility. Used wisely, AI can reduce repetitive work, help us explore more possibilities and give us more time to focus on the creative thinking that really matters.
The tool may be changing, but the purpose of good design hasn’t.
At the end of the day, it’s still about helping people communicate with people.