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Will AI take my job as a designer? #ManVsMachine #PurposeMonth

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In the second of an ongoing series, I’ll be examining the impact generative artificial intelligence is having on our creative jobs. Here, I’m focusing on design and exploring whether the designers of the future will be able to compete with machines that can do their jobs in a fraction of the time for a fraction of the price.

Made by man

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Let’s be honest, AI is as terrifying as it is exciting, particularly for us creatives. When it comes to design, AI has already made its mark by simplifying tasks such as generating automated layouts, colour palettes, and even producing entire design concepts. This technology can analyse vast amounts of data and identify patterns and trends in seconds that can positively inform the design process, so why wouldn’t we use them?

AI-powered tools can also quickly generate multiple design options, saving time and effort for designers in the initial stages of the process. Nobody is denying this. What we’re talking about here, however, is not designs being informed and improved by AI but designs that write out the human element entirely.

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Yes, AI can act as a collaborator and co-creator, working alongside designers to augment their skills and expand their creative possibilities. Designers can also harness AI to generate innovative ideas, explore design variations, and test different concepts and this collaboration between human designers and AI could push the boundaries of what is possible in design. BUT. It’s early days.

AI is not going to be a passing trend. Mark my words, it’s going to be as transformative to our society as the car, if not more so. That much is becoming clearly with every passing day and every new Midjourney experiment. Currently it struggles with anything regarding biases, nuance, or completely original content but that day will come. But even then, there should still be room for the human touch.

Made by machine

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Let’s get the obvious out the way first – there is a definite uncanny valley effect in plain view on almost all AI designs, particularly those that try to create organic forms. The human face, for example, and anything involving complex emotion, seems to confuse the machine and cause it to spiral out into wild abstraction. This can look incredible, of course, but also wildly impractical.

Just check out the header image of this very article for proof. Admittedly, this was from almost a year ago now (which might as well be a century given how fast AI is progressing) but the results are far from useable. This was agency 10 Days using AI to reimagine ads for 10 iconic brands, from Nespresso to KFC to Wimbledon. The results were utterly horrifying.

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Contrast that, however, with the results above from luxury interior design firm 4SPACE. 4SPACE is tapping into the power of Artificial Intelligence to generate high-quality renders and transform them from two-dimensional representations into three-dimensional models and objects. By interpreting the 2D input, 4SPACE can evolve and build upon the information to create three-dimensional outputs within its designs.

Instead of depending on social for sources or referencing ideas from other designers, 4SPACE uses Artificial Intelligence throughout the early design stages to customise and craft its mood boards to each client’s specific needs. The results are like something out H.R Giger would churn out if he’d got laid more often.

Room for both

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Ultimately, the relationship between AI and design is unlikely to play out as a zero-sum game where one replaces the other. While AI has the potential to automate certain design tasks, it cannot replicate the depth of human creativity and the ability to understand and connect with people on an emotional level. At least not yet. Once that day arrives it might be time to start panicking.

For now, we should maybe stop looking at it as #ManVsMachine and more like #ManWithMachine and a world where human creativity and AI's analytical power combine to create extraordinary design experiences.

So, will AI take your job as a designer? Only if you were a bad designer in the first place.

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