The Evolution of Graphic Design…Again!

Lately, I've been disheartened to run into a series of articles about how AI is potentially the end of the graphic design field. I think it's still a bit early to write off graphic design as a dying career. What we're witnessing now is a fundamental shift in the field. Comparable to when graphic design went completely computerized in the early 90s. That's when you could perform your design tasks from start to finish on the computer. It opened up the field to an influx of a new generation of designers like myself. Unfortunately, there were some in the previous generation who couldn't or wouldn’t keep up.

Then, in the late 90s, we saw another fundamental shift in the field ... web design. It was potentially the killer of print design. Over 20 years later we now know that wasn't the case. Still, there were designers who refused to embrace this new arm of graphic design. I knew quite a few designers who did not consider web design "true" graphic design. And I saw their opportunities become very limited as a result. Web design was not going away, and was a skill increasingly sought after by potential clients and employers. If you couldn’t provide that, then the job would go to a designer who could.

I’m still on the fence about how I feel about AI. But that doesn’t mean I’m ignoring its presence. I don’t think I can if I want to continue on in my chosen field.

The question is are we going to embrace this new paradigm shift to our field, use it to our advantage in ways non-designers wouldn't consider, or are we going to let it take over and turn the field of graphic design into a self serve industry where anyone can prompt elements together, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be good design? I witnessed this happening at a previous job where colleagues who knew how to use Canva constantly created visuals that was off brand and release their product to the public confident that they did a great job creating a graphic design element themselves. Meanwhile, those of us in the communications department would have to clean up their mess while also giving each colleague with access to Canva a crash course in branding.

I’m still on the fence about how I feel about AI. But that doesn’t mean I’m ignoring its presence. I don’t think I can if I want to continue on in my chosen field. Like computerization and the web, AI is here and isn’t going away anytime soon, if ever. I’ve been taking classes in generative AI and have been honestly amazed by the technology and all the new things that you can do in minutes that would previously have taken hours and still not looked as seamless as one would hope. I’m astounded by this new toolset, and trepidatious at the same time; it further opens up the field to those who feel that because they can whip something up in Canva, then what’s the use of hiring a designer? If nothing else, a designer will keep you looking professional and keep your company on brand. Because once that brand starts to crumble, so will your company’s reputation.