← The Angry Designer Graphic Design, Freelancing, Branding & Creative Business Podcast
The Angry Designer Graphic Design, Freelancing, Branding & Creative Business Podcast
AI Isn’t Replacing Graphic Designers. Your Client Is
00:12:04
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Foreign.
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You're listening to the anchor designer podcast where we help frustrated graphic designers crush the industry chaos, ditch the social BS and build badass, rewarding careers that actually pay now. Powered by WIX Studio.
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What's up, angry designers? Well, it's officially happened. We've entered a whole new level of creative chaos. The the AI shitstorm has begun. Clients are now showing up with AI generated briefs, AI made concepts, AI written brand guidelines, and thumbnails pulled straight from mid journey hallucinations. They think that they're helping us, they think that they're being efficient, they even kind of think that they're now designers. But what they're actually doing is they're muddying the waters, they're wasting time, they're creating a whole world of visual pollution. And we're the ones that expected to make all this work. Not talking theory here, this is actually happening and sooner than I actually thought it was going to happen. Just recently we had a customer hand in a project outline and it was clearly spit out by chat. It was 10 times longer than it needed to be. It was full of buzzwords and jargon, bloated with complexity, and it was completely all unnecessary for the type of project that they were asking for. The worse than that, that AI generated mess, came from a senior marketing leader, someone who actually should have known better. They used AI to look smart, but without having a clue on what the hell they were doing. In the end, not only did they not look smart, but they kind of made me think that they were being lazy and kind of desperate. And even worse now makes me actually question the credibility I had for them in the past. This is now the new world that we live in. And sad reality is, it's not going away. So what's the real problem here that we're dealing with? It's not that AI is being used. Secrets out. Everybody AI is out and everybody knows that it's out, including your clients. It's how it's being used by the wrong people for the wrong reasons and in the wrong ways. First, we've got the client problem. They used to come to us with goals, with problems, with objectives. Now they come to us with what they think are completed solutions. Solutions that they got from a bot that despite what people still think, bots still don't clearly understand what it's like to be a human. Instead of a clear objective and ask, we're handed a paragraph of AI generated copy that they think is perfect because it came from AI and well, hey, it sounds professional. Everybody's using AI So it must be right. We're now being asked to design off brand garbage because AI suggested it. And if we push back, we're the ones who are looking like we're resisting innovative change. That's the client problem we're dealing with. Second, we've got an industry problem that we're dealing with. AI generated visuals are totally flooding the market. Design agencies, interns, Frick, even HR managers and Adobe stock are generating thumbnails, logos, images, social posts, creative ideas, because everybody apparently is a fricking designer right now. And most of the ideas generated are total garbage. It's noise pollution. Like Massimo Vignelli would say, not at the fault of AI, but at the fault of the person who actually has this new false sense of ability that's using it. So now it's confident garbage. It looks the part, it sounds impressive, but it's total garbage. And now that's becoming the new benchmark. The mediocre work presented with authority by author, by people who should know better, but are completely blinded with this new false sense of capability. So that's the industry problem we're dealing with. And last but not least, we have the perception problem. Designers are no longer seen as design experts, for now anyway, in part because people really don't know what design actually is and what designers do. And they think that we're just artists for hire. So if the perception of designers can be reduced to decorators of AI outputs, they can supply the direction because AI gave it to them. And AI is almighty. Our role is now being minimized to merely decorators, artists for hire, because the tools look like they're capable of doing our job, but they're not. AI doesn't understand the full context. It doesn't understand the full context of the job. It doesn't understand the context of the problem, the brand, the audience, the tone, the strategy. And no, no, no, before you guys get into a huff, not because it can't, but because the people who are using it aren't using it correctly to give it the full context. So it spits out content that is paper thin, that it thinks is correct, but it's based on a very thin prompt that they received. And then that gets handed over to us as the correct solution. That's the perception problem. So how do we fix this? How do we fight the good fight? How do we fight back? Well, for one thing, we don't ditch AI. We don't fight against AI. That's ridiculous. We own AI. We make sure that we control the AI, show its strengths, its flaws. And we take ownership back of what it is that we used to do. Okay, step one, we dissect whatever ask that's given to us. Before you even touch a tool, before you push back, before anything, you dissect that Ask like a strategist instead of acting like an artist for hire. Who it's for. What's the real problem? What the what the goal is, all the questions that we're always telling people that we should do. You're not looking for surface answers because it's been given to you. You're pulling out the real objective that got lost in all the AI mumbo jumbo. This is going to be the foundation for the next step. And now a word from our sponsor.
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All right, designers, let's cut the bullet. How many times have you had a killer website design only to watch it fall apart because of code or developer telling you no, no, no. Or maybe you've held back from web design altogether, thinking it's just too complicated and too technical or totally out of your wheelhouse. Either way, it's time for a change. Wix Studio is designed for designers, removing the barriers that limits your design. Whether you're tired of developers watering down your ideas or too intimidated by the technical side of web, Wix Studio puts the creative power back in your hands. No code required. With a drag and drop interface that feels designer intuitive, plus no code, animations and even AI powered tools, you can create fully custom websites that match your vision. Every pixel, every detail. And if you're worried about the learning curve, don't be. Wick Studio is designed to feel as intuitive as your favorite design tools. Some designers here even say more. So that means you can jump right in and focus on what you do best. Designing badass brand aligned websites that'll take your business to the next level. So whether you've had enough of a developers holding you back or you're ready to finally step into web design, check out wix studio.com and take control. That's wix studio.com go and take back web design for graphic designers.
- [07:58]
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Which is step two. We're going to take back control and simplify the chaos given to us. Now that you know what needs to be done, really, then you take charge. You frame the discussion around the brand, the audience, and of course make it strategic. When a client hands you AI junk, don't polish it, you redirect it. That 10 paragraph brand post that they gave you, turn it into one clear message. That Frankenstein thumbnail idea that you got, refine it into something usable, something Aligned and on brand. This is where you shift from order taker to to creative director. And step three, Use AI better than they can. AI is a tool and clients are already using it, but they're using it like a hammer to fix every problem, especially the problems that don't even need hammering to be fixed. You, you use it like a tool, use it properly, use it for research, ideation, you pull inspiration from it, reference, rough drafts, but the final creative call is still yours. You just use it as a tool to help you solve the problem, not as an artist for hire. You don't just generate, you design. And there is a big difference in step four. Defend the brand and defend the end user. If a client's idea sucks, say so. Not as a personal attack on on their shitty AI ability, because you should be an expert now. But if it's off brand, say so. If it's confusing to the end user, say so. If it's bloated, unnecessary, confusing, say so. It's your fucking job. You're not here to validate their their AI confidence. You're here to protect the brand. Nobody can fault you for doing that. A lot of this comes down to you being the expert, not necessarily the order taker. AI isn't a secret anymore, so you don't have to hide that you're using it. But shame on you if your client can use it better than you. Because then you will never be considered an expert. And then that relationship between you and the client will always be limited, both in jobs, abilities, pay and time. Because the real threat designers is an AI. It's people misusing AI and thinking that they don't need you anymore. Let me say this again. AI won't replace you. But a client who thinks that they can do your job using AI just might. Unless you remind them why they came to you in the first place. So here's the deal, designers. This is the new reality. AI is here and it's not going anywhere. Neither is the need for designers. As long as we evolve and we adapt, we will always have a place in this world. Your power isn't in pushing pixels anymore, it's in pushing back. It's pushing for better. It's pushing for empathy. It's pushing for for being human and being a problem solver and being a guardian of the brand. And not for getting caught up in the AI craziest that is happening right now. Better for you, better for the client, and most importantly, better for their clients. The end users. Clients will be clients. Clients will make you frustrated. They will undervalue you at times and they will bring you chaos. So let them then show them what a designer really is capable of. Don't forget to like and subscribe, guys. Comment. Send this to people you love. Send this to people you hate. Make fun of me. Comment. Do whatever. I'm not going to tell you what to do next. You all have seen this before. My name is Massimo, and on behalf of myself, Sean. Stay creative and stay angry. Boom. Peace, Sam.