Where Should Designers Invest in the AI Era?
1. Even an established career can feel uncertain
A senior designer doing interesting work at a good studio can still question the sustainability of their career in the face of AI.
- They feel torn between going deeper into their current work and preparing for another field.
- The author looks for clues in the creative industry’s history of adapting to technological change.
- Like the printing press and the computer, AI is a change to understand and integrate into creative work.
2. Reduce repetitive work and invest in thinking
Where to spend the time saved by AI becomes a new question for career investment.
- Repetitive tasks such as image retouching and adapting layouts to multiple formats can benefit from automation.
- The time gained can go toward ideas, strategic thinking, observation, and making unexpected connections.
- The author sees these capabilities as central to the value creatives bring.
3. Process and personality can become differentiators
As similar-looking output proliferates, human time and craftsmanship may attract greater attention.
- The author points to brand campaigns that collaborate with artists and use craft.
- Making care and effort visible through “effort signalling” communicates the work’s individuality.
- Just as the Arts and Crafts movement emerged in response to industrialisation, the author believes AI’s spread could give rise to new creative directions.
