July 1, 2024. Written & Edited by Dayne Tanner, Cardon Webb, and Andrew Garlock.
In the mid-1800s, an innovative new technology nearly destroyed creativity.
That innovation was the camera — and obviously it didn’t destroy creativity. But at the time, artists were pretty sure that it would.
The Discerning Eye
Writing at the height of camera hysteria, poet and critic Charles Baudelaire warned that if photography were allowed to supplement art, it would “corrupt it entirely.”
He was one of many creatives who worried about what would happen if art could be created by pressing a button. What would happen to paint? What would happen to ink? Would images become a matter of documentation instead of creation? What would become of creativity?
The camera sent the art world into an existential tailspin. It would sound funny if it didn’t sound so…familiar. The concerns we have about AI are echoes of the concerns 19th century artists had about photography. The camera was the generative AI of the 19th century. Or perhaps AI is simply the camera of the 21st century.
It’s scary, but I don’t think it has to be.
Photography’s trajectory over the past two centuries can teach us a great deal about integrating new technology into our creative practice. And I believe it can give us hope.
Photography didn’t kill creativity — far from it. It opened up new worlds of creativity, inviting in new types of artists. Further, it made artists aware of what separates them from technology. It made them embrace their gifts. In the same way, AI is encouraging us to identify and invest in the unique value we bring to design. And that is the discerning eye.
Let’s look at two photographs:
The two photos are the same in subject and in medium, but they feel different. Both were taken by a camera, but the photograph of Stravinski was taken by someone with a discerning eye. Newman was an artist who understood how to use the principles of composition, contrast, symmetry, emotion, storytelling, and style to create art through photography. The camera alone does not create art — the artist does.
We can say the same thing about AI. Designers who pair their judgment and taste with AI can often unlock new, exciting forms of creative expression — while also achieving much greater efficiency. AI allows us to make an even stronger business case for design: we’re able to apply our craftsmanship and discernment while also enabling us to move more quickly to match client deadlines.
The Ways Innovative Agencies Are Using AI
Many designers are already using AI to enhance ideation and execution, pushing creative bounds to previously unrealized imaginative plains.
Let’s look at another example featuring photography.
Before AI, designers and creatives generally had two options to develop product marketing content: photoshoots or stock photography.
Photoshoots result in high-quality images, but they’re expensive. Stock photography lowers costs — but also (often) lowers the quality.
With AI, designers can generate an image with the exact lighting, setting, and subjects they need. You can get as detailed as you would with a full-blown photoshoot in a fraction of the time (and cost).
The caveat, of course, is that AI can’t just generate photoshoot-worthy images by itself. Left to its own devices, the images are usually either bland and generic, or bizarre and uncanny. It takes someone with a discerning eye to create an image that aligns with the brand (and doesn’t feature a few extra arms). The designer’s eye is critical — but when we use it well, we can achieve incredible results in far less time.
Further, AI allows designers to streamline concept ideation.
When designers are starting to create a new concept or design, we’ll mine many sources for inspiration — looking for work, art, or life experiences to give us fuel.
Then, we blend these multiple points of inspiration together to produce something new.
Usually, this all takes place in our heads. But now, designers can use AI models to quickly create starting points for new designs.
Let’s say you wanted to design a new sneaker. Before AI, you might create mood boards of shoe silhouettes, details, and materials to inspire your brainstorming and ideation. All of those references would get mashed up in your mind and realized as concepts through your pen or stylus.
With AI, the process is similar, but all we need is a handful of existing sneaker models and a few other inputs. From there, you can task a model to instantly blend them together, bringing multiple design concepts to life. Then, you can curate and iterate endlessly to arrive at a viable design concept.
This shortens the design cycle considerably, while giving designers the time to explore more options than they would if they had taken a more manual approach.
The Path Forward for AI and Design
AI is still evolving. We haven’t realized its full potential yet — and we’re also still figuring out how to use AI in a way that is both productive and ethical.
But the fact remains that AI is capable of handling formulaic, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks, allowing designers to focus more heavily on strategy, creativity, and problem solving.
AI is disruptive, and disruption can be challenging to navigate. But AI doesn’t have to be destructive. As designers and creatives, we have the ability to assert our value within the creative process. We just need to double down on the qualities that make us invaluable: our judgment, our instinct, our discernment. If we do this, then AI could become exactly like the camera — another way to tell stories, and push creativity forward.