Technological advances over the past few decades have made mind-boggling improvements to work processes in nearly every profession. Among the most exciting of these is the development of AI (Artificial Intelligence), which can do everything from directing us to the nearest petrol station to detecting credit card fraud in near real time. But will continual technological advances threaten jobs in the future? We examine the impact of AI on the graphic design industry.
Automating graphic design processes
Futurist Thomas Frey predicted that over 2 billion jobs will disappear by 2030 (roughly half of all jobs on the planet) due to technological advances. However, within the design industry researchers predict that only 8% of graphic design jobs are at risk of becoming automated. Since much of a designer’s job involves creative skills that are not structured, many aspects of graphic design would be difficult to automate. However, designers also perform a lot of laborious repetitive tasks that can now be done by machines. Here are some recent examples:
Working with AI for better design processes
Rather than seeing AI as a threat to their livelihoods, designers should embrace new technology as an opportunity to spend more time on the creative and strategic parts of their jobs and allow AI to automate more monotonous, time-consuming tasks.
Thanks to tools such as Dreamcatcher, designers can create designs faster and more cheaply than ever before, using data to make adjustments and incremental improvements. Like many other industries, AI will serve to develop and enhance the graphic design process and offer new and exciting job opportunities. As IBM CEO Ginni Rometty commented, “If I considered the initials AI, I would have preferred augmented intelligence.”
Interested in learning more about trends in today’s global design culture? Earning an MA in Graphic Design from Falmouth University’s Flexible Learning programme can help kick start your design career.