Warhol may have predicted our current TikTok dystopia where everyone with a smartphone has a shot at fame…at least for 15 minutes. But, despite his factory-style approach to fine art, he might have overlooked the impending democratization of all things Design.
As technology progresses, more and more power gets transferred out of the hands of experts and down to the general public. Billions of derivative clipart logos, cheesy stock photos, and inoffensive corporate music tracks are now available online for a fraction of what once would have required the hiring of a professional.
Consider something as simple as an online car configurator. In the past, one would visit a showroom and spend a few hours with a grinning salesman, walking the lot or leafing through a glossy brochure. They would guide you through all the options, listen to your needs, and ultimately put you behind the wheel in something way more expensive than what you came for.
This bespoke, curated process still exists to some extent among high-status brands. Because at that level, people will always defer to the Chanels, Armanis, Louis Vuittons, and Rolexes of the world; surrendering to the idea that their flagship retail boutiques are staffed by stylists and not simple sales clerks. And that these stylists’ tastes might just be superior to their own.
But for so many, spending 20 minutes on a website ‘designing’ your perfect car has replaced that human touch. And in the near future, AI will most certainly close the gap in many other areas that once required expert intervention.
While an infallible ‘Paul-Rand-o-Tronic 3000’ may still be a decade away, AI is already on course to deliver years and years of the most exquisitely mediocre design solutions for millions of people that need it both fast and cheap.
So, what’s the answer? Embrace it.
Currently, AI is good at narrow tasks, often existing in a vacuum. And while access to the tech is quite open, not everyone has the ability to push it beyond the most basic of prompts and achieve professional results.
Sure, some of us designers will wave the white flag in defeat and start a food truck, but there are still big problems out there that need fresh, new ideas instead of some machine’s remix of old reddit posts. So, expect that in the coming months and years, a lot of us will leverage AI as just another tool to be used in the creative process and deliver design solutions that aren’t mediocre shite…but are actually f*cking brilliant.
At least for a human.
This bespoke, curated process still exists to some extent among high status brands. Because at that level, people will defer to the Chanels, Armanis, Louis Vuittons, and Rolexes of the world; surrendering to the idea that their flagship retail experience is staffed with stylists and not simple sales clerks. And these stylist’s taste just might be superior to the customer’s.
But for so many, spending 20 minutes on a website ‘designing’ your perfect car has replaced that human touch. And in the near future, AI will close that gap in many other areas that once required expert intervention.
And while an infallible Paul Rand-o-tronic 3000 may still be a decade away, AI is set to deliver years and years of the most exquisitely, mediocre design solutions for millions of people that need it both fast and cheap.
So what’s the answer? Embrace it.
Currently, AI is good at narrow tasks and often exists in a vacuum. And while access to the tech is quite open, not everybody can push it beyond the most basic of prompts and achieve professional results.
Sure, some of us designers will wave the white flag in defeat and start a food truck, but there are still big problems out there that need new ideas and not some machine’s remix of old reddit posts. So expect that in the coming months and years, a lot of us will leverage AI as just another tool and deliver solutions that are not shite…but great.
At least for a human.