Beyond the generously thick head of hair ChatGPT gave me, I have a couple of questions about these increasingly-sophisticated AI-generated images.
Is this a tool we can use, or a threat to the work we do?
Letโs start with the commercial question. Can AI-generated images be used in a business setting?
Technically yes, but there are limitations. Most AI-generated images cannot be copyrighted because they lack the required level of human authorship. And because the source material used to train many AI models is unclear or legally ambiguous, using these images in production carries potential IP risk. For enterprise or brand-savvy clients, this is a red flag. For smaller businesses, perhaps less so.
That said, AI already has a clear place in creative workflows:
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: AI is excellent for visualising quick ideas or concept directions, particularly when presenting to non-design stakeholders who need to see ideas to understand them.
๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐: Designers can use AI to extend backgrounds, remove unwanted elements, or adapt compositions for different formats, particularly helpful when working with copyrighted assets in a controlled environment.
According to a 2024 Adobe survey, ๐ฒ๐ญ% ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐น๐, mainly for inspiration and content iteration. This isnโt fringe anymore, itโs mainstream.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ท๐ผ๐ฏ๐?
Right now, AI outputs are typically flat, rasterised images. Thatโs a big limitation. Real production work often demands nicely-labeled, layered, editable source files (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc), something AI canโt consistently deliver yet.
Still, weโre likely not far off. Once AI can generate editable files with labelled, nested layers, it may reduce the need for junior designers who typically handle that foundational work.
And this presents a long-term challenge: ๐๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ท๐๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐๐, ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ? After all, you donโt wake up one day as a creative director. You grow into itโwith mentorship, practice, and opportunity.
Here’s the good news: ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐. The shift from paste-up boards to desktop publishing, from Flash to responsive design, each new wave created both fear and opportunity. And in every case, the designers who thrived werenโt the ones who resisted change, but the ones who leaned into it.
So yes, AI will change how we work. But it wonโt replace the value of human creativity, judgment, or storytelling. The question isnโt whether AI will impact your job, but ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐.