As a graphic designer for about 30 years. I’ve been wrestling with this as well and generally with relief that I’m at the end of my career and can bow out soon.
There is a reason I’ve never called myself a graphic ARTIST- it’s because the creative work I do for clients is not my creative expression but is for the purpose of helping someone else sell a product or service. AI is now just another tool allowing that work to happen faster. I don’t like it but I think there’s no going back. There’s no way for designers to compete, and that began when apps like Canva took over and consequently desensitized the general public to good design.
If there is a positive about generative AI, I wonder if it’s that it will separate consumer focused art from true creative expression. Not that creative content shouldn’t be sold, but there’s a difference in creating something expressly to sell. In that case it’s just about giving people what you think they want. There’s definitely a place for that but it’s not in the same category as an inspired work that sells. I am concerned with how few seem to do art just as a hobby anymore, there is always a primary motive of making money.
It’s my hope that eventually people will start craving art again for arts sake - art with a true human connection.
As a graphic designer for about 30 years. I’ve been wrestling with this as well and generally with relief that I’m at the end of my career and can bow out soon.
There is a reason I’ve never called myself a graphic ARTIST- it’s because the creative work I do for clients is not my creative expression but is for the purpose of helping someone else sell a product or service. AI is now just another tool allowing that work to happen faster. I don’t like it but I think there’s no going back. There’s no way for designers to compete, and that began when apps like Canva took over and consequently desensitized the general public to good design.
If there is a positive about generative AI, I wonder if it’s that it will separate consumer focused art from true creative expression. Not that creative content shouldn’t be sold, but there’s a difference in creating something expressly to sell. In that case it’s just about giving people what you think they want. There’s definitely a place for that but it’s not in the same category as an inspired work that sells. I am concerned with how few seem to do art just as a hobby anymore, there is always a primary motive of making money.
It’s my hope that eventually people will start craving art again for arts sake - art with a true human connection.