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Will AI replace designers?
The short answer? Yes... but not in the way most people think.
When photography emerged in the 1800s, many believed painting would disappear. It didn't—it evolved.
When desktop publishing arrived in the 1980s, designers who embraced digital tools moved forward while others were left behind.
AI is another turning point.
I don't believe AI will replace creative work. I believe it will replace repetitive work—and expose those who refuse to evolve.
Ideas, taste, strategy and creative vision still come from people. AI is just a tool that amplifies them.
The future won't belong to designers who reject AI.
It will belong to designers who know how to use it better than everyone else.
What do you think? Will AI replace designers, or simply redefine what makes a great one?
The photography to painting parallel is such a good way to frame this. I think the designers who'll struggle most are the ones who saw their value as pure execution rather than judgment. What's the one skill you're doubling down on right now?
I'd say the one skill we should never lose is the ability to keep learning. I mean that in general , it applies to everything, not just design.
That's a good way to put it. Adaptability might end up being the actual core design skill, more than any specific tool or software fluency.
Good read, Diego!
Thank you so much! I truly appreciate your kind comment and the time you took to share it. It really means a lot to me!
I think there are more layers to this. As someone who has embraced AI and uses it daily, I also see how some people are trying to skip the process and get to the result without putting in the work or even trying to understand the problem.
There’s also the issue of AI being used...
Yeah, I completely agree. I think the biggest thing is that AI should be a tool that amplifies the creative process, not a shortcut to avoid it. The more experience and knowledge you have, the better you can actually use these tools.
And I think that’s why, as creatives, we need...
Good write up!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 😊
AI already changed how things relate one to another. As with every historical innovation, some jobs will disappear, others will emerge. Future feel harder to predict than 10 years ago.
Yeah, as creatives, we need to keep learning and making the most of all the tools available to us.
The network for creativity
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Absolutely. The ability to translate a rough sketch into a refined visual while preserving the intended pose, composition, and creative direction could make the ideation process much faster. It feels especially useful for designers who want to communicate an idea visually before spending time refining every detail. Definitely a feature worth experimenting with in a real workflow.
This is a great experiment! The sketch to refined visual pipeline could seriously speed up early ideation. Curious how it handles more abstract or complex sketches.