I think AI has raised the floor of graphic design.

I know the popular thing to do is hate on AI and completely disregard its impact. And yes, there is a lot of “slop” that you can spot from a mile away. Sometimes a simple hand-drawn note on a piece of paper can look better. But I do think it's raised the floor of design quality.

Some of the bad, generic graphic design we've all been subjected to for years is becoming much harder to justify. The kind of corporate design that looks like it was made in Microsoft Word might not have much of a future. And honestly, that could be a good thing for design.

But there's a big difference between making something that looks good and creating something genuinely original, distinctive and strategic. That still needs an experienced creative to guide the process. Someone with enough experience to know what direction works for the strategy. Someone with taste. Someone who is on the cutting edge of design.

And that comes from human conversations, human stories and, importantly, human mistakes. You can't create beauty through perfection alone. Sometimes it needs to be messy. The path to creating a really impactful brand isn't linear. You never quite know where the inspiration is going to come from.

That doesnt mean I think we should demonise AI. Quite the opposite. I think it's going to be incredibly useful, even for experienced designers and branding studios.

For example, if I need to change the serif on a typeface, I'd much rather be able to give that serif design and font to AI and have it update every letter and number for me, rather than manually redrawing the whole thing. Thats still a human creation. AI has just taken away some of the boring bits.

And surely thats a good thing? There are plenty of things to be concerned about with AI and design. But I'd rather look at what it can give us.

This artwork was created by Ben Jac, using plasticine sculptures and photoshop.