Me vs AI
How was this sauced?
Amid the rapidly changing realm of design and technology, the crossroads between human ingenuity and artificial intelligence has emerged as a captivating arena for exploration.
Now more than ever, the prospect of designers being replaced by artificial intelligence looms ever larger. This design undertaking aims to delve into the viability of such a transition.
This endeavor embarks on a comparative voyage, pitting my abilities as a third-year Communication Design Student against the capabilities of present-day Artificial Intelligence (August 2023). All AI models employed in this project are accessible to the public without charge.
In order to assess the current capabilities of AI in contrast to my own, I devised a design brief. Initially, I responded to this brief using solely my skill set and preferred design software. I tackled the same brief once again, this time exclusively utilising online AI models to craft the designs.
To introduce an element of intrigue, parameters were established to render the challenge compelling. Throughout both design processes, everything was produced using only a laptop, emulating the prevalent “work from home” work style.
The following is the outcome.
The Brief
A conglomerate specialising in condiments is introducing an innovative sauce product that is set to revolutionise the market. The innovative offering consists of a single sauce bottle, ingeniously designed to accommodate both tomato sauce and mustard sauce. These two delectable condiments are thoughtfully contained within separate, adjacent chambers within the same bottle. The bottle boasts a unique feature - two nozzles located on its single lid.
Although a comparable product surfaced in the past, Aldi rolled out a distinctive “Tomusto Sauce” in 2017. However, this sauce variant amalgamated tomato and mustard sauces, resulting in a milky orange tint.
Distinguishing itself, the new sauce creation meticulously preserves the autonomy of the two sauces, allowing them to converge exclusively atop a sausage. This creation is subtly tailored for individuals seeking to enhance their sausage-in-bread experience, although the marketing strategy shies away from explicit labelling and rather suggests the concept. After all, the dynamic pairing of tomato and mustard offers versatility in various other culinary contexts.
The product’s demeanor resonates with a distinctly Australian flair - playful, good-natured, capable of teasing itself, all while upholding a standard of excellence.
The project’s deliverables encompass:
Logo Design
Label Artwork
Development of 3 to 5 Engaging Advertisements
Slogans
Final Products
Conclusion
The juxtaposition between my own capabilities and those of AI has proven to be a fascinating exploration. In certain realms, AI not only kept pace with me but even surpassed my performance. This was particularly evident in tasks involving text generation, such as naming and crafting slogans. However, it’s evident that the final output produced by AI lacks the level of clarity present in my own creations.
I can’t shake the feeling that my utilisation of AI in this evaluation may have been misguided. Preserving the typography as it emerged from the AI’s design for the billboards felt like a betrayal of my design principles. Nevertheless, my initial intent was to exclusively rely on AI for every element in this project. I aimed to test whether someone devoid of design expertise could simply input prompts and attain their desired outcomes. However, I’ve found that this hypothesis doesn’t hold true. At least not yet.
Considering the trajectory of AI-generated creative work, our professions appear to be secure for the time being. Based on my experiences, AI excels at drawing from its extensive database of information to replicate various styles, whether visual or literary. This makes it an exceptional tool for envisioning “A” in the style of “B.”
For now, it seems to excel mainly as a tool. When confronted with more substantial concepts, like visually crafting advertising prompts, AI encounters difficulties. I attribute this challenge to the prompts I provided. Condensing the intricate and creative ideas that human minds conceive into a single prompt proved almost impossible. The images below illustrate failed attempts to coax Dall-E into generating intricate and creative scenes. While the style remains pronounced, the actual subject matter is barely recognisable.
There’s a clear potential for AI to be immensely beneficial in preliminary stages. Presenting AI-generated images to clients through storyboards, for instance, could significantly expedite the process. It’s these time-saving aspects that could potentially lead to job roles being affected within the design realm.
In my perspective, if AI is employed as a tool, it has the potential to accelerate design processes dramatically. The integration of tools like the new generative AI tool in Photoshop already results in substantial speed gains when utilised correctly. This is likely where, if any, reductions in job roles will occur. AI enables fewer individuals to accomplish more, which may lead to smaller agency sizes. This shift might emphasise the need for roles akin to art directors rather than technical designers.
A legitimate concern is that clients might start excluding creatives from their projects entirely. However, my project’s findings underscore that without the intricate touch of human creativity, ideas struggle to blossom fully. I anticipate that creatives will remain essential, albeit with project timelines considerably shortened.
Reflecting on history, when early computers entered the creative sphere, many predicted that designers would be ousted from their roles. While platforms like Canva have bridged the gap, enabling clients with limited resources to produce modest designs independently, there remains a substantial demand for skilled designers. As seen in the past, jobs tend to be lost in roles heavily tied to outdated technology. Just as retouching images shifted from a specialised role to a mere tool within Photoshop, I foresee AI steering us in a similar direction.
Creatives will still have a pivotal role; they will simply engage in more diverse tasks within tighter timeframes, leveraging artificial intelligence as a tool rather than a replacement.
