Zaheer Dodhia, CEO of Logo Design, is an entrepreneur who has launched several startups, including ZillionDesigns, PCStore and CashForUsedLaptop. There are many avenues in the graphic design industry. You can take university classes for this purpose and do internships. Or you can explore your natural talents for doodling and digital design to become a self-taught designer who is slowly creating a portfolio.
Graphic design can be part-time and a hobby, or an entire self-starting business and a full-time career. Whatever the path, as an effort that feeds your creativity and that of your family, graphic design is a career that attracts many of us. The problem with graphic design Art is subjective and graphic design is no exception. I've seen terrible logos, questionable brand decisions, and images that just don't hit the mark.
But the main concern of graphic design as a whole is not the maxim of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” (however disastrous a particular design may find), but the fact that the final results can be theoretically replicated without a human designer. I say theoretically because it's more complex than simply a question of “Can artificial intelligence do this? The basic components of graphic design include line, shape, style, color, font, and design, although you'll find different elements listed depending on the source; some list more and others group components together. However, machine learning has become powerful and, like most aspects of design, graphic design can be replicated by introducing these elements and letting AI suggest variations and iterations. Undoubtedly, AI has its place in graphic design, and AI-powered design tools and software can be a boon for new designers looking for inspiration or for business owners who simply need a bespoke raw logo.
But where do human graphic designers fit in? With all the time and effort that goes into creating AI design tools, it's worth wondering if those tools could be doing the work of a human designer. In the end, it all comes down to the human touch. AI design is useful to a certain extent, but you'll never understand the personality behind a brand, for example, by introducing design factors. How would an AI designer write a brand image that qualifies as “ethereal, punk, or friendly”? How about one that appears in the brand specifications as “elegant, quirky, or fun”? These are the types of descriptors that entrepreneurs use in creative summaries of their brands.
But AI, in general terms, lacks awareness of what those descriptors translate into visual terms, although it can be fun to see how AI interprets concepts such as “ethereal punk”. To date, we haven't found AI designers who can adapt, let alone differentiate, the cultural nuances of designs. A concept like ethereal punk would differ greatly from region to region and from culture to culture, due to the individual perceptions of graphic designers. Human graphic designers are needed to facilitate the understanding of more abstract concepts and how they fit into the project message.
So human designers are needed, and AI design has its place. However, what humans provide in terms of quality, AI can compensate for in quantity; graphic designers tend to spend more time on individual projects, while AI design can be produced almost instantly, from a library of preloaded images. And AI is certainly cheaper, since many of the design sites offer free designs. However, the root cause of this is not cited as AI, but rather as the decline in print publications.
Because fewer magazines, books and newspapers are actually printed, there are fewer positions available for graphic designers. However, BLS job prospects also indicate that the need for digital-based graphic design is growing, and is likely to continue to do so. So what does that mean for today's graphic designers? Certain areas of graphic design may be harder for design professionals to find in the future, but that doesn't mean graphic design won't continue to be in demand. As in any business, the key is to stay on top of what's really needed; I wouldn't recommend going into graphic design this year with the idea that you'll work exclusively on book cover design, for example.
Of course, if that's what you want to do, set it as a goal, but be open to looking for work somewhere else to move forward while you work to achieve it. So, will we continue to have graphic designers in the coming years? I trust to say yes, we certainly will. Graphic design done by human designers specifically provides a creative visual outlet that improves the experience of each brand, whether looking at web design, product packaging, signs, the website or judging a book by its cover. But that doesn't mean things won't keep changing.
Tools such as AI-driven design should not be ignored, because they will become the path of the future. If you don't want to become obsolete, it's important to work with new trends and technologies, not to pretend that it's not happening at all. In short, adaptive capacity is key to survival. And that's what will keep it in high demand.
Forbes Business Council is the leading growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Graphic design is not a dying business. There is a high demand for attractive and emotional visual design in any entity that invests in its own marketing. That's not to say it's an easy or lucrative market to tap into.
As a designer, you must ensure that you can stand out and highlight that you have the creative cuts needed to succeed in the field. Learn your tools and become more viable by learning how the industry works and expanding additional skill sets. I am independent with graphic and web design as part of my daily work as a developer and I can choose my jobs most of the time, I never have to try very hard. I started in graphic design and, near the end of my school career, I focused on animated graphics, which combined my love for animation and design.
There has been an avalanche of these so-called designers and that stifles the market for bad design (if you can call it design). With all the time and effort that goes into creating AI design tools, it's worth wondering if those tools could be doing the work of a human designer. The strategy includes the printing of marketing materials such as posters, business cards, banners, the design of websites, mobile applications and social media pages that have only one purpose: to communicate with the user through visual language. With the creation of the personal computer and the advent of design software, the tools of the trade became accessible to anyone with an Internet connection who knew how to spell pirate.
Certain areas of graphic design may be harder for design professionals to find in the future, but that doesn't mean graphic design won't continue to be in demand. . .
