2023 Design Tools Survey

13 December 2023 | Issue #27

The 2023 Design Tools Survey from UX Tools has introduced a new focus on how AI is being integrated into design workflows. This is obviously a topic of growing interest and relevance for designers just starting to explore AI. The survey reveals that a significant 65% of respondents are already using AI in their work, indicating a rapid adoption of AI tools in the design process. This is higher than I would have expected.

Interestingly, 13% of respondents haven't used AI and aren't interested in doing so, highlighting a divide in the design community regarding AI adoption. This is the group I'm worried about.

Among those who use AI assistants, a whopping 84% are utilizing ChatGPT, showcasing its popularity and accessibility. Other AI tools mentioned include generative tools like Midjourney and Firefly. This variety in AI tools used by designers reflects the evolving landscape of AI in design and the lack of a common vocabulary around these technologies.

This tells me that people are still using AI for image generation. But the tools that can do more, like DesignerGPT, are only getting better.

The survey also sheds light on designers' confidence in understanding current AI tools, with a notable number of respondents feeling positive about their grasp of these technologies. However, 41 respondents who feel very confident about AI tools reported not using them in their work, suggesting that while familiarity with AI is growing, its practical application in design workflows is still being explored.

The survey's findings on AI usage across different tool categories reveal that the highest usage is in UI Design, with only 12.2% usage, indicating that AI integration is still in its early stages in many design areas. For designers just beginning to experiment with AI, these insights provide a valuable perspective on how AI is being adopted and perceived in the design community.

Looking forward, 13% of respondents included AI when asked about tools they want to learn in the future.

To delve deeper into how AI is reshaping design workflows and to understand its potential impact on your work, I recommend checking out the full details of the survey on the UX Tools 2023 AI Survey page.

How many of these tools are you currently using?

NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING, DESIGN, & AI

🥳 'Tis the Season for Trend Reports

Barney Abramson is consistently my favorite follow when it comes to design content on LinkedIn. He recently posted about Adobe's 2024 Creative Trends Guide. It highlights some major shifts in the creative world, focusing on how brands are increasingly using visuals to impact mental and emotional health positively.

There's a growing trend of brands using soothing and rhythmic visuals, aiming to inspire awe, joy, and enchantment in consumers.
The report also notes a convergence of the multiverse, gaming, VR, and AR, suggesting a future where multiple asset types and dimensions coexist in dynamic environments.

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📹 Runway partners with Getty Images to build enterprise-ready AI tools

Runway is continuing to do impressive work with AI and video. Its new partnership with Getty Images is a big deal in the world of AI and video content creation. They're launching a new video model specifically for enterprise customers, blending Runway's AI prowess with Getty Images' extensive content library.

This collaboration will enable companies to create custom video content using a baseline model, which can be fine-tuned with their own proprietary datasets.
The partnership aims to enhance creative capabilities across various industries, making it easier to produce professional, engaging, and brand-aligned content.

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🥸 The Rapid Rise of Synthetic Content

The world of online content is undergoing a seismic shift with the rapid rise of synthetic, AI-generated content. This article from A Media Operator dives into how this trend is reshaping the landscape of search engine results and content creation, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges it presents.

AI-generated content is becoming increasingly prevalent, leading to concerns about the quality and trustworthiness of online information, especially in search engine results.
This trend poses a challenge for publishers and content creators, who must now navigate a landscape filled with AI-generated content that can sometimes lack depth and authenticity.
h/t Joe Pulizzi

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