AD67: Will Design Become a Hobby?

20 October 2024 | Issue #67

In this issue:

Is design turning into a hobby field?
Illustrator's impressive new rotation functionality
Gallup results: AI in the workplace
Kleenex logo update
Growing brain cells to help power AI (reposted)
Design quote of the week

**Prompt:** graphic design as a hobby --ar 16:9

Confession: I didn't start out wanting to be a designer.

My original career choice was comic book illustrator. For undergrad, I studied graphic design for two reasons:

One of my then-favorite illustrators, Todd McFarlane, had studied graphic design, and I was a big fan of his page layouts
I needed a fallback in case comics didn't work out

As much as I loved art, I was instilled with the idea that it's a very difficult discipline to make a living. We all know some people who can pay their bills with art, but for most of us, it's a hobby.

Only the best of the best can make a living. The rest of us do it in our free time.

I wonder if this is happening in the design field.

We've all had the experience of being unbid by someone's cousin or nephew who is just getting started. The proliferation of low-cost, low-quality designers has devalued the entire field.

It doesn't take long to scroll through LinkedIn and see how many designers have the "Open to Work" banner on their profile picture. It's really hard for designers looking for a job out there right now.

Is design starting to turn into a "hobby" field?

I'm sure similar things were said when design moved from analog to digital (I was there right at the end of that transition).

I worry about the number of young people studying design who can't find a job. As more companies become okay with Canva- or Adobe Express-level design, trained designers have fewer job options.

More designers + fewer jobs = a rough experience for anyone looking for a job.

This doesn't just apply to new designers. It's long been the case that older (more expensive) designers are at risk of being replaced by someone with 70% of their skills at 50% of the price.

Every designer has to prove to the powers-that-be that design is important. Keep promoting the stats like...

Over a five-year period, companies that invested in good design had 32% more revenue and 56% more total returns to shareholders.
Amrita Mathur for Superside

Design is going to be a more competitive field. If you want to succeed, you have to prove your value on a daily basis. The old days of "only we can do design" are over.

Only 1 in 10 art students make a living in art. It's up to us to prevent design from a similar fate.

NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING, DESIGN, & AI

🐉 Adobe’s New AI-Powered Image Rotation Tool Impresses

Adobe just announced its innovative AI image rotation tool, which allows users to rotate an image seamlessly, preserving its detail without the typical distortions seen with manual adjustments. This feature, integrated into Adobe’s AI suite, represents a major leap forward in creative tools, offering precision and ease for designers.

• Preserves Image Integrity: The tool maintains the original quality while rotating images.

• Streamlined Workflow: It saves time by automating what would otherwise be a manual and imprecise task.

• My Take: This is impressive. It will probably be clunky to start, but I can think of dozens of times when I've needed this exact capability.

Keep reading

🙋🏼‍♂️ Answering Big Workplace Questions: Navigating AI and Leadership Challenges

Gallup explores how companies can address major workplace questions in the AI era, including how to manage AI’s impact on jobs and productivity. The article emphasizes that AI, when integrated effectively, enhances human work rather than replacing it. Leadership plays a crucial role in ensuring teams adapt smoothly to this technology-driven environment.

• AI and Job Security: If managed correctly, AI should complement, not replace, human work.

• Leadership’s Role: Leaders must guide teams through the AI transition, ensuring employees feel empowered.

• My Take: If you're looking for your team to be more serious about AI, and spend the necessary time to learn, a report like this from Gallup can help your cause.

Keep reading

🤧 Kleenex Logo Update

This year marks Kleenex's 100th anniversary. A few years ago, Rob Clarke was hired to restore some of the Saul Bass love that had been lost over the years.

Check out his process page

NEW RESOURCES FOR YOU

In case you missed it (because I sent the newsletter on a US holiday weekend)...

An ongoing concern with AI is the amount of energy it consumes. I wrote about this a few weeks ago, and it was eye-opening to see how much electricity it took to run a simple prompt.

Microsoft's decision to use Three Mile Island (the site of the most serious nuclear accident in U.S. history) to power its data centers is proof of the estimated energy usage in the future.

Now, a company in Switzerland is working on a way to reduce the need for electricity in AI: bioengineering human brain cells to power AI.

Why do I feel like we will need Neo to save us?

FinalSpark is a company developing a way to power AI using a combination of human brain cells and microchips. The goal is to move away from the 70-year-old silicon chip that has limits.

Scientists and researchers can rent access to the "Neuroplatform," a computer platform made of human organoids (clusters of lab-grown cells) for $500 a month.

According to Scientific American, 34 research universities have already applied for access to the Neuroplatform.

Design Quote of the Week

“Design adds value faster than it adds cost.”
– Joel Spolsky

My AI disclaimer: I write the main stories by hand (with occasional assistance from Grammarly). The quick news hits are articles I've found, which I run through a ChatGPT prompt to generate the synopsis and bullet points. However, I write the My Thoughts bullet. If AI generates the images, I include the prompt so you can see how I got to that image. Nothing in this newsletter, or anything I publish anywhere, reflects the views of my employer.