Marketing by Design – Design thinking that makes marketing work
I test the AI tools, design trends, and brand moves marketers are talking about, then tell you what holds up and what doesn’t. Written by the author of the bestselling The Visual Marketer, after 20+ years leading brand, creative, and digital experience marketing teams.
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AD90: Democratizing Creativity?
Published over 1 year ago • 5 min read
27 April 2025 | Issue #90
In this issue:
Democratizing Creativity?
Adobe Introduces Tool to Claim Image Ownership
Superagency: AI is Just Guessing
Make Your AI Challenge You
Discord Names New CEO Ahead of IPO
How Substack Steals Your Revenue and Audience
New Visual Marketer site
Design Quote of the Week
Show a bunch of robots democratizing creativity. --ar 16:9. No text on the image.
Democratizing Creativity?
Brand builder, Megan Bungeroth recently dove into the topic of democratizing creativity on LinkedIn.
In her article, she talks about how creativity is the result of years of mastering the skill. It's not something that you type into a computer and receive an image or paragraph of copy.
Creativity is not a resource that we can equally divide among everyone. – Megan Bungeroth
It's one thing to use AI to make something. But we should be careful about calling it "creativity." I consider myself a creative person ... who uses AI. AI is a tool to solve a problem, but there's nothing inherently creative about using it.
I've often said generative AI is like Adobe Photoshop; just a tool to help make stuff. But AI doesn't take a long time to figure out how to use it. I started using Photoshop nearly 30 years ago, and there is a ton I don't know about the tool. But I can use it to make whatever image I want. The AI functionality within Photoshop does the same work I used to do, but a lot faster.
As a "creative," I started out using pencil to make images. Then I learned Photoshop. Then I learned generative AI. I still have a long way to go with all three of these tools.
The difference between me and others who consider themselves "AI Artists" is that I have the training and background to achieve the desired result. I never settle for what AI gives me because I always have a clear idea of what I want.
This is part of the curse of being a "creative" person. I can picture the final outcome in my head, and then I have to figure out the best way to produce that.
Megan talks about creative outputs being stolen by these AI systems and profiting from them. And she's right. It's a horrible feeling when you see your creative work taken, manipulated, and someone else profits from it.
Before the days of generative AI, you can see the image on the left I made for fun using Adobe Illustrator. On the right is the print that some company was selling for $120 after they put some lousy Photoshop effects on top of it (and they left my name on it! 🤬)
Left: My poster. Right: A crappy knockoff selling for $120.
Part of me wonders if NFTs (ownership of images as recorded on the blockchain) would have avoided some of this AI theft. But that's a topic for another day. In the meantime, Adobe just announced a system its developing to let artists "sign" and "own" their digital artwork.
Getting back to this topic, one thing I heard was the only democratization of creativity is that people who can afford AI can skip all of the training and skills required to create art.
My hope is that because this isn't new and buzzy anymore, all of those "AI artists" have moved on to their next grift.
This whole discussion made me think of Greg Beato and Reid Hoffman's book, Superagency. Though they are AI bulls, they state that AI doesn't actually know anything. These systems are making estimations based on information they have consumed.
That's not creativity. It's just guessing.
While there are similarities between the creative process and hhow generative AI works, AI still can't match the creative spark that humans can create. Humans can take two diverse concepts and create something completely new. 1+1=3.
But if an AI system tells you 1+1=3, it's wrong.
Each of us is a unique combination of the experiences that only we've had. This is the root of true creativity.
NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING, DESIGN, & AI
🥊 Make your AI Challenge You
Rolf Mistelbacher, creator of one of my favorite newsletters, AI Creators of All Trades, recently spotlighted a way to get your AI to stop being your biggest cheerleader and be more skeptical, yielding better results.
How: In ChatGPT, click your user name > Settings > Customize > Click +Skeptical
Benefits: Now you can get better results because the AI system isn't simply parroting your thoughts back to you.
My Take: I need to try this. I do it from time to time, but I hadn't thought of changing the baseline settings.
👎 Discord Names New CEO Ahead of Potential IPO as Co-Founder Steps Down
Discord co-founder and CEO Jason Citron is stepping down, with former Activision Blizzard executive Humam Sakhnini set to take over on April 28, 2025. Citron will remain involved as a board member and advisor, expressing that the company’s next phase requires leadership geared toward scaling and public readiness.
Strategic Leadership Shift: Sakhnini’s appointment, given his background in gaming and media, positions Discord for a potential IPO and broader market expansion.
Continued Growth: Under Citron’s leadership, Discord grew to over 200 million monthly active users and approximately 870 employees, becoming a central platform for gaming communities.
My Take: This will be a negative for smaller communities on Discord. Once profits and monetization become the only driver for a company, user experience and customer experience take the hit.
🤑 How Substack Steals Your Audience and Your Revenue
Lex Roman’s article on Journalists Pay Themselves critiques Substack’s platform, arguing that it undermines creators’ control over their audiences and revenue streams.
Audience Diversion: Substack encourages subscribers to use its app, where they may opt out of email updates, reducing direct communication between creators and their audiences.
Revenue Constraints: The platform takes a 10% cut of subscription revenue, plus payment processing fees. Additionally, it limits monetization options by restricting subscription tiers and lacking features like tipping or merchandise sales.
My Take: My first newsletter (Marketing Podcast Recap) was on Substack. I moved to Kit (formerly ConvertKit) when I started After Design and I've been very pleased with the automation components.
If you're still on the fence about buying my book, The Visual Marketer, I spent a few days this week building a new website that outlines why it will help any marketer or business owner who needs to create their own graphics.
Let me know what you think!
UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTS
On Tuesday, at 10am ET, I'll be on #TimTalk, livestreamed on LinkedIn, talking about my book.
If you're looking for podcast guests, or want to collaborate on something, shoot me a DM.
Design Quote of the Week
“Design is art optimized to meet objectives.” – Shimon Shueli
My AI disclaimer: I write the main story. I find the news stories, and the summary is by ChatGPT. I write the My Takes bullet. If AI generates the images, I include the prompt so you can see how I got to that image.
Marketing by Design – Design thinking that makes marketing work
Jim MacLeod
I test the AI tools, design trends, and brand moves marketers are talking about, then tell you what holds up and what doesn’t. Written by the author of the bestselling The Visual Marketer, after 20+ years leading brand, creative, and digital experience marketing teams.
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