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28 April 2024 | Issue #45

In this issue:

• How to compete with AI for your first job
• Synthesia launches expressive avatars
• Regenerative AI: The future of digital advertising?
• Where is your organization on the AI Acceleration journey?
• New podcast you have to listen to
• Set up your own Discord server for Midjourney

If you're somebody who is getting ready to enter the marketing field, I have a couple of scary numbers for you:

53,000 college graduates are about to enter the workforce looking for their first job. Jobs are scarce, and decreasing by the day. Current marketers assume that 40% of their jobs will be negatively impacted by AI, according to MarketerHire.

So, you just spent an unGodly amount of money for that marketing degree. Now what?

If I were you, I'd recommend checking out Aaron Hasson's guide to competing with AI for your first marketing job.

This helpful guide gives you plenty of options to stand out from the competition and get noticed by potential employers.

One of the recommendations is to join online groups to get access to marketing experts. Aaron and I are both members of Mark Schaefer's RISE community. Last week we had a book club roundtable discussing Ann Handley's "Everybody Writes" book ... with Ann Handley herself! You can't get access to thought leaders like this on social media.

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There are similar groups across any discipline, but I tend to hang out in marketing-related groups.

​ NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING, DESIGN, & AI

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👨🏻‍🏫 Synthesia Launches Expressive Avatars

Synthesia's new "Expressive Avatars" mark a big leap in AI technology, offering digital personas that can mirror human emotions accurately. This is a game changer for creatives who are looking to create more engaging and lifelike interactions in digital media.

• Enhanced realism: The avatars can display a wide range of emotions, making digital interactions feel more genuine.
• Broad applications: Ideal for scenarios from corporate training to customer service, enhancing user experience dramatically.
• H/T to Chris McKay​

​Keep reading​

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🌎 Regenerative AI: The Next Quantum Leap in Digital Advertising

Nova's article introduces the concept of "(Re)Generative AI," a transformative approach to creative production in digital advertising. For designers, this innovation means a shift towards more dynamic, efficient, and adaptable content creation that resonates across various platforms.

• Creative innovation: Utilizes existing materials to generate new, impactful advertising content.
• Cross-platform efficiency: Enhances content scalability and relevance across diverse media channels.

​Keep reading​

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🏃🏽‍♀️‍➡️ Where is Your Organization on the AI Acceleration Journey?

​David Armano's recent newsletter explores the stages of AI integration within organizations, emphasizing the strategic value for designers. Understanding where your organization stands in this journey is crucial for aligning your creative strategies with broader technological advancements.

• AI Aware: You're watching and informally learning
• AI Learning: Formalizing learning, some top-down initiatives start
• AI Experimenting: Experimenting from the organization level, not just the individual level
• AI Accelerating: Scaling, operationalizing, and hiring to fill new responsibilities

​Keep reading​

​ NEW RESOURCES FOR YOU

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New podcast you have to check out

Design leader Emily Campbell recently joined my favorite new podcast, Imagine This. Imagine That. to discuss the future of design. She discusses how designers will become more technical. Design systems will become less dominant because of how design and engineering work side by side. It's no longer a true waterfall process where design does their part and then hands it off. The lines are blurring between different teams and different stages of the creation process.

When it comes to A.I., we're interacting with technology in a new, almost more human way. We go back and forth with this technology like a conversation. In the past, we just asked a question and got an answer. Or we clicked a button and an action happened. Now, because of the true interactivity with tech, we have to design experiences made for that.

Something else to think about for current and future product design: We're getting more sophisticated. We're getting better at interacting with A.I. We're learning the patterns. This means that the user experience will need to change over time. At some point, this will be second nature within our products, but for now, we need to account for everyone who is currently at different stages of the learning journey.

The team behind the Imagine This. Imagine That. podcast never ceases to make me smarter. I recently discovered Chris McKay and Maginative and I learn so much from him (see above). I first started following his co-host, Richard Banfield, more than a decade ago when his former agency designed a website for my former employer. Technically, they designed it twice since our company was acquired a few days before we were set to go live. That was ... fun?

Work with Midjourney, stop just playing with it

One of the biggest hurdles to generating your own AI images is the technology. Dall-E is pretty easy to use if you have ChatGPT, but it doesn't give you options.

If you're looking to use Midjourney, but don't know how to navigate the convoluted world Discord, I recommend this guide to walk you through the steps.

The Content Entrepreneur at CEX

This time next week I, and many of the authors from the new book, The Content Entrepreneur, will be attending the third Content Entrepreneur Expo (CEX).

I attended the first two CEXs and I not only learned a lot, but I got to make some great contacts and friends.

If you're looking to spend a few days in lovely Cleveland, OH in early May, or you just want to watch the videos after the fact, use my code DESIGN100 to get $100 of the cost.

After Design is a media partner for the event! In fact, the entire idea for After Design was born at last year's CEX.

There is so much creativity in the air, it would be impossible to walk away without some sort of inspiration.

​Learn more​

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HOW CAN I HELP YOU?

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If you want to learn more about what's available, here are some links: ​Coaching​ ​Courses​ ​Articles​ ​What’s After Design​ ​ Thanks for reading! -Jim ​ ​Let's chat about your career growth

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