What is the place of AI in our professional design work?
A guest post from an emerging AI design expert
Trying something new today.
Design Things has been (and always will be) a place for the weekly writing habit I wanted to develop.
Over the course of growing my small corner of the internet on this newsletter and on LinkedIn, I’ve had the chance to interact with lots of interesting people in the design community that are experts in their own right in areas that I definitely am not.
So I’d like to try using this weekly email to (sometimes) share thoughts and expertise on design, business, and creativity from friends I’ve made along the way. This is the first of those posts, written by an expert in the emerging field of design using AI tools.
Like you, I’ve been constantly bombarded by AI generated design imagery for the last year.
Some of it is interesting. Most of it is just visual noise to me.
At some point, I started noticing some consistent high quality AI design work on my LinkedIn feed. And it was mostly coming from a guy named Hector Rodriguez.
I’ve gotten to known Hector a bit over the past few months and I’m currently in the middle of taking his AI design course. What’s different about Hector’s insights on AI design is that he is not just producing random looking outputs that leave you scratching your head as to how you would apply it to your real-world design challenges.
Hector has developed clearly articulated frameworks and methodologies to apply AI tools like MidJourney in ways that are specific to the needs of industrial designers. The volume and the consistency of his output speaks for itself. I have no doubt that Hector and his courses are going to be a leading resource for designers looking to leverage AI in their design process.
With that, please enjoy today’s guest post from Hector.
P.S. Let me know what you think of these guest posts, or if you’d be interested in writing one sometime. I probably won’t do a guest post more than once every few months, and only on topics that I think are worth sharing with my audience.
Hey all,
I'm Hector, and I've been handed the mic for the Design Things newsletter for a guest spot—big thanks to Anson for that. I'm here today to chat about a hot topic: AI and its place in our professional work.
First, a little bit about myself. I graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design's industrial design program back in 2001. I spent the beginning of my career in the consulting world. Eventually I went out on my own in 2007, consulting with many firms and companies in the Chicagoland area.
That same year, I started down a path that would define my views as a designer—I started my own company. For the next decade and a half, I dedicated myself to building a bike brand, battling it out with the big guys in the industry. I learned about designing with the big picture in mind. I learned the impact design has on every facet of a company, from customer service and sales to marketing and finance. It was eye-opening, brutally challenging but amazingly gratifying.
This dual-edged experience, brand consultant and brand owner, provided me with a perspective I employ to this day.
A little over a year ago, as I delved back into consulting work, I began my exploration into AI. The more I dug in, the more I realized its potential to alter the way I worked.
This exploration led to daily hour-long sessions with AI tools like Midjourney. Those sessions led to the first LinkedIn posts of my career, which eventually turned into daily posts. Those daily posts turned into a weekly newsletter. That newsletter led to interest and requests to teach others what I was doing with AI. I eventually launched a course and a website to capture this effort. I called it AIxCreative.
That’s how I met Anson.
With AIxCreative, I focus on helping other designers and creatives like myself feel comfortable in this new world of AI. I thought I’d use my time here to quickly outline a few thoughts I have on the subject and then hand the mic back off to Anson.
I’ve spent over three-quarters of my life (30+ years) mastering my craft. I’m a lifelong creative. The idea of a tool potentially devaluing my efforts doesn't feel very good. I felt that way this time last year.
I’ve learned throughout my life that the best way to overcome fear is with knowledge. The more you learn about something, the less scary it becomes. I approached AI this way.
Here are a few things that came out of my experience with AI:
Creativity is not being outsourced. While at the surface level, these tools are “easy to use” and seem to outsource creativity, utilizing these tools with professional-grade requirements demands a significant dose of creativity. I have found that learning how to use these tools has flexed my creativity muscle more than any project I can remember. If done with intention, these tools don’t undermine what we do; they enhance it.
The more experience you have, the higher the enhancement multiple. Tools like these require category expertise and strategic thinking. The more you have, the better the results. These tools put a strong focus on curating, something that experienced designers are well-versed in.
Lastly, more impact. While our craft plays a role in the impact we can make as designers, the more meaningful impact comes from the way we think. With AI tools, we can focus on these skills that add more value.
I can confidently say that AI tools have the potential to greatly benefit or hurt our profession. I believe the outcome will be dictated by the leaders and experienced designers in our field. I trust we’ll do it right.
I’ll leave with this. It’s not about learning these tools to be the best at AI. It’s about learning these tools to be the best at design.
Hector
P.S. If you’re interested in seeing AI tools in action, a colleague and I will be hosting a webinar next week focused on building a complete brand experience with the help of AI tools. You can register here if it’s of interest.
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