My dad was a graphic designer in the 1980s. He would say he lost his job to a computer. But when pressed on the details of the story, he would admit that he just couldn't adjust. He'd worked for years with pencils, pens and artboards (that's a heavy, cardboard-backed, paper product, not part of the workspace in Adobe Illustrator). In 1986, a shiny new PC appeared in his office with floppy disks to install the "Ventura" desktop publishing software. The clunky typesetting and pixelated images of those first computer-assisted graphic design programs seemed like a complicated way to design a brochure. And yet everyone was giddy with excitement about how it would change the industry. My dad did his best but found it challenging to integrate the computer into his graphic design process. It was true: desktop publishing had changed the industry-and my dad lost his job because he couldn't keep up. He wasn't alone. Many graphic designers of that time who couldn't or wouldn't find a way to use the computer were fired, laid off or gently phased out.

“The designer or client can see a multitude of variations in the proposed design in a matter of seconds.”

Sound familiar? This quote from a 1986 Advertising Age article on the use of computer-aided design could just as easily have come from Adobe’s website today describing their excitement over AI-assisted product features. “Greater efficiency” and “Unlimited creativity” boasts Adobe. The future is now! Your work will be done in seconds! It’s no wonder people are worried about losing their jobs.

Fast forward to today. Can you imagine designing a logo or brochure without a computer? What was once an incredible advancement is now commonplace. I think we’re at a similar moment with AI. Will it change how we work? Absolutely. Will designers be expected to know how to use it effectively? Absolutely! Will it replace designers? No.

We’re creative thinkers. We’re visual storytellers. We share our human experience through the thoughtful use of images, colours and typography. We work together with photographers and illustrators to create an emotional connection. We share ideas. I don’t think AI will ever be able to replace a great idea.

AI can help brainstorm, visualize or refine ideas—and it’s a great tool for that! Every day we are seeing new ways that AI is changing the graphic design process. As designers, we need to keep up. It can be exhausting, for sure. But we’re keeping a keen eye on these trends to see what we can incorporate into our own studio work. We’re adapting to the new tools. It’s exciting how the industry is changing—and I don’t plan on getting left behind.

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