The graphic design profession is no stranger to technological disruption. From Gutenberg’s printing press to the desktop computer to Adobe Creative Suite, technology has altered the process of visual communication. And although technology has democratized the ability of many to take part, it has also threatened the livelihood of the craftspeople that it replaces.
Consequently, these innovations often lead to speculation about the future, and demise, of the graphic design profession. Less than 50 years ago, graphic design depended on hand crafting. But when desktop computer and companies like Adobe and Quark digitized the industry, the role of the designer didn’t shrink—the opposite happened. Designers shifted and thrived.
Like earlier technological disruptions, it eliminated many professions. Typesetting, pre-press, and retouching professionals lost their place in the market as technology replaced these crafts. But instead of succumbing to technology, graphic designers used the technology to expand the profession.
Today, as in the digital revolution, many graphic design tasks will become automated with artificial intelligence (AI). As technology again automates rote tasks, former marketable competencies like the knowledge of Adobe programs will no longer be enough to gain employment. Today, AI is already changing how designers work by replacing processes like creating mockups, presentations, and proposing illustration and photography. New technology functions beyond rote skills, using the design processes of analysis, judgement and synthesis.
However, designers can again rise to meet these challenges with skills that can’t be automated. By cultivating the skills of the creative strategists, today’s graphic designers can offer a differentiating value. The ability to not only solve problems with creative, visual ideas is not enough. The capacity to advocate for those ideas with the pragmatic knowledge of denotative and connotative reasoning will promote the need for the uniquely human and creative skill set.
