4 Ways I’ve Embraced AI in my Design Business
I’ve had a lot of conversations with creatives over the past few months about AI and how we feel about it, and the inconclusive conclusion is that feelings are pretty mixed. While I hear all sides and can empathise with the people who fear for their jobs and do agree with those who are concerned about some of the ethical implications of it, I, personally, am of the mind that when used ethically, responsibly, and with conscious intention, AI can be a great tool for all of us creatives.
Since April of last year I’ve been consistently using AI (specifically ChatGPT) to simplify my processes and take some of the grunt out of the grunt work involved in the day to day operations of being a “solo-preneur.”
I’ve tried a bunch of different things and use it for more than just what’s outlined here, but for the purposes of keeping things relatively brief, here are three ways I've implemented AI in my design business consistently:
1. Social Media Planning
Social media planning can be a tedious task, especially when you're trying to post consistently with engaging and relevant content. But with the help of ChatGPT I’ve been creating content calendars based on brand pillars, specific offerings, and portfolio pieces. I still create the graphics but taking the brain power out of creating a content calendar (and even getting started on captions) has made social media so much easier.
2. Lorem Ipsum Replacement
Rather than relying on Lorem Ipsum to fill out web design wireframes or even as placeholder content on an actual build, I’ve been using ChatGPT to help create content that can act as prompts for the client to go in and edit once the site is done. It’s so much more helpful as a starting point than a block of literal gibberish staring back at you and clients have loved the support they get from not having to create copy out of thin air**.
3. Colour Name Generator
I gave up on naming colours in my final brand presentations years ago. Trying to come up with a clever, creative name to go along with a hex code just became a frustrating time suck. But for a recent project I decided to bring back the fun names with the help of ChatGPT. I simply put in the hex code, said I wanted a “playful” name and bam, “Peach Paradise” it was!
The query:
“Can you come up with a fun, playful colour name for the hex code 3F24B1”
4. Weekly Meal Plan & Recipes
Technically not design related but meal planning is my absolute least favourite thing in the world and this query has become my favourite one ever. I eat like a picky toddler and going to the grocery store without a specific shopping list is an overstimulating gong show. So a few weeks ago I asked ChatGPT to create a 7 day anti inflammatory meal plan with a slew of dietary restrictions (aka please leave out all these ingredients I hate). It spat out the most epic toddler-friendly meal plan of my dreams. From there I said please create a grocery list so I can make all that. And create a grocery list it did! I will never go back to trying to wing it with food.
So that’s how I’m using AI right now. I know it’s a sensitive topic for some people. It’s threatening and it’s a little scary, but I really do think it can be a brilliant tool when it’s used responsibly.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on it — are you using AI at all? Do you have any fears about it making your job irrelevant? Do you have a personal ethical line you won’t cross with it? Tell me where you’re at with it!
