Does AI Need a Rebrand?
If you know you know
The term "AI" has become toxic, loaded with fears about job displacement and sci-fi dystopias. But fear-based language makes bad strategy. When we call it "AI," we're thinking about what it might take away rather than what it actually does: amplify human expertise.
No one knows how this all shakes out, but I do know from experience standing still won't work. There's nothing I like more than making things and solving visual problems—I don't know how to stop, so this is how I plan to proceed.
I've been working on The Feed, creating rapid visual responses that elevate content and build visual identity around stories. It's work I genuinely enjoy. But here's what I've learned: there is no magic button. This still requires experience, knowing what good looks like, and crucially—knowing when you've got there. The idea always matters - that hasn't changed.
After completing a 12-week AI-Aided Graphic Design course through Elvtr, focusing primarily on Claude and Midjourney, I'm convinced the question isn't "Should I use AI in my design process?" anymore. It's "How do I design effectively within this new system?"
My recommendation for anyone curious about where to start: pick one or two tools and go deep. Better to master two tools than dabble in twenty. The goal isn't to learn every AI application—it's to understand how to direct these systems to consistently produce what you need.
This is where traditional design thinking becomes crucial. The same principles that make a good art director—clear vision, systematic thinking, quality control—are exactly what you need to work effectively with AI. You're not learning to be a prompt engineer; you're learning to be a creative director for an infinitely capable but directionless team.
The same principles that make a good art director—clear vision, systematic thinking, quality control—are exactly what you need to work effectively with AI.
Working on The Feed has taught me that the handoff between human direction and AI execution is where the magic happens. But the system only works because I know what I'm looking for and when I've found it. I've also gotten to that familiar designer anxiety of asking "Is this good enough?" or "I don't like the balance there, it's too complicated, or it's too cliche." But it's time to release it to the world anyway. That tension between perfectionism and deadlines hasn't changed.
What excites me most is that this will eventually improve the quality of the output. When designers with real experience and judgment are directing these systems, when we stop treating AI as a novelty and start using it as infrastructure, the work gets better. Not just faster—better.
The future isn't about humans versus AI—it's about designers who understand how to work within this new operating system versus those who don't. The tools are powerful and the opportunity is there to use them to amplify your voice or find a new one. The best creatives will dig deeper and push the outcomes to go to places we have yet to see.
I'm going to stop calling it AI. I'm designing. I'm directing and making for the new infrastructure.
