Human made visual communication ai creative industry

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the sheer volume of creative content flooding the internet. Until recently, I hadn't shared my two cents...

AI tools are generating images at lightning speed. Slick, impressive and visually polished.

But, I’m starting to feel numb to it and a little bored with how 'innovative' I'm meant to find it.

What happened to being able to call bullshit on something?

It’s like scrolling through a thousand pictures of beautifully plated food.
They all look great but none of them make you feel anything.

Because here’s the thing, AI doesn’t know what it’s saying. It’s not trying to communicate or intentionally connect with emotion. It’s just imitating what’s already been said.

No tension. No story. No conviction.

Just because you write AI a prompt asking it to create something that evokes emotion, doesn't mean the image, design or copy will actually do that.

And I think people are starting to notice. Brands included. Quantity is skyrocketing, but meaning is getting forgotten to save a buck or two (in the short term).

That’s where I think hand-drawn illustration still holds its ground.

⚡️ The wobble in a line, the subtle but intensely purposeful line work or idea (big or small) added into an illustrator's work that makes it uniquely their own...

That's what audiences LOVE and connect to.

The tension between your reference and your instinct.

Those tiny decisions that build up over a person's career in creativity. An uncomfortable mind fuck of abstract, literal and surreal all rolled up into one illustration guided by brand parameters, to serve one purpose.

Connect.

As someone who has grown up in various subcultures in music, bmx, skate, surf and now, Jiu Jitsu. I know, it's the art and creativity within these cultures that allow you to connect and identify with them.

The more everything starts to look the same, the more a drawing with a point of view stands out.

So no, I’m not trying to compete with AI.

I use AI all the time, for admin, for clarity, for solving all kinds of problems... I'm not avoiding it or hiding from it. I embrace it.

But when it comes to drawing, the ideas, the marks, the weird little decisions...That’s where the human part still matters, and I leave that in the precariously capable hands of me!