Yunjia Hou
Nov 2023
All images in this post, including the cover image, are generated by artificial intelligence (AI). They are only used for educational and research purposes.
Even though AI art generators have captured people’s attention for months, I hesitated to try these powerful tools myself. On the one hand, as an entry-level designer, I believe it’s crucial to get hands-on experience and improve through practice. On the other hand, in a challenging job market, the thought that AI might replace human jobs in the future makes me stressed.
Nevertheless, I ultimately decided to spend two days studying AI art generators. Whether AI becomes a designer’s assistant or competitor, I will inevitably face it sooner or later.
I conducted a series of experiments with Midjourney, one of the most popular AI art generators. Whether I requested a realistic photo, an illustration, a web UI, a product design, an infographic, or creative images based on wild ideas, Midjourney responded within a minute. In terms of speed, economic cost, style diversity, and the ability to create exquisite images, I think AI completely surpasses human capabilities.
However, there are some problems. In my opinion, the most significant problem is that AI can easily be used to generate misinformation. Some AI-generated photos look so real that people who don’t know much about AI might be deceived. I used Midjourney to create a photo of Donald Trump wearing a Barbie pink suit, and a photo of Sam Altman sitting on a throne. If I show the photos to my 83-year-old grandmother, she is very likely to believe they are real.
Another notable problem is that users have poor control over text when creating with Midjourney. I can’t manage all typography elements, such as text content, position, font size, and font color. This limitation is a significant drawback, considering that combining text with graphic elements is a crucial aspect of a designer’s job.
Additionally, we can’t download images in vector format from Midjourney and edit them manually in design software like Illustrator and Figma. I think these are two reasons that many designers haven’t introduced AI into their everyday work.
While Midjourney is amazing, it often creates something illogical or misunderstands my prompts. For example, the woman in this marketing photo has two hands on one arm. When I intended to create a bar chart about 3 people’s heights, Midjourney generated charts with 5 and even 10 bars.
After conducting these experiments, I got a better understanding of the disagreement between Sam Altman and the board of Open AI. It's impossible to halt the development and marketization of AI in the face of enormous opportunities and profits. However, AI is a double-edged sword. The world should be cautious about it.
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