The value of digital craftsmanship and artistry
The latest developments in design and auto-generation software have led to chattering and worry in the media about potential job losses, and functional redundancy in the creative tech sector. It’s a tech-sistential crisis!
New software such as Canva and WordPress have made graphic and digital design astoundingly simpler. The user need not even wield their imagination as there are ready-made templates, automated generation tools, and plugins galore for the entire branding process, from colour schemes to professional-looking logos.
Software makes it easier for amateurs to replicate the skills of the highly practised, educated, and experienced in a few easy steps. There is still a gap to bridge, however, for the technologically inexperienced, between the drive to create and actual digital skills.
Expertise and skills honed over years of study and industry experience, intellect and creativity developed and tested over time. Our refined craft of storytelling – through graphic, motion, and digital design, branding and copywriting – cannot be outperformed or undermined by advanced software and algorithms used by the unacquainted.
On a ship you would want a well-travelled, experienced, salty sea Captain at the helm! Someone who knows how to navigate, and does not underestimate the deep unpredictable ocean. Similarly, creative people will always produce better results with the tools they have at their disposal. A ship is only as effective as its Captain. Software is only as creative as its user.
AI prompt: boat at sea, crashing waves, stormy, wide shot, ultra high resolution, 16:9
The value of creative adaptation
The crème-de-la-crème of digital spaces are and will continue to be planned, designed, and built by human experts using experience and skills which mature with each new project. Flexible, transferable skills which can adapt to the changing productive and industrial landscape, and be applied in different ways depending on what’s required.
There will always be a demand for creatives in the digital world, regardless of how advanced auto-generation software becomes. Without the spark of a creative mind the product eventually runs the risk of being generic and repetitive. Without real human artists the internet of things would be incredibly boring, and would become an increasingly stale and bland place.
New software is not in itself competition. New software means new tools, new ways of thinking and producing. Designers and artists are in the best possible position to quickly adapt to and take advantage of new software. Indeed, it’s in our interest to do so. This easy ability to adapt will endure long after the initial novelty of the latest software and computer-generated artwork from the likes of DALL-E. Effectively, new software can push digital artists to think outside the box and provide new means of inspiration. This is by no means an end to human creativity or creative industry employment.
AI prompt: man destroying a computer, photo realistic, 16:9
The value of custom-built and human-made digital assets
Creative people will always be at the heart of the digital production process, delivering the best results with expertise, intellect, and skill. There’s the whole process of planning and storyboarding to go through, involving the very human capacities to build and sustain meaningful relationships, and read between the lines.
Skilled and creative people working collaboratively will still continue to produce outstanding results – and this should assuage some of the worry from designers, writers, and developers about their job security. Or rather the moral panic about advancing technology rippling its way through the media.
Creativity will always be in high demand, and having the right team of digital artisans on hand is an invaluable advantage to any business. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg! Astute leaders know they cannot do everything, and delegate specific important tasks to those who have the specialised and refined skills to carry them out with flair and finesse.
AI prompt: Sunny landscape hills, cinematic, photo realistic, 16:9
To prove the point that software is only as creative as its user, we challenged our Technical Lead, Mike Wood, to see what he could create using prompts from this article. We were stunned with the results! These images were made using Midjourney.
Affari Media is a creative agency at the forefront of B2B marketing in the technology sector. Our team creates vivid and dynamic digital assets, curating revolutionary experiences for educational and marketing purposes.
