AI ruined posters. This human designer is fixing them

The proliferation of AI-generated posters has reached a point where human graphic designers are stepping in to redesign them, in order to demonstrate the value of a designer's unique touch. These AI-created posters exhibit distinct characteristics, such as an unnatural sheen, patterns, and a yellowish hue in their imagery. They also contain excessive amounts of text and icons, which detracts from optimal layout and design.

AI-generated posters are particularly problematic for restaurants, as they often produce bizarre and unappetizing patterns on food images. Even a well-lit photograph taken on an old iPad camera would look superior to some AI-designed menu items. Elizabeth Martin, founder of Ello Design Studio in the UK, has embarked on a campaign called "AI vs. Designer" on her Instagram account to highlight the importance of human design.

In this series, her studio takes on AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT by creating visual identities based on a creative brief and comparing them to the AI-generated output. Martin has also taken it upon herself to redesign actual AI-designed posters she has encountered in the wild, such as those produced by a British eyewear brand and for a beginner-friendly country dance course.

The contrast between the AI-generated posters and the human-designed ones is evident - the latter are more focused on creativity, rather than simply being an infographic. "I redesigned these posters to prove that when it comes to creativity, there's still something pretty special about using a human designer over a robot," Martin states.

Despite the increasing reliance on AI by businesses, Martin believes it's crucial to support the individuals behind the work, especially as their roles become more threatened. She has noticed a decline in junior designer roles, shorter contracts, smaller projects, and a reduction in the creative aspects of the job. Clients are even sending her AI-generated renders or images of what they envision, instead of a written brief.

Other designers have also joined the movement, comparing AI design in social media posts to their own human-made work and emphasizing the benefits of working with a human designer for design projects. While designers bring a unique human touch to their output, there's also a marketing advantage for businesses to hire them rather than relying on AI.

According to a survey by Bentley University and Gallup Business in Society, the differences between AI-generated posters and human-designed ones are striking.