For years I struggled with the juxtaposition between art and design. How are they different? How are they alike? Are they the same? And while the thinking, dedication, and skills required for either field are similar, the end result is where the path splits. The world of creativity is a blank canvas. You can set anything you imagine on said canvas but the interpretation of it is what separates art from design. As an artist, I can glide the brush in abstracted forms like Franz Kline or “simply” paint one circle like Kazimir Malevich and consider it finished. The output can be intentional and significant to me as the artist but interpreted entirely different by each viewer. Within art, it doesn’t matter what influenced me, or how anyone interprets my work so long as it strikes emotion or thought from the audience. While the former approach is noteworthy, design (good design) on the other hand, is often times reverse-engineering the process of art. By taking into consideration the audience, the client, the product/brand, and how everything will coincide with the end result. In design, if your canvas is not immediately understood upon first glance, whether that be from illegibility, improper color usage, and so forth, then your design is bad. Bad design has cost lives and altered political history forever. The world of professional creativity and especially the field of design, is about establishing order in a world of chaos. However, in our mission to establish order, have we hindered the progression of the very fields we love and hold so dear?
While I am a designer, this article is a call to action for all creatives. Artificial intelligence is something we know is coming. A.I.’s progression in such a short period of time is frightening. Whether you’re an illustrator or graphic designer, painter or photographer, AI may very well replace your job within the next decade. But it doesn’t have to be that way, that can only happen if we repeat our methods over and over. Algorithms do not yet have the capacity to develop their own thinking independent of human behavior, depending on their code, they rely on our behavior in order to generate “original” output. It’s the same reason we no longer have telephone operators or why so many companies use bots for customer service, because the professions became so systemic that algorithms learned the behavior down to a few hundred prompts. But the inevitability of AI’s advancement is not synonymous with the obsoletion of our roles as creatives. It does however force our hand in evolving our skills and practicing alternative approaches to the way that we create as a whole. When taking certain practices into consideration, the methods have not changed in decades, graphic designers today follow the same rules as they did 50 years ago before computer aided software existed and as a result of that, we have a slew of agencies and collectives around the world that are all creating the same exact style of work. It’s become so common that even the big guys are noticing.
Firstly, there is a major issue with diversity in creativity. When you audit the landscape of top agencies right now (I have) you’ll notice most of the teams look the same with very little difference in their background whether that be ethnic or alumnus. While that may not be intentional, we do need to consider the schools we hire creatives from and who has access to said schools. Who even has access to creative knowledge? The tools we use, the multitude of mediums, some people have no idea that certain roles exist in the first place. If all of our agencies use the same criteria for their hiring process, then they maintain the same structures and ultimately the same output. Accessibility is step one on how we can start to improve our field. By hiring individuals who don’t have traditional art and design school backgrounds but still want to create and are eager to learn and grow. By widening the lens on creativity we can also diversify the output, better represent brands, and help audiences feel represented and heard. Educational institutions, non-profit or charitable organizations, and ecological advancement should be a priority for every creative around the world.
The creative process in most studios is the same. From organizational structure to process. Our lust to establish order in a world of chaos has lead to a systemic approach to creativity which has ultimately plateau’d our output. This is another reason so many rebrands and modern artists all look the same from fashion design to photographic language. We can shift this error by altering our process for each project. Change the approach to each of your paintings, to each rebrand, to each article. By shifting the way we engage with our work and how we create, we can evolve the output and ultimately attract more creatives with a unique perspective on the craft. I believe this is key to making our fields operationally sustainable as artificial intelligence learns our every move, and eventually mimics it. Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary practices are the future, combining a multitude of mediums to make one cohesive project, and engaging each project with a new system according to needs of the client or audience.
As I near a decade in my field, toying with the grey area between art and design (but mostly design) I constantly ask myself four questions. What are we making? Why are we making? Who are we making for? How does this benefit the world? I believe these are questions every creative should ask themselves. Whether you’re a writer or designer, painter, or videographer, which side of history do you want to be on? Infamy and profit alone are inevitable if you are persistent in your craft. I’m a firm believer in the “10,000 hour” ideology and with that being said, in a world full of aesthetically pleasing content that follows all of the “rules” surrounding creativity, how can we push beyond the norm and truly elevate our fields? Do you want to make good work or do you want to make GOOD work? Anyone can create something visually or sonically striking, but are you creating things that make people resonate with your work? Feel heard? Are you talking about issues that need addressing? Working on issues that need addressing? I would argue that if you create solely for self then you aren’t a creative at all. I believe creativity is a visual (and oftentimes sonic) language that should be used as a tool to improve people’s lives. Creativity is so much more than a commodity and we as creators should always question what we are doing and push the work to be a positive addition to the world. Don’t be afraid to be the elephant in the room. Don’t be afraid to cover a topic no one has heard of yet. Don’t be afraid to visually execute something that no one has seen before. We can use historical references as a foundation to establish new creative output but the end result should not mimic the past, we should push further. By doing so, we can elevate our fields and inspire entire generations of aspiring creatives to come.
And now, my pitch(I’m joking, partially).I hope that more organizations in time realize how critical it is we evolve our fields right now more than ever. We are at an extremely crucial point in history considering the concept of machine learning and I fear that if we do not shift the way we creating right now in a microwave state then we risk entire departments, fields, and mediums being lost to artificial intelligence. We risk irreparable damage not only to communities but the world as a whole if we do not take a stance and reflect on how our work can be sustainable, inclusive, and truly progressive. Order (the noun) is good, but thoughtless repetition leads to redundancy. There is no wrong way to create, there’s only productivity and counter-productivity. I realize how heavy this idea is and how it could take years to execute within any company so of course, I have a doodle and step one of the process for you all below. I propose we deconstruct the traditional organization chart by embracing individuals multidisciplinary skillsets, allowing people’s roles to be cross functional, and leaving the door open for communication on multiple levels. “All hands on deck” if you will. I believe a slew of the problems across creative fields can be solved this way, and as bizarre as this idea may sound right now. I also believe that this structure or another like it will be the future of not only creative agencies, but companies around the world in due time.