Over the past year, AI has generated excitement and disappointment. Of specific interest to designers is the surge in startups offering AI-driven 2D image and 3D model generators, among other niche services.

As a designer who thrives on visual creativity, I have a unique stake in the evolution of AI tools. My hope is for these tools to spark a creativity revolution by simplifying and enhancing the tools we already rely on. Current AI platforms like Midjourney and DALL-E, while impressive, fall short for client work due to limitations in fine-tuned control, privacy concerns, and lack of integration with existing design workflows. There is also that small matter of copyrights.

I anticipate that future developments will seamlessly integrate AI features into the design software we use daily, eliminating repetitive tasks and freeing up time to be more creative. AI may also allow us to develop ideas that may now seem impossible due to their complexity. This integration should also address privacy issues, as our original work—and by extension, our clients’ work—would be safeguarded under existing privacy policies.

At present, our use of AI tools in client work is minimal. We primarily use ChatGPT to assist with rewriting and organizing workshop outputs, taking care to remove any client-specific or proprietary information beforehand.

In a positive development, artists in California have recently won a legal victory against AI copyright infringement.

Looking ahead, Wild Oscar will continue to explore and experiment with AI tools outside of client work. We have numerous ideas on how AI can streamline repetitive tasks, ultimately allowing us to focus more on creative problem-solving.