2024 has been a shit year to be a designer. The mass adoption of Artifical Intelligence, an economic recession and new software has made it harder than ever to navigate being a designer this year.

You may be left wondering where do you fit in a changing design landscape and what steps you can take to futureproof your creative passion.

No matter where you look, there’s doom and gloom. You don’t need to look far to find artists and designers worried about AI stealing their job, or designers mid-way through their studies wondering if there will even be a job market for them once they finish.

Freelancers are struggling to find clients and struggling to feed their families. Companies are tightening their budgets, often neglecting creative aspects of their business in favour of generating profits.

The world is changing, and it’s easy to see why many people are losing their passion for design. But we’re here to tell you that it isn’t doom and gloom. 

In this post we’ll look at the future of design and how you can navigate your creative practice to futureproof your creative career.

Contents

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The Messy State of Design Today

There are several issues facing designers in 2024: 

• Companies are tightening their budgets, meaning designers and freelancers have taken a backseat. Some are losing their jobs and others are struggling to find work.
• New software like Canva and AI has reduced the need for small companies to hire freelancers and designers as they have tools they can use themselves.
• AI has transformed the creative landscape and created a mass output of digital art made from copied work.
• We have too many specialists competing for a limited number of job roles.
• Bad design education has left many with the skills to use software, but not what makes good design.
• The quality of work has slipped as companies try to race to the bottom to produce cheaper materials and easier production.
• Little concern from companies about sustainability and their environmental impact means designers are contributing to the climate crisis.

The truth is that these are pretty difficult issues facing designers. It’s easy to see why people are losing their passion for design. If you have been impacted by any of these I’m sorry to hear that, and I hope this article helps you get your head back in the game.

To understand these issues we have to look at the last time designers faced similar issues and how we overcame them.

The Industrial Revolution and the Future of Design

There’s a lot we can compare between the Industrial Revolution and the modern world of design. 

By looking at the last time we faced these issues, we can understand how we can move forward as an industry and create opportunity in a time when it seems like there is none.

If we’ve been through this before, we can do this again. Remember there is an instinctive desire for humans to be creative, that’s never going away!

Displacement by New Technology

Today

Artificial Intelligence has become a new tool that has scared everyone into thinking creative skills will be replaced by generated images and text prompts.

Industrial Revolution

Designers were faced with machines that could produce their work easier and cheaper. Many believed mass production would make their skills obsolete.

Loss of Quality

Today

The reliance on digital tools, automation, algorithms and profit is reducing the quality of creative work.

Industrial Revolution

The shift to mass production would result in the loss of traditional craftsmen and high quality goods.

Economic and Social Disruption

Today

The digital revolution is causing disruption. Clients have more digital tools than before, removing the need for designers in some cases.

Industrial Revolution

The industrial Revolution lead to changing cityscapes, changes in the job market and changed the career prospects of creatives.

Need for New Skills and Adaptation

Today

Designers must constantly update their skills to keep pace with emerging technologies like AI, VR/AR, and new digital design tools.

Industrial Revolution

Designers had to adapt to new manufacturing processes and learn to work with new materials and technologies.

Ethical Concerns and Impact on Society

Today

Ethical concerns remain paramount, with issues such as data privacy, the digital divide, the environmental impact of tech production, and the societal implications of AI.

Industrial Revolution

There were significant ethical concerns about labor conditions, environmental degradation, and the social impact of industrialization.

Interdisciplinary Design Collaboration

Today

Modern design challenges require interdisciplinary collaboration among technologists, scientists, engineers, and social scientists to address multifaceted issues.

Industrial Revolution

The complexity of new manufacturing processes required collaboration between designers, engineers, and industrialists.

The Future of Design is Interdisciplinary

One of the ways we want to help reduce the risks facing designers is by helping them build a knowledge of interdisciplinary skills by sharing our 12 Principles of Interdisciplinary Design. 

“An Interdisciplinary Designer or Multidiscipline Designer is someone who understands more than one field within design. They integrate different methods, principles and tools learned across different design specialties, like Graphic Design, Fashion Design, Industrial Design and more.”

You can read more in this post, What is An Interdisciplinary Designer?

If we’re looking back to the Industrial Revolution, then look at the designers around that time who became popular. As a backlash to the mass production, William Morris founded the Arts and Crafts movement. Designers like Charles Rennie Mackintosh had work that went from architecture to watercolour paintings. The Bauhaus promoted Interdisciplinary Design skills, and their work is still a symbol of good design today.

Why not also check out 8 Ways Modern Designers can Learn from Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Design is Becoming Oversaturated

Interdisciplinary Designers occur during periods when there are two many specialists but not enough opportunities for work. Designers need to diversify their skillset to work across different creative projects, following opportunity rather than aiming to be the best at one thing.

Today, with software like Canva and Adobe Express, which are designed for social media and small business templates, we’re seeing businesses turn to these tools when in the past they would have used a designer.

These tools have also opened up the design world when before it was inaccessible. On one hand it’s removing the barrier for entry to Design which is great, but on the other hand removing the need for designers.

Designers now need to prove they can solve problems rather than just create nice images and products for companies. They now have the tools to do that on their own. To continue navigating the creative landscape we need to ask, “what value can we bring?”

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has the ability to create any image you desire, and the technology is only going to improve. There are several controveries regarding AI, including stolen imagery, and there have been lawsuits in place. 

Some designers actively hate AI. They have put their faith in taking action against AI companies. But this doesn’t mean AI is going away. The cat’s already out of the bag, and it’s going to be a part of our lives going forward. It’s now about how we work alongside it.

While this lawsuit may change the ethical standards around how AI collects data, in my opinion, it won’t reduce the use of these kind of tools. If anything, with improved ethical standards, their usage might increase.

AI was integrated into Adobe Creative Cloud in 2023, starting with the beta version of Photoshop. Adobe trained their generative AI on datasets from within Adobe Stock. They also offer Adobe Stock contributors a small payment if their work is used within their AI datasets. You also have the option to opt out.

You can read more about Adobe and integrating AI in this post, What is Photoshop’s Generative Fill and How To Use It

The fact that the largest producer of design software has integrated AI, just goes to show that even the large companies are accepting and encouraging AI into our creative work.

We’ll be looking into AI and integrating it into our work in future posts. If you want to stay up to date with our latest posts, sign up to our newsletter.

What This Means For The Future of Design

The future of design is not about resisting change but embracing it. Designers must adapt and evolve, leveraging new technologies and methodologies, like interdisciplinary design, to stay relevant. 

Creativity is a part of what makes us human, that will never be lost. There will always be problems in the world and as designers it is our job to solve problems with well thought out and beautiful work. Now, we need to adapt the way in which we solve problems.

And there’s not a shortage of problems… Climate Change, Plastic pollution, Lack of Biodiversity. These are new problems that pose a threat to our civilisation, but they also provide an opportunity for designers to create meaningful work.

Check out How to Fight Climate Change with Your Design

Embrace Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Becoming an interdisciplinary designer requires a unstoppable curiosity. Learning from different fields of design allows you to build a holistic understanding of the design world that you can use to address the problems that matter to you.

We have created Nollie Design as a resource for you on your interdisciplinary design journey. We do this by introducing you different fields within design with the 12 Principles of Interdisciplinary Design.

Update Your Creative Skillset

Stay ahead by learning new tools and technologies, particularly those related to AI, AR/VR, and other emerging digital design tools. The world is going to change more in the next 10 years than it has in the last 50. As designers it is up to us to adapt to these technologies or be left behind.

Remember the Creative Process is flexible and can be applied to projects out with your speciality. Having an understanding of your process will make it easier to transition into different creative work.

Focus on Problem-Solving

There’s a classic phrase in the design world, “Form Follows Function.” Making sure that your design work performs as its intended is more important than how it looks. 

Shift your focus from simply creating visually appealing designs to solving real-world problems. This involves understanding user needs, business goals, and the broader impact of your work. You can add value that automated tools and software can’t copy.

Become an Advocate for Ethical Design

The world is in need some help. If things keep going the way they are, then we are fucked. Designers need to have an understanding of their impact in the world.

Advocate for transparency, fairness, and sustainability in your work. This not only sets you apart but also aligns with the growing consumer demand for ethical and responsible design.

Leverage AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement

AI is not going anywhere. It’s been unleashed into the world and it will be here to stay, continuing to get better until it’s smarter than us all combined and we found out that the answer to life, the universe and everything is 42.

Rather than viewing AI as a threat, consider it a powerful tool that can enhance your creative process. Use AI for tasks like generating initial design concepts, automating repetitive tasks, and gaining insights from data. This allows you to focus on higher-level creative and strategic work.

Cultivate a Growth Mindset

Adopt a growth mindset of continuous learning and adaptability. The design industry is dynamic, and those who are flexible and open to change will thrive. Participate in design communities, attend workshops, and stay curious about new developments in the field.

Conclusion

The world is changing and as designers we have to evolve with it. We’re facing a new set of problems but we can use history as a way to figure out how to navigate these times. 

By embracing interdisciplinary design and leveraging new technology, you’ll be able to stay versatile in a changing creative landscape. Building an interdisciplinary background will help you understand how the design world interlinks and cross pollinates. 

Design is not about how pretty things are. It’s about creating functional solutions to problems. Learning the ways that different fields within design tackle different issues, you can use these techniques to make you a better problem solver.

Because right now, the world has got big, complex and catastrophic problems on the horizon. It will be design that helps solve them, and we’re going to need interdisciplinary thinking.