No matter where you’ve been, it’s impossible to have missed the explosive growth of generative AI over the past two years. Consumers have never adopted a new technology this quickly, and its potential to transform industries in unexpected ways shouldn’t be underestimated.
When it comes to design, groundbreaking tools like DALL-E, Midjournery and Adobe Firefly have posed eye-opening – and at times confronting – questions about the future for creatives around the world.
Is generative AI a threat to professional designers, or will it serve as a tool to ultimately elevate human creativity? We surveyed just over 10,000 freelance designers to understand their attitudes and opinions on AI and design today, and to compare how these views have evolved over the past 12 months.
With input from designers in more than 135 countries, the data touches on topics including how designers are using generative AI in their work today; how their attitudes have shifted as the technology becomes increasingly mainstream; the financial impacts it has had, and the role they see generative AI playing in shaping the future of their careers and the design industry at large.
AI as a creative ally: how designers use the technology today
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Although click-bait headlines often suggest that generative AI could ruin the industry, only a small number of designers have no interest in using the technology in their creative work.
In fact, 52% of freelance designers are already using generative AI tools (up from 39% in 2023) and another 24% want to start incorporating them in their creative process.
AI enhances simplicity, but not creativity.
– code.signs
AI adoption varies by generation, with Gen Z designers leading the way in using the technology. Usage decreases as age increases, but while Baby Boomers have the lowest current adoption rate (40%), 31% say they want to start using generative AI tools in their work – showing there is a desire to leverage the technology across age groups.
