The other day Matt and I were laughing at the AI posters all over social media, so I thought I would write a blog post about it.
These posters don’t make any sense. There is way too much information on them. Letters blur into each other with no identifiable font. Images melt and heads float. It all looks a bit X-Files. And there are thousands of them!
What is going on?
AI image tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney and DALL·E are used by millions of people every week. Anyone can type a few words and generate something that looks like a finished poster in seconds – although by the time you have frustratingly re-prompted numerous times it can waste hours.
I asked ChatGPT why AI is producing such visual rubbish (please take its answer with a pinch of virtual salt):
“I generate what I am asked for, based on patterns and data. I don’t understand brand, context or whether something is actually appropriate. I just try to match the prompt.”
AI doesn’t know if something is ‘good’, it only knows if something is ‘similar’.
However, design isn’t just about making something that looks interesting, it has to work and be on point. And it has to be creative and I’m afraid, I have yet to see AI be creative.
What about a good prompt?
If someone gives AI a good prompt, it will get you a much better starting point. But you can revise and prompt and revise and prompt all you like and it has yet to generate anything worthy of design credibility.
Even with a strong prompt, AI is still working off patterns and remixes what already exists. It doesn’t understand your audience, your context, or what success looks like for that piece of work.
It doesn’t know what you should leave out.
It doesn’t know what matters most.
It doesn’t know if what it’s produced is actually right.
It doesn’t know how to be creative like humans do.
It just knows what looks similar.
AI can generate a poster but can’t tell you if it is a good poster. AI often lies.
What actually works
Design is more than how something looks, it’s about experienced human judgement.
If someone is using AI to knock up a poster for a local car boot sale, fine.
However, when I see larger organisations doing this, it does make me worry. For charities in particular.
You’re asking people to trust you and support you. If you are asking someone to give money or time and what they see feels confusing or off brand, that trust erodes.
Where we stand
At Ginger and Tall, we’re not anti-AI at all. AI can be really useful in generating ideas and direction. Or for organising thoughts.
But the important bit hasn’t changed as good graphic design still comes down to people.
Understanding the message.
Applying brand properly.
Making sure something works not just once, but consistently.
Otherwise… we’re going to see a lot more floating heads.
At Ginger and Tall, we are experts on the thinking behind the design – making sure everything works properly, is on brand, and speaks to your audience.
We’re always happy to chat – human to human!
Can you spare 3 minutes to help with some charity research?
We’ve teamed up with Swansea University to explore the impact of graphic design on charity communications.
If you work for a charity, we’d really love your input.
