Graphic Design, AI, and You

An introduction to AI-enabled graphic design.

About Me

I'm a software engineer and cinematographer.

I've done the graphic design for many of my wife's piano albums.

I've helped with the graphic design for our son's upcoming children's book series.

"Studio Ghibli style please"

AI isn't coming to take our jobs…

but the people who know how to use might be.

Foundation

While AI tools may dazzle with novelty, the heart of graphic design remains the same: clear, purposeful communication.

Having an understanding of the fundamental concepts of graphic design gives you an advantage.

Mindset

Iterative

Start with Curiosity, Not Perfection: Generative AI tools are playgrounds for creativity.

Fail Fast, Learn Fast: AI lets you test multiple design directions quickly, reducing the time and risk associated with traditional concepting.

Sketch More, Commit Less: AI is a rapid sketchpad—generate broad variations without over-investing, and refine the most promising results.

Collaboration

Many Ideas, Human Refinement

Use AI to rapidly generate diverse visual concepts, then step in to refine and finalize the strongest direction.

Focused Prompting, Iterative Editing

Collaborate with AI across multiple passes—adjust prompts and tweak outputs progressively to shape a single, polished result.

One-Shot Simplicity

For low-stakes, a single AI-generated image might be “good enough,” saving time without sacrificing clarity.

Human in the Loop

Transitioning from AI to final edits: adding a human touch.

AI Gets You 80% There—You Bring the Last 20%

Use generative outputs as a strong starting point, then apply your design instincts to polish details, align with brand, and add human nuance.

"Main character and robot high-fiving."

Recognize When “Good Enough” Isn’t Enough

While AI can produce impressive results, final edits ensure precision in typography, composition, and visual storytelling that AI often overlooks.

"The hands aren't right, the guy needs a red shirt, and shouldn't be holding a blueprint."

Treat AI as a Drafting Assistant, Not the Author

Take control once the core idea is clear—your hands-on refinement turns rough inspiration into intentional, high-quality design.

"Hands should be palm-to-palm."

Going Multimodal

Multimodal AI tools process and generate both text and images, bridging visual and verbal creativity.

Looking for a starting point?

Multimodal models like GPT-4o can analyze existing images too!

Ask the AI!

Instead of guessing what to write, use multimodal AI to co-create prompts.

Start with a reference image, ask the model to describe it, then tweak that description to guide new outputs in a similar style or tone.

Tools

Generation

  • ChatGPT
  • Leonardo.ai
  • Midjourney

Editing

  • PixelCut

Toys

  • Playground on iOS

Practical Tips

  • Be aware of the length of each chat.
  • Experience leads to familiarity.
  • It's worth a modest investment now.

Conclusion

This presentation was created with a lot of help from AI.

  • The outline was developed iteratively using ChatGPT's voice mode on my iPhone.
  • The images were generated with ChatGPT 4o's multimodal capabilities.