Is AI Coming for Sign Designers?

ADMITTEDLY, I’M NOT the most up-to-date on AI. When everyone freaked out about ChatGPT, I was unconcerned, telling people, “Home Depot didn’t put carpenters out of business.” As a designer of 20 years, I have always believed our value isn’t pushing pixels or knowledge of software; it is our taste, critical thinking and problem-solving that determine our worth.

However, ignoring AI isn’t an option. Signs of the Times recently shared results from their Big Survey, revealing that 59% of respondents use AI in their business (see ST, March 26, page 30). While I expected these results for office tasks like email or estimating, I was surprised that 50% of signshop owners admitted to using AI for design.

Sign design requires expertise beyond a prompt. If AI had the ability to understand a new business’s brand, accurately review construction documents, and determine opportunities for unexpected “wow” moments, it would save me lots of time and money. But computers don’t think. Designers do, and in order to stay ahead, it’s time we lean into the parts of the job that require a pulse.

Show Your Work

Sign codes and regulations might limit creativity, but they also work in your favor. ADA regulations are rigid. City sign codes can be vague. Property sign criteria, if available, are limited and out of touch. Artificial intelligence, no matter how well-prompted, won’t reliably interpret requirements and limitations confusingly outlined throughout multiple documents.

As a sign designer in the age of AI, it is your job more than ever to show your work. It’s important that both your team and the client understand the time and knowledge necessary for researching sign code, exploring nuances and contradictions, and finding the gray areas that allow for compliant, boundary-pushing solutions.

Present Your Work

While not every designer is a salesperson, even fewer salespeople have any knowledge of design. It’s vital the design team be included in meetings and client presentations. Designers need to present their research and moodboards, explain their process, and walk through various directions and the thinking behind their work.

Presenting your work builds rapport and respect. You are less likely to have clients provide arbitrary feedback like “make it bigger,” because they see the logic and intent. When the design team presents in tandem with the sales team, the two work in unison. Like an instrument, music is only made when both hands work together.

Defend Your Work

Even after showing your work, some will decide to take your work and “run it through AI.” This will be incredibly frustrating. But don’t give in — defend.

It’s imperative that designers learn to hold their own. Knowing the “why” behind the work is essential for this. Feedback isn’t just expected; it’s necessary to push good towards great. But, if a client would rather feed your work to an AI model instead of providing feedback, call them out on it, not in a confrontational way, but inquisitively. What wasn’t working? Was there something we missed? What prompts did you provide AI when you uploaded our designs? It may be uncomfortable, but it invites dialogue. Once a client understands that design is a process that requires feedback, they are less likely to sneak off to ask AI for its opinion.

So, is AI coming for sign designers? Yes, but not in the way some might think. It’s just another new tool, and we often reject what we don’t understand. Until we know its true helpfulness, AI will be that uninformed new guy with an opinion on everything. If clients want to play around with it to get a taste of being creative, don’t get frustrated. Instead, help them feel involved by showing them your work, walking them through your process and sharing the “why.” You, a sign designer, are still what make great ideas a reality, and computers have yet to come up with ideas on their own.