Will AI take your job? Reflections from a designer

Why artificial intelligence is an opportunity for creatives (and where the real danger lies)

I saw a friend the other day, and he asked me the question I hear more and more in this profession: Aren't you afraid AI will take your job?

There is always a certain hesitation when thinking about what will happen in the future, whether I will be able to keep up with new trends, new ways of working, or even new personal goals. Predicting the future is difficult.

But with the rise of AI, I don't see it as a threat. I see it as an opportunity.

The reality: many people will have to pivot

It’s true, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Many people who focus on repetitive work will see their roles transform or disappear. I personally handle a large portion of repetitive tasks directly in Figma with the help of Claude. What used to take me hours now takes minutes.

But here is the important nuance: most creatives never liked repetitive execution anyway.

It gave us anxiety. The fun part has always been arriving at the idea, experimenting with color combinations, exploring shapes and typography, and giving meaning to the design. Who actually enjoys spending days on wireframes, creating a thousand screens to fill with client content, or generating variables one by one in a design system?

Nobody. And if anyone says they do, they’re lying.

AI as a tool, not a substitute

That’s why I see it as an opportunity. A tool that allows us to focus on what really matters: creating.

Just like with the arrival of Photoshop, vector software, or Figma replacing Sketch, designers have always had new tools to be more creative, explore ideas faster, and improve our deliverables. AI is just another tool in that evolution, not a disruption.

What has changed is how we create. We can deliver better results, more comprehensive designs, and even build a scalable system with the same effort it used to take us to deliver just one website.

But what about people who build their own websites with AI?

Here comes the other recurring question: won't people just make their own logos, websites, or apps directly with AI and leave us without clients?

My opinion is clear: Just as the internet is full of poorly made logos, websites, and apps, there will always be people who undervalue professional work or simply don't need it.

And this isn't a problem that started with AI. We’ve spent years dealing with logos made in Canva or bought on stock sites for €20. We’ve had over a decade of WordPress templates and ads promising a professional website in a minute.

And yet, the price point for professional work hasn't dropped. I don't think it will in the near future.

Why? Because there will always be those looking for a shortcut and those looking for quality. They are different markets that coexist without getting in each other's way.

The dark side that does worry me

So much for the optimism. But there is a dark side, and that is what really makes me think.

Unlike all the tools designers have had in the past (Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma), this is the only one that learns from professionals and feeds on the work we do.

Photoshop never learned to design better just because we used it. AI does. Every image generated, every text polished, every interface created by a professional human feeds the models that will later automatically generate similar versions.

It’s a new situation, with no clear precedent in our profession. And I still don't have a clear answer as to how this will evolve in the long term. Anyone who says they do is lying.

What continues to give value to the professional

Despite all this, there is something that still works in favor of professionals, and it’s what gives me peace of mind today.

Most of the work created today is mediocre.

I don't say this out of arrogance; I say it because it is the observable reality. Generic websites that look like templates. Logos that could belong to any brand. Designs without criteria that look good but communicate nothing. Work done quickly, without strategy, without context, without purpose.

Amidst that noise, we professionals can still bring vision and real value to the market. Judgment, strategy, context, purpose. These are the things that no AI provides yet, because they require understanding the client, their business, their goals, and their nuances.

AI generates results. The professional decides which result makes sense for each situation. That difference, as of today, remains enormous.

Conclusion: neither a threat nor a savior, just a tool

If I had to summarize my stance: AI isn't going to take jobs away from good professionals; it’s going to make us better.

It will transform what we do every day. It will eliminate the repetitive execution that no one enjoyed. It will force us to specialize in what truly adds value: thinking, deciding, critiquing, and leading.

Will there be less purely execution-based work? Probably. Will there be more demand for judgment, strategy, and vision? Without a doubt.

Those who know how to adapt will have an interesting decade ahead. Those who resist change will have a hard time. Just as it has always been with every technological revolution of the last 50 years.

The question isn't whether AI will take your job. The question is whether you will learn to work with it or against it.

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