Taste, Trust, and the Trouble with AI: Why Designers Have A Growing Responsibility
Be the critical eye that shapes the creative vision and future of our industry using AI purposefully.
We’ve all seen them. Ads that look flashy at first glance but feel off the moment we look closer. A weird composition, a too-perfect smile, visuals that scream for attention but leave us cold.
Welcome to 2025, where AI-generated content is everywhere, made by everyone, and taste is getting lost in the noise.
The real problem? Companies are using AI to churn out content without smart creative direction. Campaigns may look polished, but they often lack emotional connection. That disconnect is becoming obvious, and in my opinion, it’s exactly why trained designers are more essential than ever.
This was the hot topic in my recent live cohort session, which inspires me to write this article. As experienced designers working in spatial and emotional storytelling, we’re the ones responsible for restoring taste, meaning, and resonance to creative work, especially now that AI has become our collaborator.
Is fear of AI keeping you stuck?
If you are unsure where to begin, or already dabbling with tools, let me offer this one message:
There is absolutely no reason to fear AI taking your job, if you are a professional designer with experience in the industry.
In fact, your design education and hands-on experience delivering real-world projects make you uniquely equipped to stand out. I see it in every one of my trainings: when a trained design professional uses AI, they create with intent, emotion, and story, because they know how to direct. They just need a system. Once that’s in place, everything flows. That’s when AI stops being scary, and starts becoming a tool of empowerment.
And yes, entry-level jobs will shift, but specialist design expertise will only grow in value. What sets you apart isn’t access to AI. It’s what you bring to it: creative vision, problem-solving, taste, and the ability to emotionally connect ideas to human experiences.
We need to learn how AI works not only to use it well, but to protect our industry from the flood of bad, generic output that disconnects rather than inspires. The only way to raise the bar is to guide the output.
What is my prediction of AI in the future?
In two years, we won’t be talking about “using AI.” It will simply be embedded into every tool, just like Photoshop, Illustrator, Rhino, or V-Ray. Adobe and Autodesk are already integrating AI into beta tools and mainstream software. AI will soon be part of every designer’s workflow whether they realize it or not.
So be curious. Learn the systems. Conquer the overwhelm. And take the lead in showing what real design looks like when a skilled creative uses the same AI palette a non-designer does, and crafts something exceptional.
You’ll be surprised how powerful your knowledge becomes when paired with the right processes.
Is the Rise of Fast Content the Fall of Taste in the design industry?
No, because design professionals will still feel in their gut what feels off and what is human-centered design. However non-designers miss the mark very quickly getting trapped in the shininess of a quick AI-generated flashy fix they would never be able to achieve without AI as their design-tool. It is hard for them to lead with taste and creative vision.
According to a 2024 Deloitte study, 78% of enterprise marketing teams now use generative AI. No surprise there. But most do so with minimal human review. Speed has become the goal. Taste is the casualty.
Adobe found that 62% of consumers can sense when content is AI-generated. Over half feel less connected to it.
Why? Because people don’t just look at designed content. We feel it.
We sense when visuals miss the mark. We notice when the emotion isn’t right. We disengage when something feels hollow.
Audiences want meaningful depth and a story that resonates human to human.
What is the essential Role of Designers in the AI Era, above creating stunning work?
We should be shaping how creative AI is used to drive an ethical and dream-worthy future.
Trained designers know how to bring story, structure, symbolism, and human insight into everything we create. That hasn’t changed. What’s changed is the toolset and the equal playing field for non-creatives and professionals.
Design professionals will use the same tools to direct, curate, and refine outputs in order to apply meaning and emotion.
This is our moment to:
Set the standard for taste and clarity
Lead with intention
Guide the shift toward human-centered AI design
Does AI Amplify the Need for Taste?
When no one guides the output, AI-generated design becomes generic. It may look clean, but it says nothing. Without human judgment, visuals lack narrative, nuance, and emotion.
Designers catch what machines miss:
Off-balance composition
Inauthentic tone
Cultural missteps
Visuals that don’t serve the story
Audiences may not know why they feel disconnected, but they do. And when brands lose that connection, they lose attention, trust, and relevance.
What Can Go Wrong Without Design Intent?
The biggest danger with AI isn’t technical flaws. It’s emotional disconnection.
When content lacks human intention, it blends into the noise. It fails to move people.
You start to see:
Designs that feel flat or soulless
Stories that don’t stick
Experiences that feel rushed, not crafted
Audiences scrolling (or strolling) past because nothing resonates
In a world overwhelmed by content, the brands that stand out will be the ones that still feel human. Because their work was shaped by someone who understands people. That’s the role of the designer. That’s what can’t be replaced.
Designers Are More Than Creators, They’re Curators and Directors
In this new landscape, we must:
Critique quickly and course correct with intent
Edit with emotional intelligence
Direct with clarity of vision
Think like curators, not just creators
The most compelling content of this era will come from designers who use AI with taste, storytelling purpose, and human sensitivity.
A Final Note: Why This Matters
I don’t come from advertising. My work lives in built environments: exhibitions, brand spaces, and experiences people remember.
But most people’s first exposure to AI design is online. And when that content feels off, it shapes what they believe design is becoming.
That’s why we, as trained designers, have a role to play. Not to resist AI, but to lead it with thoughtful emotionality, human-centered intent, and creative direction.
By learning how to use AI with clarity and control, we can shape a future where design still feels personal, intentional, and human.
Your role in this new era is bigger than you think. The world needs designers who create with meaning, feeling, and the power to move people. Because that’s what sets real design apart.
Thank you for reading this far, I hope I struck something in you to make the world a better place with your creative genius and your curiosity to help shape where our industry is heading.
All the best, Marlene.
The Design Industry Needs Courageous Designers to push and guide AI boundaries.
You don’t need to drop your old methods. I still model in 3D or do hands-on prototyping when a project needs it. The difference is, I enhance these physical elements by bringing them to life with AI methods that can convey an idea infused with emotion and wonder, to spark the right amount of buy-in to the next level of an idea or vision, so that I can take my client on a journey to make them see what I see. Also I can iterate an idea from many different perspectives on top of what I used to do without leveraging AI.
But you do need to expand your toolbox if you want to work with AI knowledge in your back-pocket to guide those forward-thinking clients.
They’re not waiting for us to catch up, they’re already looking for design teams who can move fast, visualize clearly, and communicate vision without friction.
And AI, used well, gives us exactly that.
Curious how to adapt your workflow for this new era of client communication?
I teach design professionals how to integrate AI into real-world creative processes, without sacrificing originality or quality. If you are curious to learn, see if the course programming speaks to you and if it does, feel free to sign up for my course waitlist for the next cohort.
