Graphic designers weigh in as ChatGPT’s new image generator reshapes creative industry

CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru checks in with local graphic designers amid a new AI image generator. How is it affecting the field?

A newly released image generation tool from ChatGPT is creating buzz in the graphic design community with some welcoming it as a useful tool, while others warn it could upend the industry faster than people realize.

“It’s definitely interesting,” said Niel Ricketts, a former graphic designer who now works in sales and makes caricature art for many of his customers.

“Everybody always said AI is going to replace labour jobs first. Turns out it’s the exact opposite. One of the first things it did was start making amazing visual art.”

Earlier this week, ChatGPT rolled out its new image generation tool to the public, allowing users to create high-quality visuals simply by typing a prompt.

The tool, powered by OpenAI’s latest model, can generate everything from realistic photos and stylized illustrations to brand-ready graphics, often within fewer than two minutes.

The upgrade also includes improved spelling, better rendering of text and hands, and the ability to maintain visual consistency across multiple images.

Ricketts said what’s unique about this latest version of the tool is its ability to generate consistent characters across multiple frames — something he believes could soon impact industries like comic books and animation.

“That’s a big deal,” he said.

“That’s where the viability of replacing comic book art and film starts to become more realistic in a professional capacity.”

Devon Pastorius, owner and creative director at Windsor Creative, said AI still lacks what makes creativity human.

“AI doesn’t create anything new. It copies,” he said.

“It might put things together in an interesting or unique way, but it’s still taking elements that exist and mashing them together.”

Pastorius said while tools like ChatGPT’s image generator make it easier for small teams to quickly explore ideas, there’s still a critical role for humans — especially when it comes to understanding what connects with an audience.

“You still have to come up with the idea in the first place. It’s still being directed by a human,” he said.

“The robot doesn’t know anything. It just knows how to give you what you asked for most of the way.”

At St. Clair College, graphic design student Janae Smith said her class has had regular conversations about AI’s growing role in design.

“We use it mainly for ideas,” she said.

“But it cannot replace humans.”

Smith said while AI can help generate a first draft, it lacks the nuance that comes from personal interaction and creative interpretation.

“If someone comes to me with something they got off ChatGPT and says, ‘Hey, I kind of want it to look like this,’ I go, ‘Okay, great. I have an idea.’ But that thing can’t replace me,” she said.

“You came to me to fix it.”

Smith believes people in the profession will continue to have value, especially those who are trained to work across multiple platforms.

“Computers can’t take over for us. Granted, we use computers, but they can’t do what we do,” said Smith.

Still, Ricketts believes the pace of advancement means those in creative fields need to adapt quickly or risk being left behind.

“To not utilize AI might be a mistake,” he said.

“It’s coming. It’s here, in fact. And it’s good. And it’s getting better — fast.”

He said the rise of AI is democratizing access to traditionally specialized skills — like drawing, coding or even giving legal advice — and allowing anyone to generate results instantly.

“Before AI replaces artists, artists who use AI will replace artists who don’t,” Ricketts said.

“Now the people who’ve spent their whole lives mastering a skill — studying and learning it — they’re getting undercut. And that’s only going in one direction. It’s accelerating.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, said its image generation tools are “designed to support human creativity, not replace it, helping anyone explore ideas and express themselves in new ways.”