🤝 Our key message: AI as support, not a threat
As humans, we often fear what we don’t understand. Totally natural.
And it’s the same with artificial intelligence. But it’s worth realising that this fear comes from a lack of understanding – and the only way to overcome it is through learning and curiosity.
In tough times, it’s tempting to cut back on learning and treat it like a luxury. But right now – especially in the face of recessions and layoffs – investing in your development can seriously boost your future prospects.
It’s not AI that’ll take your job. It’s the people who know how to use it effectively that might.
So, education – particularly in new technologies – is key to gaining a strong competitive edge. And AI is one of those technologies.
⚒️ Tools are secondary. Vision is everything.
In design, just like in art, the final result has always been about the creator – the tools were just there to bring the vision to life.
From handmade brushes and sculpting chisels to digital tools – creatives have always worked with what they had.
And now, AI is simply one more tool in the kit.
But no matter what you use, the real magic lies in your ability to create a thoughtful, cohesive vision. A good designer knows their goal before they even open a tool. AI just helps speed up the process of turning that vision into something visual.
If AI can cut a task from 5 hours down to 5 minutes, that doesn’t mean the end result will be worse – on the contrary, you’ll have more time to iterate and explore options.
So yes, AI gives us faster workflows, but it’s the designer – with full control over the user journey, product features, and key interactions – who still shapes the outcome.
And one thing’s for sure: AI is set to play an even bigger role in the design process. So how can you start using it right now? 👇
🤖 ChatGPT in the designer’s toolkit
Let’s have a closer look at one of the most popular AI tools out there – the trusty ChatGPT. (Let’s be real – who hasn’t had a little back-and-forth with this cheeky brainbox? 👀)
🤝 Your brainstorming buddy
One of the toughest parts of design work? That dreaded blank page syndrome. You know – that wide open canvas and zero clue where to start. Been there, felt that. 🥶
That’s where ChatGPT can be your virtual sidekick, helping you break through that initial creative block.
Than rtner! 🧠
Some examples:
1️⃣ Need help coming up with headlines, navigation styles, or page layouts?
Say you’re working on an e-commerce site. You can ask AI for SEO-friendly headlines, menu layouts, or button styles.
2️⃣ Want to test different versions of the same concept? Just ask ChatGPT to explore other approaches to your design problem and it’ll suggest alternatives worth considering.
3️⃣ Need something with a bit more flair? It can help with more unconventional layout ideas – perfect for standout projects or when you want to push boundaries.
📘 A quick guide to design patterns
ChatGPT is also a brilliant source of design pattern knowledge, especially when it comes to UI work.
With access to a vast knowledge base, it can quickly give you current trends and best practices for different platforms.
📲 Want to know how menus typically work on Android? Or the best navigation structure for iOS? ChatGPT has your back – saving you hours of digging through docs and forum threads.
📊 Design optimisation + integrations
ChatGPT can also help you optimise your design for UX – suggesting intuitive interactions or helping align your work with user experience best practices.
On the flip side, it can speed up the design process when integrated with other tools. For example:
🖼️ With DALL·E or Photoshop’s new AI features, you can generate and edit images in a flash.
Need to tweak image formats or drop in an extra element? ✂️ Just a quick prompt and you’re done. Time saved = more time to focus on the big stuff. ✨
⚒️ Designing websites and graphics with AI
Of course, AI’s not just about ChatGPT. ✋
🌐 In the web design world… things are buzzing!
Take Framer AI – it lets you generate fully functional websites from… simple text prompts. Seriously!
All you need to do is describe the goal of your site and who it’s for – AI does the rest. It builds out a working design that you can then customise to your heart’s content.
Bonus: its AI can also help translate or rewrite copy. Handy stuff!
💡 Webflow has an AI assistant too. It helps you troubleshoot and learn as you go – searching the entire Webflow University to answer questions on the spot. :)
And soon, thanks to a collab with Intellimize, Webflow’s WXP (Website Experience Platform) will offer next-level no-code + personalisation tools for high-performing, conversion-optimised sites. 🙌
🎨 And don’t forget to add Midjourney to your toolbox – a powerful image-generation tool for your digital artwork.
It’s not only great for quickly creating visuals, but also for kickstarting your creative process. All those visuals can inspire new directions and spark fresh ideas for your projects.
⚒️ Automating teamwork
Fun fact – AI can also help streamline team workflows. 🤝
💡 For example, Figma and Miro now use AI to automatically summarise brainstorming sessions.
That means you can quickly organise, digest, and – most importantly – act on the key takeaways.
📓 AI can even take care of repetitive stuff like… note-taking during meetings.
We sometimes use Zoom for this – and we love it! ❤️
💡 Pro tip – how to talk to AI?
🗣️ Keep it simple
→ Use short, clear sentences. Talking to AI is a bit like chatting to a 5-year-old – one that happens to be a genius. But still – keep it straightforward.
→ Avoid complex metaphors or shortcuts – it might miss the context.
📚 Learn the art of prompting
→ Crafting great prompts (aka prompt engineering) is the key to getting useful results.
→ There are loads of resources out there – for example, check out flowgpt.com.
You can learn through trial and error, but it's faster (and less frustrating!) to learn from what's already out there. :)
🤔 Ask the right questions
→ Be clear and specific. That way, your answers will be too.
→ Stick to “one question at a time”.
🙌 Break tasks down
→ Working on something complex? Try splitting it into smaller, more manageable chunks.
🕵️ Set a role for your AI
→ Did you know you can give AI a role to play? 👨🎤
Marketing expert? Finance wizard? It’ll adapt its answers to suit your context and industry.
💡 Experiment!
→ Start simple, test different techniques, and get more precise over time. The more you explore, the better the answers get. 🤲
