+ A New Course on Sketching with Ai and Scaling with Care
Join me today as we go back to Dec of 2023! How fast time flies when you're having fun learning with Ai! Here's our newsletter for you to check out, if you haven't joined yet please do! Let's get rollin...
Hello and welcome to newsletter #33. Today we’re going to be covering three important topics:
- Ai for Design Leaders
- Scaling Care
- A New Micro Course on AI Sketching
01 / STRATEGY
Ai for Design Leaders
- Strategy: What is our plan with Ai tools?
- Structure: What structure do we need to accomplish this plan?
- People: Who do we need to execute on this plan?
If you’re in a leadership position, this is top of mind as we close out the year.
2023 has been the year that Ai tools grabbed our attention. My prediction, 2024 will be the year that we feel the impact in our design professions.
I’ve been teaching a fair share of design leaders as of late. Individuals that aren’t likely to be utilizing the tools themselves. So why then, are they signing up for classes with me and why do I think this is a sound strategy?
One, it’s forward-thinking to understand the tools that your designers are already using. And going to be using even more. According to this piece by EY.com, a recent survey showed that 54% of individuals are already using generative Ai.
Two, the best, and possibly the only way to truly understand how Ai tools are going to impact your organization, is to experience them yourself.
These tools are so dependent on the user, that you have to experience it to fully understand the possibilities.
This isn’t another CAD program, the latest iteration of Figma, or another evolutionary tool to add to the arsenal. That doesn’t require you, as a design leader, to step in and live it.
This is Ai. These are tools that are going to completely transform the way we work. The way your team works. And most importantly, the way companies perceive design.
My suggestion is to jump in on learning Ai, sooner rather than later. Especially at a leadership level. Not to be a Gen Ai pro, but to better understand how a future with Ai is going to impact how we work. It will allow you to be part of the discussion. A discussion that in my opinion, is of utmost urgency.
To any design leader out there, I’m happy to share what I’m seeing and thoughts on the future landscape. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.
02 / STRATEGY
Scaling Care
I noted how other players in the business landscape will utilize Ai to increase their value, even if it devalues design. It will allow these non-design professions to scale.
We talked about how Ai amplifies both the good and the bad, and that at this point, this battle is for the design professions to lose.
They referred to it as Scaling Care.
I found that term perfectly captured my feelings about leveraging Ai tools.
In my work, I put a lot of care into what I do. The work matters to me. Ai tools scale that care. They amplify my focus on the customer. They amplify my focus on good design as a tool for business growth. They amplify the ground I can cover with my work and therefore the impact I can have.
They will also scale a lack of care.
It won’t take long to spot the difference at organizations. If anything, I can see a future where Ai tools make it easier to see who really cares about their work and walks the walk, and who doesn’t.
03 / NEW
Introducing the Rapid Viz & Ai Sketching Course
Last week I hosted a Coffee and Ai Sketch session to talk about how Ai can play a role in more use cases than just high fidelity visuals. You can catch the recording here. Password is aixc23 in case you want to watch it.
At the end of the session I launched my latest On-Demand course, Rapid Visualization & Sketching with Ai. It’s a three part course focused on how to utilize Midjourney at different points in your workflow and new product development process.
The principles of this course apply to designers of all kinds.
I highly recommend this course as it really expands how we view these Ai tools. It has really tested my boundaries, in a good way, and I think it will do the same for you.
Ai for sketching… not something I thought I’d be typing in my lifetime! But we’re here.
Until next time,
Hector
p.s. We'd love to help you get started on your Ai learning journey! If you're ready to get designing, sketching or simply to be more informed please check out our online courses for Ai design. We cover a wide range of Ai tools and techniques that are sure to get you ahead of the pack in design. Click here to see what we have to offer! See ya'll soon!