Month: August 2024

Using AI to Automate Creative Workflows

Posted on by Dojo Editor

By David Dunn | How to Leverage AI for Efficiency

Creativity and efficiency might sound like opposites, but in today’s design world, AI brings them together in amazing ways. If you’re a designer who still spends half your day tweaking layouts or finding stock images, this one’s for you.

By late August 2023, tools for automating creative work had exploded in popularity, and they’re only getting better.

3 Ways AI Can Help You Automate without Losing Your Soul

1. Auto-Generating Content with Adobe Firefly

Adobe’s Firefly project uses generative AI to create design elements from text prompts: “Sunset background with watercolor texture” turns into usable assets instantly.

2. AI-Assisted Layouts in Canva and Figma

Canva’s “Magic Resize” feature and Figma’s layout plugins automatically adjust your designs across devices and formats. It’s like cloning yourself … but cheaper.

3. Task Automation with Zapier + ChatGPT

Create workflows where new client inquiries automatically generate project briefs or proposals using GPT-based plugins. Save hours without losing personalization.

But What About the Human Touch?

Automation isn’t about removing the human; it’s about removing the boring. The hours you save are hours you can spend on brainstorming, storytelling, and branding—the magic stuff. Just like Fast Company reported earlier this year, automation is becoming a secret weapon for creative professionals. Those who embrace it early will leap ahead.

The Ethics of Deepfakes in Design

Posted on by Dojo Editor

The age of image manipulation is not new. But what has changed—what demands our attention now—is how easily we can manufacture truth. Welcome to the era of deepfakes.

Deepfakes are videos or images created using AI that show people doing or saying things they never actually did. By August 2023, tools like DeepFaceLab and D-ID had made it possible to create realistic face swaps with nothing more than a laptop and a few photos.

In entertainment or parody, this might seem harmless, but in design—particularly when trust is part of the user experience—the stakes rise sharply.

Let’s say you’re building an ad campaign. You use AI to generate an image of a celebrity holding your product. It looks amazing, but it’s not real. Is that ethical? Legal? Could you even tell it’s fake a year from now?

According to a 2023 DeepMind report, over 60 percent of people cannot distinguish between a real and a synthetic image when shown side-by-side for less than five seconds. That’s a design problem. And an ethical one.

Three Ethical Guardrails for Deepfake-Aware Design

  1. Transparency First
    If you used AI to generate faces or voices, disclose it. A small badge or text label builds trust—and may soon be required by law (EU AI Act).
  2. Consent Matters
    Never use a person’s likeness, voice, or brand—real or synthetic—without permission. This includes composite or “lookalike” imagery.
  3. Context Is Everything
    A parody video? Fine. A fake testimonial from a “customer?” Unacceptable. Design is persuasion and with that comes responsibility.

The question isn’t can we make deepfakes; it’s should we? And if we do, how do we keep design honest in a world where visuals lie?

AI Trends 2024: What Designers Need to Know

Posted on by Dojo Editor

By Bruce Bunner | AI Basics & Trends

It’s 2023. AI can draw like Picasso, write like Hemingway, and maybe … design better than you? Just kidding. Sort of. But if you’ve ever wished for a magic intern, AI is about as close as you’ll get—without the passive-aggressive Slack messages.

Here’s what’s coming in 2024 that every designer needs to know:

1. Smart Interfaces That Learn

Your app dashboard might soon rearrange itself based on how you use it. Think Spotify but for layout. Yes, your software is judging you. But helpfully.

▶️ Read: UX Collective on Adaptive UI

2. Prompt-Based Everything

Want a landing page for your gluten-free dog treat startup? Just type it. Tools like Framer AI and Galileo AI are making prompt-driven design the new normal.

3. AI Sidekicks in Figma & Canva

Figma’s Autoflow plugin and Canva’s Magic Design let AI assist you with layouts and copy. It’s like a design buddy who never needs coffee.

4. Ethics Goes Mainstream

Users want to know if your work is AI generated. Agencies are even putting AI disclaimers in contracts. Transparency is trendy.

Bottom line? If you’re not learning AI, you’re designing like it’s 2013, which is fine, if you still like Comic Sans.

Leave a comment with your favorite AI tool or a design fail worth laughing about. We all have one.

Who’s Accountable When AI Goes Wrong?

Posted on by Dojo Editor

By Joe Scaggs | AI Design Ethics & Current Events

As designers, developers, and technologists, we are building systems that make decisions once made by people. But what happens when those decisions cause harm?

In May 2023, the New York Times published a story about AI models that made life-altering mistakes—wrong job evaluations, misdiagnosed patients, and algorithmic bias in law enforcement systems. None of these failures had a single “culprit,” yet the impact was deeply personal for those affected.

As AI systems get more advanced, responsibility becomes harder to trace. In the case of COMPAS, a criminal justice algorithm used in US courts, studies showed Black defendants were more likely to be incorrectly flagged as high risk. This wasn’t intentional; no one said, “Let’s make this racist.” But it happened because the data used was already flawed.

Who do we hold accountable? The developers? The data scientists? The UX designers? Or the companies that profit?

Every design choice reflects a value. Choosing what data to include, what outcomes to optimize, and even how we word error messages affects real people.

The AI Now Institute and other ethics watchdogs argue that the root of many problems lies not in the AI models themselves but in the failure to design transparent and auditable systems.

The following are three ways designers can lead ethically:

  1. Design for Explainability
    Your users (and regulators) should understand why the AI made a decision, not just what it did. Tools like Google’s Explainable AI help build this transparency into ML models.
  2. Create a Feedback Loop
    Build systems where users can challenge, correct, or appeal AI decisions. This creates accountability beyond the code.
  3. Use Bias Audits
    Services like ParlAI and IBM’s AI Fairness 360 can test datasets and models for bias. Make audits part of your standard process.

We need to accept that AI is not just a tool; it’s a system. And systems require oversight.

5 AI Tools Every Designer Should Use

Posted on by Dojo Editor

The design world is evolving, and AI is helping us move faster, smarter, and more creatively. You don’t need to be a tech wizard to use these tools. You just need to know where to look.

Here are five AI tools that will supercharge your design workflow in 2023:

1. Midjourney

Turn ideas into visuals with text prompts like “minimalist logo for a coffee brand.” Great for concept art, mockups, and idea boards.
▶️ Explore Midjourney

2. Jasper AI

Write blog posts, landing pages, or UX copy in minutes. Jasper helps maintain brand tone while giving you a head start.
▶️ Try Jasper

3. Runway ML

Video editing made smart: Remove backgrounds, generate animations, and apply effects with a click. Perfect for marketing or social media content.
▶️ Explore Runway

4. Figma AI Plugins

Plugins like Magician and Autoflow use AI to generate components, align objects, and suggest design improvements.
▶️ Explore Figma Plugins

5. Khroma

An AI color tool that learns your preferences and builds custom palettes.
▶️ Try Khroma

These tools are not replacements; they’re force multipliers. They help designers spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on creativity.
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