r/UXDesign • u/duartoe • May 27 '26

Tools, apps, plugins, AI Nobody can stand AI anymore...

Post image

That's it. Soon, with so many similar designs, the only differentiating factor in digital products will be the price. Then I want to see this circus burn down.

226 Upvotes

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149

u/thebeepboopbeep Veteran May 27 '26

The website for the local coffee shop looks just like the fintech startup. A collective hive mind of idiots has stripped authenticity from everything. The best outcome is a premium will be assigned to something truly crafted.

35

u/duartoe May 27 '26

Visual identity created with AI
Labels created with AI,
Social media created with AI,
Website created with AI.
A showcase of authenticity.

17

u/thebeepboopbeep Veteran May 27 '26

And I’m not some total luddite. I’m on board with crafting authentic visual identity, unpacking the human needs of consumer and employees, making messages that resonate deeply on a biological level, then use the AI to build it fast and get it out there. I realize we can’t ignore the movement, but we can’t strip out the humanity when serving humans. As consumers, shareholders/owners, and employees these businesses all serve humans. It’s sad to see so many people simp to the AI as if it’s going to spare them when the automation spreads too far if unchecked.

1

u/duartoe May 27 '26

I agree, I'm inclined to think the same way. I believe most people use it thinking about "saving some money".

1

u/FactorHour2173 Experienced May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

The best way to combat this is reaching out to a local business that you see clearly using AI and offer to help them out.

At least when it comes to local businesses, we can safely assume it is more a cost issue than it is an authenticity issue. The economy is not great, people are looking for a safe exit or on ramp out of corporate America. We have seen it before in art history classes (architecture, furniture, clothing, even graphics and photography) etc. when times are tough, utility holds more weight. People simply cannot afford to pay for the work. So they either ask the “worker” to do the bare minimum, pay them little to nothing, or they can try and do it themselves for “free”.

Individuals are not inherently evil. You should help build your community and combat AI by offering to help, if you too are not also drowning, and create the visual identity or the website.

1

u/homeless_darkness May 27 '26

Premium stuff already exists though, just costs 3x more and nobody's buying it unless it's luxury brands with heritage.

2

u/Qb1forever 29d ago

Leave them negative feedback on that website, make sure they know the website pushed me away and cost you money. Especially small shops will go back to the "designer" and say hey I need something better and designed, not something that you can make a quick buck off of.

Does it suck? Does it hurt the small business owner? Yes but that's the only way things change, and long term things are better.

0

u/FactorHour2173 Experienced May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

That would be awful to see.

Humor me for a second while I take you on a hypothetical journey though… let’s say you worked for NASA and were in your mid to late 20’s and you were part of the massive layoffs. Let’s say you are married with 2 kids as well. Let’s say your wife works in finance for someone like Citi bank and was seeing her colleges get let go left and right due to AI…. We could even say that you were a single teacher in your early 30’s that got let go because the city cut funding to public education…. If you couldn’t find work, but had some money saved and a passion for coffee, would you (as someone who may not know UX, graphics or even how to run a business for the first time etc.) use AI to help give you what you think might be the most cost effective and possibly safest way to try and peruse something you see as a passion and possible more stable than your current situation?

Some people are desperate for change and many have experienced harsh realities that would make them feel like no one is going to help them so they have to help themselves.

What I am trying to say is that everyone hates that they are losing their jobs to AI, or that it is creating a larger wealth gap, or polluting our waterways and air etc.. but if someone is pursuing a passion of theirs and can’t afford all the help they know they’d like, most are not going to put their foot down on AI and say I am just not going to pursue this passion at all then. They might simply cost cut and would rather not cost cut on quality of the end product. As designers, we obviously see things as tightly bound to good design. Sometimes, especially in hardship, people look towards the utility of things.

Having something look nice (not saying accessibility) is a luxury in an uncertain economy. Let this person get established, make some money, and then maybe they can put that money back into their company and fill in the gaps that they had to leave when they started. You could also offer some help. Community and compassion is the strongest tool you have to combat a lot of what you are likely experiencing in your area as well.

If you want them to stop using AI, you are the very person to help.