Why Using AI in Art Briefs Can Stifle Creativity

Illustration by Beth Goody.

By: Edward Burns CEO, ITSme

AI art tools such as Midjourney or Flux are becoming more and more capable, and that fact is impossible to ignore. With these developments, it can be tempting to use AI-generated art as reference material when briefing a project. While AI has its uses, we at the ITSme Group feel that using AI-generated art in art briefs can stifle creativity more than encourage it. This can result in narrower, shallower, less original deliverables. We believe that the strength of human creativity and interpretation far outperforms anything an AI could inspire.

We know that you respect the work of artists as authentic creators, and it may seem like providing precise AI art as references can only make an artist’s life easier. The problem is that AI art is merely a literal interpretation of prompts and keywords. The product may look pleasing, but it’s often surface-deep and tends to provide little in the way of inspiration. In fact, it can confuse the message for the artist more than clarify it. An artist may be prompted to try to imitate that art – even when their own interpretation might be brighter, better, and far more appealing.

We all know that art is subjective. We rely on that subjectivity – the artist’s experiences and feel for the market, their human empathy and imagination – to generate art that resonates with audiences and give us something totally unique.

We’ve seen this before: If you brief two artists with the same AI reference art, you’re likely to get two slightly different versions of the same thing. If you allow two artists to interpret the brief and deliver art in their own authentic brands, you’re likely to get two vastly different products that equally meet, or even surpass, your expectations – products that human buyers are drawn to. It is the depth of human experience that makes a piece of art appeal.

It’s also true that client and artist relationships go both ways. AI art can make a professional illustrator feel unappreciated and undermined, even just as example art. And worse, if a client gets attached to aspects of the AI art, there can only be disappointment on both sides.

For these reasons, the ITSme Group encourages clients to stick to more traditional methods of briefing, and avoid the temptation of including AI-generated artwork. We trust that our artists know how to interpret your needs.

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