The Future of AI in Design

The tools have changed. The playing field has shifted. And if you work in design, you’ve already felt it.

A few years ago, executing a big idea meant teams of specialists, weeks of work, and a lot of money. Today, the barrier to execution has collapsed. With the right prompt, anyone can generate concepts, images, and entire brand systems, instantly. AI tools like Midjourney, ChatGPT, and Runway are giving people superpowers.

But, this isn’t the end of design. It’s the beginning of a new era. One where imagination, taste, and intention matter more than ever.

From "Can You Make It?" to "Should You Make It?"

The shift is profound. The question used to be can this be made? Now, we will be asking should it be made?

AI lets us prototype anything from brand worlds, product ideas, ad concepts, user interfaces, even memes. All in a matter of seconds. It’s no longer about whether you have the resources to build, it’s about whether the idea is worth building at all. The scarcity has moved from execution to originality.

And that changes what it means to be a designer.

The Risk of Sameness

But there’s a danger here: homogeneity.

Most AI models are trained on what’s already out there. Which means if you’re not intentional, you get more of the same. Smooth gradients. Neo-brutalism. Retro-futurism. You’ve seen the look. You can spot the Midjourney in an image the way you used to spot a Helvetica Neue obsession in the early 2010s.

We’re heading toward a flood of fast design that is shiny, well-rendered, and soulless.

There will be a backlash. People will crave imperfection again. They’ll want to feel the hand behind the work. The question won’t be is this AI? It’ll be why was this made, and who made it?

The Real Moat Is Taste

In a world where everyone can generate, the rarest skill becomes curation.

Taste is the real moat. Not technical skill. Not speed. But the ability to filter the noise and recognize what actually deserves to exist. What will move people. What will matter.

The designers, strategists, and founders who thrive won’t be the ones who can make the most, they’ll be the ones who know what’s worth making. And why.

Human-First, AI-Fueled

At ONBOX, we use AI to go faster, but we don’t rely on it to finish the job. It’s fast becoming part of how we research, ideate, build moodboards, test directions. It expands what’s possible in early phases. But the final decision, the nuance, the storytelling, that’s still human. And it always will be.

We believe the best design is still about clarity, conviction, and care. AI helps us try more things. It gives us time to explore further. But it doesn’t replace the conversation, the collaboration, or the craft. It just removes friction.

And maybe that’s the best way to think about it: AI doesn’t replace design. It removes excuses.

So What Now?

The future of design won’t belong to those who can make the most things. It’ll belong to those who can choose the right things to make, and stand behind why they made them.

And we’re here for that.