We’ve started to see more and more people posting posters created by AI, or jumping on trends like turning yourself into action figures or what you’d look like in the 80s. At first, it seemed to be a fun experiment to try. But honestly, they’re starting to get very repetitive.
The more I see AI posters or social posts, the more disheartened I get at the lack of thought being put into design. Yes, you need to think about the prompt you put in to get what you need, but you’re probably not thinking about the bigger picture.
So, what’s wrong with AI posters and social posts?
As a business, you might think it’s saving you time to get AI to create it for you (which might be true) but you’re losing so much more.
The brand is likely wrong
The amount of posters I see that literally have a business’ logo wrong is crazy. You can never guarantee that the logo will come out perfect or in the correct colours, and if you don’t pick up on that, you probably don’t fully appreciate your brand. You can start getting very inconsistent with your content and the brand you may have spent a long time building can get lost. Ultimately, this could start confusing potential customers.
They all start to look the same
When you start to see AI created content next to each other, they all follow the same patterns. The typeface is more than likely the same, it has the same layout and there’s always a lot going on. People have started to switch off from it. I've passed so many information boards which are full of AI posters, you start to look at them as a collective, not individually.
This also becomes more apparent around specific events like Easter and Christmas, or charity events like Macmillians coffee mornings.
You don’t need that much information
There are so many posts or posters where there is way too much content crammed into a small space. Last week, I came across a poster for a community event on Facebook and the organisers had tried to fit everything onto it. In some cases, you’d think the more information the better, but actually having too much information can blow someone's mind (which is exactly what happened to me!).
I can guarantee that if someone had asked me as a designer to fit all of that information onto one side of A4, I would have had a conversation about why it wouldn’t work and have they thought about narrowing down what they want to include. One thing AI doesn’t take into consideration is how small the text is or if anyone can actually read it, just that it needs to fit it all in.
It doesn’t need to be perfect
As a designer, it’s my job to always create the best content possible in the time I have. But for someone who isn’t a designer creating content for their business, the draw to use AI is big. You get something which works without having to spend ages trying to figure out what to do and how to make it go from an idea to reality.
But you are losing all the personality your business deserves. What you create yourself on tools like Canva may not be perfect, but you have created it. And even if it’s a little rough around the edges, your logo will be correct, your colours will be right, and people will probably pay more attention because it looks different to everything else.
I came across a Canva made poster and even though, with my designer hat on, it could have been improved, the fact it wasn’t AI made me appreciate it more.
Just remember, there are caveats to using canva. You can use their elements and templates, but you don’t own them. Same with the logos, you’ll never be able to own a logo you create in Canva. Before you start using Canva for your business, I’d check the terms and conditions to check you aren’t doing anything you legally shouldn’t be doing.
This does come with a small caveat
When I say it doesn’t need to be perfect, I don’t mean you put something together with not much thought and it will do. It still needs to have a point and be legible, but it's still better than AI. There’s a few things you should remember when trying to create your own content.
Make sure it's on brand and there’s some consistency
Having some consistency throughout your marketing makes your brand look much stronger than one which uses random templates for everything.
Check its legible
Don’t make you text too small, or put colours together which don’t contrast. Checking colours on a colour contrast tool helps make it accessible for everyone.
Give everything space
Don’t cram everything in. Really think about what you want to include and then make sure it has enough space around it. Don’t put elements too close together.
Create the right thing for the right purpose
There is a difference between what you include on a social post compared to a flyer. You won’t ever need as much content on a social post than you do a flyer or brochure.
Not sure where to start?
If you’re struggling with a marketing plan or need support with creating content, we can help with that. Drop us a message.