Is Adobe Plotting the End of Web Designers?

Default avatar.
March 15, 2017
Is Adobe Plotting the End of Web Designers?.
Adobe is one of the most well-known software companies whose tools are used by numerous web designers. Many reading this article likely use or have used Adobe at some point in their careers. That’s why it’s not without irony that Adobe is now dabbling in a hush-hush project that seeks to automate many of the tasks that designers regularly do as part of their jobs. Adobe’s new project relies on Sensei, its unified and AI and machine-learning framework. Later this month, at Adobe’s Sneaks competition, the new project is supposed to be officially unveiled. The point of the project is to harmonize graphic and web design and machine learning in a way that’s never been done before. So does this possibly spell trouble for web designers who may be put out of work? Well, that’s really science fiction at this point. However, it’s undoubtedly the implication of the unnamed project. While it’s only in prototype stage at press time, it could turn the graphic-design world on its head. [pullquote]Adobe’s new tool will automatically analyze the situation and then make recommendations on design elements to the user[/pullquote] The goal of the new project, which will also integrate into Adobe’s Experience Manager CMS, is to make it more efficient for users at large enterprises to customize websites, according to Fast Company. Here’s what that means, in practical terms, for web designers: Instead of the designer making the actual decisions on a site’s layout, colors, images, and image sizes, Adobe’s new tool will automatically analyze the situation and then make recommendations on design elements to the user. Fundamental image editing, such as cropping, is automated thanks to image-recognition technology; design recommendations are made by AI. As you can see, no web designer would be needed anymore in this process. The broader picture is, according to Adobe, something they’re calling “human-augmented” design. Overall, Adobe wants to streamline the entire design process for clients of theirs who need to work on larger projects. The AI features both image-recognition aspects that instantly crop or in some way edit the images and more traditional components that depend on text metadata for design decisions. While this Adobe project may seem unsettling to some web designers, there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Machine learning, the basis of this Adobe project, is all about automating jobs that are dull and boring. No web designer who’s passionate about his or her career would ever call design by either of those pejoratives, and that’s the rub. Machine learning has huge limitations. [pullquote]machine learning can’t be a stand-in for time-honored design[/pullquote] It’s ideal for analyzing big sets of data and spitting out recommendation after recommendation, but those recommendations have a tendency to be soulless. After all, as designers know, machine learning can’t be a stand-in for time-honored design attributes like taste, experience and an eye for design. All those things can’t be captured by machine learning. While Adobe’s Sensei isn’t going to help steal any web designer’s job anytime soon, the company has nonetheless invested a lot of money into the intersection of design and machine learning, which is at the heart of this new project. Time will tell if it will indeed automate design in the future or simply be another of Adobe’s interesting experiments.

Marc Schenker

Marc’s a copywriter who covers design news for Web Designer Depot. Find out more about him at thegloriouscompanyltd.com.

Read Next

24 Best Creative Portfolio Websites in 2023

For anyone working in a digital creative field, whether design, illustration, animation, video, or a combination of…

15 Best New Fonts, September 2023

Nothing upgrades your designs like selecting the right font. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of using the same…

Weekly Design News #1

Every Sunday we’re rounding up the best of the previous week’s stories from webdesignernews.com, and in this issue #1,…

The 20 Most Controversial Logos of All Time (Ranked)

When you hire graphic designers to create your company's logo, what do you expect? Professional designs, culturally…

LimeWire AI Studio Generative Art App

If you’re looking for the most exciting way to launch a career in AI-generated art, then you’re in the right place.

20 Best New Websites, September 2023

Are you in need of design inspiration? Are you looking for the best websites designed in 2023 to pull ideas,…

The Dangers of Deceptive Design Patterns (And How to Avoid Them)

As web designers, our role in crafting user-friendly digital landscapes is critical. We are tasked with creating user…

10 Best Ecommerce WordPress Themes in 2023 [September update]

You plan to set up shop with an online store. You know there’ll be competition. And to compete with or beat that…

5 Marketing Tools Every Designer Needs

Yes, designers do need marketing tools. From freelance graphic designers who need to land more work to designers who…

Exciting New Tools For Designers, September 2023

At the end of another summer, we are all getting ready to knuckle down for some serious work in the fall. But we want…

Elon Musk calls LinkedIn ‘Cringe’—Announces Competitor

Elon Musk recently announced his intentions to create a direct competitor to LinkedIn. Musk’s grand plan is to make his…

Everything You Need to Know to Embrace the Y2K Design Trend

The turn of the millennium was a major cultural shift, and the Y2K aesthetic emerged as a visualization of what the…