Last week I met a group of students who were debating if there was any future in studying visual design. All of them were students pursuing bachelors in Visual Design or Visual Arts. Their main concern was that they would not get jobs since new AI tools can do pretty much most of what graphic designers do on a day to day basis on projects. Some were already taking courses in AI driven design, others were opposed to the idea of working with AI but most of them were genuinely worried that there seemed no point in studying something that was going to be replaced. There was one student who did not say anything, just sipping coffee, listening and occasionally sketching in a little book.
Their conversation was similar to many other conversations I had had in recent times with other students pursuing other subject areas (engineering, programming, music technology). It got me thinking. Is AI already taking over many tasks? Will AI platforms take over some jobs, many jobs, all jobs? Questions like these – usually fuelled by media and marketers – are what make us anxious and worried. We can reduce worry or destress ourselves by finding accurate information, studying range of expert opinion, and improve our understanding of the actual situation. I always find it helpful to take a specific example or area instead of worrying about about a seemingly all-consuming global worry. Media and marketers make everything sound as if it is an immediate problem for everyone … everywhere.
So let’s take visual design and see what we can find out that may help address the confusion and anxiety of parents and students with regards to current trends and future prospects of studying visual design.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Jobs Report 2025, graphic design is on the list of jobs that are in decline (demand is reducing and expected to continue to reduce over next 5 years). If you look at the graph from their report, graphic design is declining at a rate above 15% and the decline has been attributed to increasing capabilities of Generative AI (among other factors). If I go by this, I may be worried if I am a graphic designer. But in my opinion, the WEF is a think tank funded by major global corporations, primarily aimed at shaping and promoting economic, technological, and governance agendas aligned with the interests of its business and policy stakeholders. Its predictions are mainly based on surveys of businesses which means it is not necessarily real-time official data but it represents a valid viewpoint since their reports provide status, movement and predictions about jobs, skills, industries, countries. But is the world actually going to lose jobs and skills or gain jobs and skills as per those predictions? Should people stop reading because reports say reading, writing and mathematics is on the decline or less relevant now and in the future?
There are many other sources of information. To take one, according to Business Research Insights, “The Graphic Design Services Market stood approximately at USD 52 billion in 2024 and is projected to expand to USD 53.82 billion in 2025, eventually reaching USD 70.87 billion by 2033.” That means a modest average growth of 3.5% every year from 2025 to 2033. (Source: https://www.businessresearchinsights.com/market-reports/graphic-design-services-market-104122). If we go by this report (there are several other market research reports), it predicts a growth. But such reports too are based on surveys and represent a (different) viewpoint.
I tried to find current (2024-2025) data on university enrolments, but most data available is from at least a few years ago (before Generative AI started making an impact). I did find opinion pieces and summary predictions that demand for Visual Design programs in educational institutions are stable or growing marginally. But of course, those are opinions.
What do governments say? If we look at the US market, the Bureau of Labour Statistics records that in 2023 there were 267,200 people employed as graphic designers and that this is expected to grow to 273,800 by 2033. This means 6,600 new jobs in the 10 year forecast period, which is a very modest 2% growth, but it is a clear forecast for growth. (Source: https://www.businessresearchinsights.com/market-reports/graphic-design-services-market-104122). This represents government stats on employment, which is another perspective.
When I am confronted with a decision, I find it helpful to gather information specifically actionable data or numbers that are real. I do consider opinions but always keeping in mind that they have a vested interest. But after gathering information and opinions, I tend to look inside and ask: what do I want to study and why? This is because whenever I have taken a decision based on trends or forecasts, I have always made myself unhappy. The purpose of studying is to improve our understanding and abilities. In which field or industry we use our understanding and abilities is driven by opportunity and availability.
Here is another perspective, grounded in current reality of students from a part of Spain.
A few months ago I attended a workshop on Visual Thinking. It was conducted by a trio of young Spanish students who were also entrepreneurs. Given the popular perception that Generative AI is rapidly taking over graphed design and marketing media, and given the ocean of visual design content available online, I was curious about what they were going to present and whether it would be anything different. I guess what really piqued my curiosity was that they were using the term ‘visual ‘thinking’’ – it is a term that is mainly used in education and cognitive evaluation or related technology-enabled systems, but rarely in everyday, common language or activities.
The workshop was attended by a diverse group of participants, mainly students in the 18-21 age group, along with young professionals in their mid 20s-30s, and a few mid-career professionals and consultants above 40 years of age. The students were pursuing different degrees (business, international affairs, design, etc).
The session was fantastic. It was about how meaning is constructed and communicated through visual elements, how the approach is universal (free of language and other barriers), and there were activities that taught participants the fundamental building blocks to create visual elements. While all of it was relevant to design, it was clear that the key message was that thinking in symbols and visuals was a different way of thinking and doing.
The workshop was an idea that the three student-entrepreneurs (under the umbrella Uhina Consulting) came up with as a solution to engage with people and businesses and explore opportunities. The trio is part of a group of around 30 students from the city of San Sebastián in the Basque Country of Spain. All the students are studying different subjects at bachelors and masters level, while also developing their own firms. What was interesting was that while they built their own enterprises they worked in ‘cooperative collaboration’ on projects. Seventeen (17) of them co-founded a company called Nelta (https://www.neltacompany.com/en) that offers AI solutions for business communication, 21st century skilling for young people, and develop sustainable and ethical approaches to fashion and digital technology and marketing strategy solutions.
Not all of them have backgrounds in AI. In fact, very few of them had direct technology or engineering skillsets. And yet they offer Artificial Intelligence solutions as a group.
Which brings me back to: what you study and how you use the skills and knowledge from that study are two different things. Like many other fields of study, graphic design and visual design is evolving rapidly.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Fine Arts colleges used to offer specialisations in Commercial Art and Fine Arts. After the information technology and internet boom of the 1990s, there was a huge surge in online and computer-based products and services, which led to an immense demand of skilled/trained designers. But there were no such designers who created computer-based and online designs since these were new technologies. Commercial artists and fine artists were employed but the demand was tremendous and so the industry broke down the design tasks into parts and thus was created a huge industry with niche, limited skill requirements which employed people by the hundreds of thousands.
The following table provides a rough overview of subjects, skills and technologies related design over the years.
| Era | Dominant Media | Tools | Skillsets | Degree & Areas |
| Print (Pre-1980s) | Print (books, posters, magazines) | Letterpress, phototypesetting, airbrush | Illustration, typesetting, layout, calligraphy, print production | BA/MA in Fine Arts, Commercial/Applied Arts (focus: Typography, Print Design, Illustration) |
| Early Digital Design (1980s-1990s) | Desktop publishing | Macintosh, PageMaker, Illustrator | DTP layout, digital typesetting, vector/raster editing | BA/MA in Design, Visual Arts, Communication Arts (focus: Digital Illustration, Layout, DTP) |
| Web & Multimedia (Mid 1990s-2000s) | Websites, CD-ROMs, Flash | HTML, CSS, Flash, Dreamweaver | Web layout, multimedia design, basic UX | BA/MA in Multimedia Arts, Communication Design, or Digital Arts (focus: Web Design, Interactive Media) |
| Cross-Media & Branding (2000s-2010s) | Web + Print + Mobile | Adobe Suite, CMS, After Effects | Responsive design, branding, motion graphics | BA/MA in Visual Communication, Graphic or Visual Design, or Branding (focus: Cross‑Media Design, Motion Design) |
| UI/UX & Digital Product Design (2010s-2023) | Apps, SaaS platforms | Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision | UI/UX, prototyping, design systems | BA/MA in Interaction Design, Product Design, User Experience Design, or Visual Design (with UX focus) (focus: HCI, Digital Interfaces, UX Research) |
| Generative AI (2024 onwards) | Multimodal & AI‑augmented media | Midjourney, Firefly, Figma AI, Runway | Prompt design, AI collaboration, ethical multimodal design | BA/MA in Creative Technologies, Computational Arts, Generative Design, or Visual Design (with AI focus) (focus: AI tools, Speculative Design, Ethical Tech Use) |
What is important to remember is that most of these are still co-existing: Print media, digital media, web and multimedia and Gen AI. Print is still in demand but when compared to digital or online media, percentages are lower. Some skillsets are no longer required (manual typography for instance) but the knowledge is still relevant.
Today, we are facing a similar change except that generative AI has integrated the components that made up graphic design skills, forcing yet another evolution of roles and skills. The best part is that design skills are back at the centre, instead of repetitive low-level task-skills. The focus has shifted from need to master software to develop design thinking and core creative skills.
There is a clear trend towards integrating Generative AI within design processes, modify design workflows, focus on AR/VR/UX design skillsets, greater demand in analytical design skills and an evolving demand for ethical and sustainable design approaches. And these trends are well reflected in the dynamic updates in university curriculum of design programs as also the increased focus on internships and industry partnerships at various levels. BA in Visual Design has been evolving through the eras, retaining core components on concepts, sometime adding components to cover evolving concepts and always offering elective/minors in emerging areas such as branding, interface, digital systems and so on. In the Generative AI era, Visual Design programs are likely to increasingly include modules on AI tools, prompt engineering, and ethical considerations—preparing designers for a future where AI is part of the creative workflow.
So, should you study Graphic or Visual Design or Visual Arts (Visual Arts is a different, broader area of study) even though Generative AI seems poised to take over? Absolutely yes, if you are really interested in learning and mastering the concepts of design, visual thinking, and developing approaches and skills to create products and services through visual design abilities.
No one can predict the future with an absolute guarantee. The current emergence of Generative AI itself is proof of that. We live, study, learn, plan, work, relearn, replan … basically deal with opportunities and challenges as we encounter them.