I recently came across an online post criticizing a Canadian Tire ad that was very clearly created by AI. The text was illegible (most AI models aren’t excellent at text). The model’s face was plasticky. And everyone was piling on, saying things along the lines of: “Shame on Canadian Tire. They should have hired a Canadian model, photographer, and graphic designer.”
While I can appreciate where this is all coming from, the reality is that the cat is out of the bag. As I’ve said before: What is real anymore? It doesn’t matter. We all have to adapt. I have, for example, noticed a dramatic change in the architectural workflow on our projects. We are now seeing an infinite number of visualizations throughout the design process, and that is making it a lot easier to iterate and refine ideas. So much for the quick blue foam models.
On some projects, where we have a collaborative working relationship with the design team, we now send AI renderings back and forth in group chats: “I’ve changed the material on these soffits and modified the brick coursing. What do you think?” None of it is perfect. But neither were the physical models and other tools that we used to rely on to test ideas.
If anything, it’s overwhelming in the best possible way. The creative possibilities are endless.
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