When I start making creative choices instead than simply finishing tasks, I feel like I am truly designing. Organising files or exporting papers feels far less like design than selecting a typeface, modifying a layout, or determining how information should be delivered. Design, in my opinion, is about making decisions and finding visual solutions to issues. I feel more a part of the process when I am developing concepts and critically analysing what works.

Managing repetitious jobs is one of my workflow's biggest annoyances. It can take longer than I would want to organise files, properly name versions, resize assets, and get work ready for submission. Additionally, I occasionally get caught up in attempting to perfect minute aspects before the bigger picture is fully understood. I lose momentum and the process begins to feel more technical than artistic when this occurs. Maintaining organisation and switching between multiple programs can also disrupt my flow and make it more difficult for me to concentrate.

Instead of concentrating on increasing production pace during my research, I looked at tools and techniques that facilitate idea formation. I normally begin by mind mapping and sketching before opening any design tools. While sketching enables me to quickly test ideas without stressing about perfection, mind mapping lets me explore many themes, relationships, and paths linked to a brief. Working on paper initially, in my opinion, allows me to experiment more and keeps me from getting overly fixated on details too soon.

I frequently use Pinterest to gather project-related references, colour schemes, layouts, and design trends for visual study and inspiration. In order to comprehend how expert designers handle branding, typography, and visual communication, I also examine work on Pentagram. Examining them enables me to grasp not only an idea of the final product but also the methodology and way of thinking that go into successful design projects. I might improve my workflow by devoting more time to creating ideas using mind maps and sketches before utilizing digital applications. This would enable me to investigate a greater variety of concepts and ultimately make more assured design choices.

I was prompted to consider the future role of designers by the article's mention of a rising lack of control in creative activity. While amazing, AI's ability to create layouts, pictures, and even design concepts in a matter of seconds poses several questions. Designers run the risk of losing touch with the creative process if more work is produced by creative tools. These technologies can also make certain jobs considerably more efficient and open up new ways of working.

Designers should, in my opinion, keep the ideas underlying their creations. The ability to comprehend a brief, recognize issues, formulate ideas, and make well-informed creative decisions are all abilities that are still exclusive to humans. Technology can help with production, but it cannot completely take the place of critical thinking, intuition, or firsthand experience. These characteristics are what give design significance.

looking ahead, I believe that the job of the designer will continue to change in the future. Designers may spend more time directing, editing, and assessing outputs produced with the use of technology and less time creating each part by hand. I believe AI will alter the most valuable talents rather than replace designers. It will become increasingly more crucial to have creativity, discernment, and excellent communication skills. Finding the ideal balance between utilizing new tools and preserving a strong sense of authorship and creative control will be difficult.

fivepoint2 - leedsdotgraphics

leedsdotgraphics

workflow - leedsdotgraphics

leedsdotgraphics

ArtsByMina

While I was scrolling through pinterest looking at different art for inspiration, I came across this piece which I really took a liking to and kept looking at it for quite a while. I really enjoyed the dream like cozy feel it gave me and all the details in it really fascinated me.

What is it?

This is a painting by 'Artsbymina' its called- 'By the river'. I had found the painting on pinterest posted by someone who wasn't the artist. Thankfully someone in the comments mentioned the artist so I took their name and google searched it. From there I found her youtube channel, her social media accounts and her Carrd and Etsy shop.

She is an artist who works by herself and in her tags she mentions she uses gouache and acrylic paints. Some of her work she uses supplies either bought or given to her and always tags the suppliers, mainly on instagram. On one of her posts she has tagged @artifyartsupplies for the paint brushes she got from them. Other than tagging the companies that supply her she works completely on her own.

Behind the scenes

Artsbymina has a video up on her youtube channel "Gouache Painting Tutorial | Paint With Me - By The River", going through the whole process of the painting that I found a liking to on pinterest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl6Cc7ynQ-4. The video has the whole process of her painting, from the sketch to the final outcome. Watching the video was very inspirational to me and made me develop more interest in gouache paint. I loved how the process of her painting went from messy to everything being put together and turned into a beautiful piece in the end.

Entry Points

If I wanted to learn how to make work like this, i'd begin with finding out what paints they use and the brushes, since they can play a big role in the quality of the painting. I'd also learn the brush techniques/ strokes used to make a detailed outcome. I would also study backgrounds and see how to mimic designs and patterns and try to incorporate it into this style of painting.

Credits

Instagram

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Instagram

ArtsByMina

Painting places we all wish existed 🧚 Realism turned gouache painter 👩‍🎨 Med student • Artist Check my Etsy to shop my art! More listings coming soon! Link attached below instagram: @artsbyminaa tiktok: @artsbyminaa

YouTube

Kirke.Social

Kirke.Social

As I was scrolling through tiktok I came across this platform called ‘Kirke.social’. It was advertising a website where you can promote your artwork and offer commissioned art to people searching for non AI artwork. 

What is it?

kirke.social is a relatively new online social network and art-community platform that aims to connect fans and independent artists in one place.It is intended to be a place where individuals can find unique characters, fan art, artistic communities, portfolios, and eventually purchase or sell commissions.

When you go on the site itself on https://kirke.social/ you can see a feed or marketplace where you can explore artwork and profiles as well as options to request and pay for art commissions and a system for following artists and interacting, although features are still in development.

What Makes Kirke.social Special?

Human-first and anti-AI. Kirke markets itself as a platform for genuine artists and followers. For instance, numerous announcements (on sites like Tumblr) state that artists invite other artists and that human-made art is prioritized over AI-generated graphics. This contributes to the platform's uniqueness and explains why some users find it appealing if they're sick of the AI-driven art feeds on popular social media applications.

Kirke.social is portrayed as a fun platform for people to enjoy and makes you feel welcomed. They have a discord server with over a thousand people who are always there to help and talk. The server also allows you to show your own art and has many more experiences that you can enjoy alongside making new friends. 

What Makes this platform fun is that on their Tiktok page https://www.tiktok.com/@kirke.social?lang=en-GB they are always promoting the site in exciting ways that make it engaging for new people. The videos are fun and lively and don't feel like an advertisement.

Behind the scenes

Kirke.social's open communication of changes to its audience via social media and Discord is a noteworthy feature. In an effort to promote openness and engagement, Kirke has made it known that it maintains community platforms like Discord and Telegram to keep users informed and engaged (Instagram post by kirke.social). The platform feels more community-driven rather than remote or impersonal thanks to this constant communication, which also helps users keep informed about developments and fosters trust. https://www.instagram.com/p/C3uyCwnCYDm/?

Entry Points

I would need a few essential entry points and features in order to build a website that resembles kirke.social. To safely create and access accounts, users would want a registration and login system. A profile page on the website would be necessary for users to control their settings and personal information. The primary interface for reading postings and conversations would be a dashboard or content feed. Post creation, commenting, messaging, alerts, and a search facility to assist users in finding content and other users are examples of additional functionality. In terms of development, I would require a database to hold user and post data, a backend server to handle requests, and an HTML, CSS, and JavaScript frontend interface to offer an intuitive user experience.

VGen.co

As an artist, I do art commissions and was going through different social platforms where I can promote my art commissions and among the people I found out about VGen.

What is it?

Vgen is a platform for all artists of different kinds, whether that be illustrators, animators, 3D designers, graphic designers, writers and more, to promote their work and sell. What makes this platform unique is that to be able to sell you commissions, you require a "VGen code" which is pretty difficult to come by. This code gives access to artists to be able to sell their commissions without it all you can do is make a portfolio or view other creators. There are various different ways to be able to get a code one being entering art competitions with a prompt, the winners are chosen at the end of the month and will receive a code.

VGen is a platform for artists and non artists to connect and support one another, it is a site banning any Ai use and promotes authentic, real artists. When you go on the site, https://vgen.co/ you first see a page showing different artists, on the top saying "For the love of human creativity". You can scroll down and will see a variety of different artists promoting their art or even people who have bougt from artists, showing their artwork they received.

What stood out to me on the website is that its easy to navigate, and you can browse through different artists and can find what you need without being specific.

VGen | For the love of human creativity

VGen is a commissions hub connecting VTubers, streamers, and content creators with human artists+. Find everything you need to become a VTuber, streamer, YouTuber…

VGen

VGen also use, tiktok, twitter and instagram to promote their site and also artists. They share events and competitions and how to win a code to be able to sell on their platform. What I love about VGen is that they have a cute mascot they use to promote their site. I find it fascinating that they merged the "v" and "g" together to make a mouth that looks like its sticking its tongue out upwards, making the logo of VGen a face with its tongue sticking upwards.

Who Made It?

VGen is a community and marketplace dedicated to empowering and protecting human creativity. The Canadian site was co-founded by 'Maggie Shi'- co-founder/ co-CEO. VGen is a platform that operates as an indie, remote -first company composed of a small team of artists, creatives and developers.

About | VGen

Meet the team behind VGen! VGen is a community and marketplace dedicated to empowering and protecting human creativity…

VGen

How Did They Make It?

VGen was built by an indie team of creatives and developers specifically to act as a centralized, scam-free platform for artists and clients. Instead of relying on decentralized sites like Google Forms or attempting to use generic tools for invoices, the team built VGen with a dedicated technology stack.

Entry Points

I would require user registration and login, artist profile pages, portfolio uploads, a search engine, commission request forms, messaging, and payment tools in order to build a website similar to VGen. The website would have a frontend made of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, a backend for handling requests, and a database for storing user and commission data.

VGen ✨ comms made easy (@_VGen_) on X

Artists’ comms hub - NO AI (・👅・) 👉 https://t.co/ekcw9llQOl 💚✨ completed: #VGenComm ✧ mascots: #VGenie #VG ✧ invites: #VGenCode ✧ #VGen ✧ #VGenShop ✧ #VSONA

X (formerly Twitter)

Instagram

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Instagram

fivepoint2 - leedsdotgraphics

leedsdotgraphics

VGen

As an artist, I do art commissions and was going through different social platforms where I can promote my art commissions and among the people I found out about VGen.

What is it?

Vgen is a platform for all artists of different kinds, whether that be illustrators, animators, 3D designers, graphic designers, writers and more, to promote their work and sell. What makes this platform unique is that to be able to sell you commissions, you require a "VGen code" which is pretty difficult to come by. This code gives access to artists to be able to sell their commissions without it all you can do is make a portfolio or view other creators. There are various different ways to be able to get a code one being entering art competitions with a prompt, the winners are chosen at the end of the month and will receive a code.

VGen is a platform for artists and non artists to connect and support one another, it is a site banning any Ai use and promotes authentic, real artists. When you go on the site, https://vgen.co/ you first see a page showing different artists, on the top saying "For the love of human creativity". You can scroll down and will see a variety of different artists promoting their art or even people who have bougt from artists, showing their artwork they received.

What stood out to me on the website is that its easy to navigate, and you can browse through different artists and can find what you need without being specific.

VGen | For the love of human creativity

VGen is a commissions hub connecting VTubers, streamers, and content creators with human artists+. Find everything you need to become a VTuber, streamer, YouTuber…

VGen

VGen also use, tiktok, twitter and instagram to promote their site and also artists. They share events and competitions and how to win a code to be able to sell on their platform. What I love about VGen is that they have a cute mascot they use to promote their site. I find it fascinating that they merged the "v" and "g" together to make a mouth that looks like its sticking its tongue out upwards, making the logo of VGen a face with its tongue sticking upwards.

Who Made It?

VGen is a community and marketplace dedicated to empowering and protecting human creativity. The Canadian site was co-founded by 'Maggie Shi'- co-founder/ co-CEO. VGen is a platform that operates as an indie, remote -first company composed of a small team of artists, creatives and developers.

About | VGen

Meet the team behind VGen! VGen is a community and marketplace dedicated to empowering and protecting human creativity…

VGen

How Did They Make It?

VGen was built by an indie team of creatives and developers specifically to act as a centralized, scam-free platform for artists and clients. Instead of relying on decentralized sites like Google Forms or attempting to use generic tools for invoices, the team built VGen with a dedicated technology stack.

Entry Points

I would require user registration and login, artist profile pages, portfolio uploads, a search engine, commission request forms, messaging, and payment tools in order to build a website similar to VGen. The website would have a frontend made of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, a backend for handling requests, and a database for storing user and commission data.

VGen ✨ comms made easy (@_VGen_) on X

Artists’ comms hub - NO AI (・👅・) 👉 https://t.co/ekcw9llQOl 💚✨ completed: #VGenComm ✧ mascots: #VGenie #VG ✧ invites: #VGenCode ✧ #VGen ✧ #VGenShop ✧ #VSONA

X (formerly Twitter)

Instagram

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Instagram

fivepoint2 - leedsdotgraphics

leedsdotgraphics

Portfolio: https://www.figma.com/deck/y2WH1J7zJxBKZ80JoWeysc