In Focus

Every time I scroll through social media, I see another event flyer. After a while, they all start looking the same. They all have the same bold fonts, the same glossy backgrounds, and the same over-the-top lighting. Before I even read the words, I can usually tell it was made with AI.

I understand why people use AI. Not everyone has the budget to hire a graphic designer or the skills to create something from scratch. AI can be a helpful starting point. But when everyone is using the same tools and prompts, the results begin to blend together. Instead of standing out, your event gets lost in a sea of nearly identical ads.

Sometimes the mistakes are even more obvious.

Recently, I saw a campaign flyer for someone running for office. At first glance, it looked polished. Then I noticed the flags in the background. They were distorted and misshapen—classic AI errors. No one caught the mistakes before the flyer was shared. Once you see those kinds of mistakes, they’re hard to ignore, and they can distract from the message the person is trying to share.

AI-generated designs also create another problem. They aren’t truly original. They often resemble thousands of other images created from the same prompts, and they bypass the work of local artists, designers and printers who make a living creating unique marketing materials.

I’ll admit it—some AI concepts are pretty impressive. I’ve seen logo ideas and ad layouts that are creative and eye-catching. But when customers send those files to us for printing, they often don’t work. The text may be unreadable, the images are usually low resolution, and many designs have to be completely rebuilt before they’re ready to print. What looked great on a phone screen doesn’t always translate into a quality printed product.

Good graphic design is about much more than making something look nice. It’s about balance, readability, branding and knowing how to communicate a message effectively. Those are skills developed through experience, not generated in a few seconds.

I don’t believe AI will replace professional graphic designers. If anything, I think it will highlight just how valuable they are. As more AI-generated flyers flood our news feeds, truly original, thoughtfully designed work will become even easier to recognize.

Sometimes the best way to stand out is simply to create something that doesn’t look like everything else.