David Tshabalala, Head of Design, Two Tone Global, writes that if you are an art director or illustrator, your distinctive style and tone of voice are your brand, and the more recognisable they are, the easier they are to copy.
OK, maybe I am being dramatic. But anyone can now recreate your signature style for their own benefit, and they probably will not, at the very least, credit or compensate you.
Over time, my aesthetic has become recognisable, and that is intentional. I want my work to be something that people feel connected to. Our stories deserve their own visual language, rooted in African identity, texture and energy. Illustration helps build that identity in a way that feels authentic and collective.
Over the past few years, I have been privileged to collaborate with some of the biggest brands in the world, and in my current role as Design Lead at Two Tone Global, I continue applying what I have learned to the amazing brands I work on.
With this prestige comes the responsibility to inspire my peers, fans and friends. The portraits below were done by people who love my work and, seemingly, who love my entire face and beard.
AI can never replicate the mutual love and real connection symbolised by the artwork above, and that is OK. The fast-food, instant-gratification vibe of AI takes away the meaningful craft and care an artist puts into their work.
And yet I use AI, and I am aware of the tension. Many image tools were trained on artists’ work without consent, and that is still being contested. I am one of those artists. I do not think it is settled, so here is where I draw my lines.
For my personal work, AI has helped me use platforms like Midjourney, Claude and ChatGPT to create resources and references that aid my creative process. I have used images generated in Midjourney and carefully curated them for digital content across various platforms. Nothing goes out without my eye on it.
For my personal experimental work, I recently created an entire game using Claude, and what started as a joke became a serious game I am still developing. I have embraced AI as part of my creative process. It helps me research, test concepts and explore new ways of telling stories. Building my Slaying Goliath game with AI and Adobe showed me how much further I can take an idea when I am willing to learn.
For my team at Two Tone Global, we start from licensed stock, so the original creator has been paid under the license, and AI alters the image rather than inventing it from scratch. We only generate from scratch when stock cannot give us what we are looking for, and that is a last resort. I always encourage my team to showcase authentic human experiences whenever possible. AI is great. Real humans are better.
I push my team to keep experimenting while standing up for craft and originality. For me, being adaptable means expanding what I can create while staying recognisably myself. As creatives, we have a huge opportunity to execute our work better and develop stronger references that sell the concept we want to clients. The final product is always crafted and refined further, so we do not produce generic ‘AI slop’. We craft lockups from scratch, refine shapes, consider typography, and use AI as the proverbial “cherry on top” to tighten art direction from an image-treatment point of view. The power is in the prompt, but the strength of the execution comes from your concept and how viable it is for rollout.
AI is a ferocious machine that feeds the meme culture generation. The power of creating something solid has fallen into the hands of the non-designer. Luckily, I believe the real artists who create meaningful work that will inspire an entire generation will be around much longer than the latest fad. But the flashy fads must be embraced. The purists need to embrace the tools. AI will not take your place, but those who use it will.
Generative AI is part of the Adobe Creative Suite now, and perhaps this is the best example of how it has successfully integrated into the modern designer’s workflow, making it an enabler and not the enemy.
AI is a tool, a damn good one. It is a means to an end, and I believe that is how we should all treat it. That does not mean you cannot design go-to-market collateral with it, especially on digital platforms. At a minimum, graphic design means communicating through visuals, copy and layout, which is why anyone can make a design with any random piece of software, like an enthusiast or amateur. What separates a designer is the thinking behind it.
Not long ago, the best AI platforms gave people 17 fingers on each hand. Today, you have to really analyse the average image to see if it is ‘real’ or AI-generated. Consumers are also more educated about AI and how to recognise it. Things are moving fast, and you do not want to miss the bus.
But the work still needs a strong concept, cultural understanding, humour and a reason for people to care. A subscription gives you access to the tools. I think developing a point of view takes a lot of work. When everyone uses the same tools, work without a point of view starts to look the same.
Three rules I would give any creative:
1. Explore with it. Own the finish. Use AI for references, comps and options, and start from licensed material when you can, checking that the licence allows alteration. Curate everything that goes out. For client work, craft and refine it yourself.
2. Be able to prove it is yours. Keep your sketches, layered files and dated versions. Put AI in your contracts: whether it is used, who owns the output, and that your work is not used to train models.
3. Invest in what cannot be prompted. As AI takes on more of the execution, creatives will be valued less for speed and more for their choices: the question worth asking, the insight worth backing, the thing worth leaving out.
I cannot speak for the entire industry or for artists, but I can speak as an award-winning content creator who is always looking for new and innovative ways to share my work. AI is not going anywhere. It is here to stay, but it will come full circle. Crafted, authentic, original work will be appreciated and preferred over AI again. The power may be in the prompt, but the passion will always dwell inside the person.
TWO TONE
www.twotone.co.za
