Before AI, building a website required coding skills or paying a developer to build one. Recently, I have experienced firsthand how this process has changed. Two weeks ago, as part of a case during a job interview, I was tasked to build a website for remote workers with an AI tool called Lovable. Lovable is similar to ChatGPT however, where ChatGPT generates an answer based on a prompt, this tool creates a whole website. Instead of writing code, I was writing and perfecting my prompt in ChatGPT, after which I inserted it into Lovable.
In my first prompt, I simply described what the website should contain, such as the content that must be displayed, as well as what the website should look and feel like. In this case, I specified that the website should contain several key topics related to the case described and should look professional but still be minimalistic. Within minutes, Lovable created a website that looked extremely professional and catered to almost all my specified needs. What surprised me was that where a developer could take hours/days to develop such a website, I only needed to craft a prompt.
What stood out to me the most was that the process felt more like a conversation with a very skilled and fast website developer. After my first prompt I noticed that some minor things were missed, I went back to improve my prompt, and within minutes, the website was finished. This is when I realized that instead of taking years to learn to code and build websites or hiring someone else, I could now pay a subscription fee for an AI tool that can build infinite websites and put them online immediately through another tool.
Website creation or other digital creation is no longer exclusively to those who have a technical background but rather to those who have access to the internet. With AI tools like Lovable, anyone with internet and the ability to articulate an idea clearly can produce something previously unimaginable in hours. This begs the question: does the introduction of AI platforms such as Lovable mean that digital designers could one day become obsolete as tools like these continue to advance?
For those who would like to experiment with 5 free credits on lovable, below is the link:
I think that with the introduction of such mentioned AI applications could indeed bring somewhat of a challenge to digital designers. They indeed have to justify their purpose and redirect some of their offerings, though they would not become obsolete. My main argument would be that design does not exist in isolation. The human nuance makes a world of difference. It often emerges from contact and participation with clients, marketers, engineers, and users. This means that the designer’s role implies asking the relevant questions, challenging assumptions, and guiding people/clients toward clarity. An AI tool may generate outputs, but it does not engage in this human, iterative process of discovery, allowing one to develop more than just a website.
Morover, though AI tools can create and mix existing patterns and styles, they can not create new visual languages in the way designers do. Every cultural movement in design in history has actually emerged from the human imagination and, with emphasis, experience. Here, a website or digital product is not only about what is made but why it is made and its emotional connection with users. Though AI can generate layouts, it cannot replicate the depth of our significant/irreplaceable imagination, cultural sensitivity, or storytelling. So, while it is useful to utilize AI in aquiring a baseline, the digital designer would come in handy if you would like to grow towards an audience on a deeper level.