We’ve all seen the explosion of AI-generated advertising. The same fonts, the same colors, the same visual styles. From political ads to pizza shops, these images are everywhere. Social media, especially, is riddled with them. I get it. For small businesses, AI solves an immediate problem. It saves time, saves money, and makes it possible to produce something without hiring a designer or photographer.
As a graphic designer and photographer, someone who has spent much of his life making images, I’m not particularly fond of the trend. But that’s my perspective as a professional, and I understand why others see value in it. That doesn’t mean I’m against AI. Quite the opposite. I’ve adopted AI technologies into my everyday workflow, and they’ve become some of the most valuable tools I use. Just not necessarily for making images. So, what do I use AI for? Productivity. Let me explain.
Scheduling
I run three businesses. On any given day, I might be working on projects for all three, sometimes switching between them several times before lunch. Keeping everything in my head simply isn’t an option anymore. And as someone born in the late 1970s, I’ll admit that remembering every little detail doesn’t seem to get any easier with age.
One of the things I appreciate most about AI is its accessibility. When I’m out photographing dogs in the field, it’s in my pocket. When I’m working in my office, it’s on my desktop. When a new task comes up, an idea crosses my mind, or something needs attention next week, I can add it to my schedule through a simple conversation. I don’t need to stop what I’m doing, open another application, or spend time organizing things. Of course, it takes some setup and a little discipline, but once you’ve established a system, it can become remarkably useful.
Starting my morning with a simple question, “What’s on my schedule today?” helps me get organized without carrying every unfinished task around in my head. For someone juggling multiple businesses, that’s worth a lot.
Research
Research has always been an important part of my work. Google has been an invaluable tool for years, and I still use it regularly. But AI has introduced something different to the process: conversation. Instead of searching for something, reading through several websites, and then starting another search, I can explore a subject through a series of questions. I can challenge an answer, ask for alternatives, explore another perspective, or dig deeper into something I hadn’t originally considered. That back-and-forth is what makes it useful to me.
Of course, AI isn’t always right. Information still needs to be verified, especially when accuracy matters. But as a tool for exploring ideas, understanding unfamiliar subjects, and finding new directions, it’s become an important part of how I work.
Feedback
I’ve been a designer for a long time, and I still believe that good design comes from experience, judgment, and an understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve. I don’t want AI making those decisions for me. But working independently has one particular disadvantage: you don’t always have someone sitting across the desk to bounce ideas off. That’s where AI can be useful.
Maybe I’m developing a brand identity and exploring a color palette. I might want to see how those colors could work in other applications, compare a few alternatives, or consider a direction I haven’t explored. Being able to ask for those things and receive feedback almost immediately is valuable.
That doesn’t mean I agree with every suggestion. In fact, I often don’t. Sometimes the feedback simply reinforces why I made a particular decision in the first place. And that’s perfectly fine.
I’m not looking for AI to be the designer. I’m looking for another perspective while I do the designing.
Debugging
Anyone who has spent time developing websites knows how frustrating debugging can be. Imagine spending five hours trying to figure out why something that worked perfectly yesterday suddenly doesn’t work today. One problem creates another, and before long, you’re pulling your hair out trying to untangle the mess.
Meanwhile, another client needs something, a deadline is approaching, and you’ve just lost half your day. I’ve been there more times than I care to remember. This is one area where AI has made an enormous difference in my work. Problems that once required hours of searching, experimenting, and troubleshooting can sometimes be identified and resolved in a matter of minutes.
Not every problem, of course. AI can make mistakes, and you still need to understand what you’re working with. But having a tool that can help examine code, identify conflicts, explain errors, and suggest solutions has changed the way I approach development.
It’s not just about saving time, either. It’s about reducing the frustration that comes with getting stuck. When you’re a one-person business, losing five hours to a technical problem doesn’t just affect one project. It can throw off your entire week.
Speed
Business is business. Time is money. We’ve all heard the expressions, and there’s a reason they’ve been around so long. There are only so many hours in a day.
Running a one-person business has always presented challenges. Add multiple businesses, client projects, travel, photography, and everything else that comes with everyday life, and you quickly discover there’s a limit to how much you can accomplish.
For years, that limit was something I simply had to accept. AI has helped me push it a little further. I’m not talking about putting everything on autopilot while I sit on a beach somewhere. I’m still doing the work. I’m still making the decisions, working with clients, designing, photographing, and developing websites.
I’m also still working plenty of hours.
The difference is that I can accomplish more during those hours. Tasks that used to consume an afternoon might take an hour. Problems that interrupted my workday can be resolved more quickly. Research happens faster. Ideas are easier to explore. And I can spend more of my time doing the things that actually require my experience and attention. For me, that’s the real value.
The Tool Isn’t the Talent
I’ve been in the design business since 2002, long enough to have watched quite a few technologies change the way we work. Some were genuinely useful. Others were more hype than substance. AI is certainly generating its share of hype, and I think we’re going to see a lot more of it before things settle down. But I also believe there’s a meaningful distinction between using technology to replace the work and using technology to support the person doing it.
I have no interest in turning MWH Design into a factory for automatically generated websites, logos, or advertising. What interests me is using these tools to make my small business more capable, more responsive, and better equipped to serve the people who trust me with their projects. If I can spend less time fighting technical problems, less time managing tasks, and more time thinking about the details that make a project successful, that’s a good thing. And if that means my customers are a little happier with the work and the experience of getting there, even better.
AI hasn’t changed what I want to do. It’s helping me do more of it.