And right on cue, every hype-bro is declaring that "graphics designers are cooked". I don't fully buy it.
I'm sure you're feeling it. It's hard not to question your entire identity, and existence when tools keep arriving that can create polished visuals in seconds.
But what helps me get past this doomsday thinking is coming back to the truth:
Clients don't just need graphics.
They need taste, judgement and someone who can actually build a brand, not just decorate one.
Someone who can spot what fits, what feels off, what aligns, what distracts, what earns trust, and what may actually be damaging the brand.
And yes, AI can generate visuals. It can speed up prototyping. It can make average work look polished. And yes, it has already raised the floor.
But AI can not do is, is own the brand. It can not carry the reputation.
It cannot sit in that messy middle between business goals, customer perception, creative direction, and market reality.
But that's where lies thy opportunity.
And it is what I have been leaning into for years.
It is also what I help creatives inside Brand Builders Alliance move toward: from creative executor to trusted brand builder.
This happens by moving upstream, building diagnosis into the process, connecting design decisions to business logic, delivering systems instead of isolated assets, learning the language of business, asking better questions, packaging your thinking around outcomes, and building a reputation your clients can trust. (Plus developing taste, but admittedly, that is a harder one to teach.)
The opportunity now is not to become a faster pair of hands.
It is to become a strategic partner.
Someone who brings strategy, craft, taste, and commercial thinking together. Not just someone that make things look good.
I spoke about this recently with James Martin on the JUST Branding Podcast in our episode, “Why Most Designers Won’t Last.”
Despite the provocative title, it was an honest, hopeful, and surprisingly light-hearted conversation about how designers can evolve and adapt to this changing landscape. Tune in here.
Keep going! You've got this.
Brand Builders Summit 2026 — Call for Speakers
Speaking of building, I am starting to plan the 2026 Brand Builders Summit: Ascent to Mastery.
It will likely happen in September, and the focus this year is all about helping creatives ascend toward mastery and become the brand builder AI can’t replace.
Strategy, craft, taste, business thinking, positioning, leadership, creative confidence, all the good stuff. I'm excited!
If you're interested in speaking this year, or you know someone who would be a brilliant fit, please fill in our speaker nomination form.
We are also looking for sponsors for the event. Hit reply if interested.
[New Podcast] UX / UI Unpacked
As someone who spent 5+ years in UX/UI in the agency world, working on brands like Nintendo, Jerry Seinfeld, VitaminWater and plenty more, this episode was a nice trip down memory lane.
In the latest episode of the JUST Branding Podcast, Matt and I sit down with Lex Lofthouse, Senior Designer at Nzime and a specialist in UX and digital experience, to unpack where brand strategy ends and UX begins, and whether that line even makes sense.
We get into:
What UX actually is, and why brand people tend to misread it
Where brand strategy should show up in product experience
The biggest mistakes brand-led teams make in UX
How to test whether your brand is really being experienced
What great UX looks and feels like, and the worst sins brands commit
Because you can nail the positioning, perfect the identity, and tell a beautiful story, but if the experience feels broken, none of it matters.
If you work in brand, product, UX, or have ever watched a beautiful brand fall apart in the real world, this one is worth a listen.
We've got a bunch of brilliant masterclasses coming up from our resident mentors and guest experts, and I'm genuinely grateful to have such generous legends contributing to the community. (True allies!)
Inside BBA, members get access to sessions like:
Pricing Your Creative Work w/ pricing strategist Shannon Mattern
Productizing Your Service w/ Jason Gracia (who’s done $3M in productized website sales)
Positioning that Powers Profit for Creatives with Matt Clutterham
Thank you to everyone who messaged with advice, encouragement, contacts, suggestions, and "what the flock have you got yourself into?" vibes.
You were right.
Boy, did I underestimate how much work goes into making a quality children’s book.
But that's also part of the fun with new ventures. You learn new skills and get out of your comfort zone.
I've rewritten and tweaked the manuscript dozens of times while learning about page spreads, page turns, beats, tension, conflict, dialogue, storyboarding, publishing formats and storytelling for children.
And yes, I tell 'stories' for a living, but turning this into a simple, meaningful story that a child can understand, well that's a different beast. Or bird. 🦩
Here's what I underestimated:
Finding an illustrator within budget, with the right style and licensing terms.
Publishing options. I’m leaning towards self publishing but that comes with its own challenges. But then again so does finding an agent and publisher that will support you.
Technicalities & limitations between POD services and publishers, and shipping costs
The amount of effort that needs to go into a successful Kickstarter campaign and marketing in general
Themes in the book:
being yourself
thinking differently
confidence
courage
leadership
helping others
belonging without becoming the same
The adult layer is really about visibility, value, and meaningful difference. Aka being distinctive and differentiated. ;)
BBA is the ultimate membership for brand builders. Get the support, guidance, and resources to master branding and grow a thriving creative business —together.
