How designers can protect their creative practice as roles shift from making to mending
By
Tom May
Summary
This article addresses a growing concern in the design industry: the shift from creative "making" to reactive "mending." An anonymous creative describes how their design work has changed from starting with a blank page to fixing pre-existing, often AI-generated or rough drafts. The article explores how this erodes the core identity of designers and offers advice on how to protect one's creative practice, maintain skills, and push back against the trend of designers becoming finishers rather than creators.
Source

Key quotes
· 3 pulledI don't know when it happened, but my job changed shape.
More and more, the work that lands on my desk isn't a blank page anymore. It's something already half-made (generated, roughed out, 'nearly there') and I'm asked to fix it.
Tidy the type. Sort the spacing. Make it look like a...
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