Shajan C Kumar, an experienced Design Editor based in Kochi, is pioneering the exploration of Interactive Digital Communication Techniques within the realm of Social Media Networking. He aims to bridge the gap between metaverse technology and mainstream media, and he’s exploring two distinct approaches to achieve this: one involving head-mounted display (HMD) technology and the other employing wireframe light display technology.
During his long and illustrious career, Shajan has worked with The India Today Group, The Indian Express Group, The New Indian Express Group, and HT Media. Notably, he played a pivotal role in the launch of ‘Mint,’ a business daily. During this time, he had the privilege of working closely with the renowned Visual Journalist, Dr. Mario Garcia (Sr.), and his team.
His journey in academia led him to serve as an Associate Professor in Fashion Communication at the Institute of Apparel Management, Gurgaon. Later, he joined the faculty at the Times School of Media, Bennett University, as an Assistant Professor. He has also ventured into innovative techniques in Information Graphics and was awarded the first Ejourno & Syntel Fellowship to study the ‘Impact of the Internet on Visual Journalism.’
Shajan is invited by top media schools to gives talks on News Design, Fact Checking, and Data Journalism. Currently, Shajan works as the Dean of the Media School at The Mathrubhumi group in Kerala. Before taking up this role, he served as the Head of Fact Checking and Data Visualization within the organization.
Excerpts from his interview with EasyMedia.in:
Q. How is AI changing the way design editors work?
A. AI has introduced new design capabilities and streamlined various aspects of the design process. Most important, it has automated repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as resizing of images, colour and layout adjustments. This allows designers to focus more on creative aspects of design.
Another advantage is that for each design criteria AI generates multiple design options. This helps designers to improve ideation. Designers also benefit from suggestions regarding choice of colour palettes, fonts and layouts. All this has led to increased design efficiency.
Q. Describe your favourite AI tools and how design editors are using them?
A. My favourite AI design tools are:
- Canva, which is a user-friendly graphic design platform that utilises AI to simplify the design process. It has now introduced an AI-powered Magic Studio.
- Microsoft Bing Image Generator which helps users generate AI images with DALL·E 3 through text prompts.
- Fotor that incorporates AI to facilitate automatic photo enhancements, scene recognition, and intelligent filters.
- Runwayml which allows designers and developers to integrate machine learning models into their creative projects.
- Deep Dream Generator which leverages AI to apply artistic styles to images and create dreamlike and surreal effects.
- Snapseed which is a mobile photo editing app that employs AI to enhance photos on the go.
- Autodraw, developed by Google, which uses AI to turns doodles and sketches into polished and recognizable drawings.
- Adobe CS that uses Adobe Sensei to enhance various aspects of the creative process, such as image recognition, content-aware fill, and intelligent editing.
Q. Describe your experience of using AI for delivering news at the Kerala State School Youth Festival?
A. During the Kerala State School Youth Festival, Mathrubhumi ventured into AI news anchoring with two female avatars, Chilanka and Kalyani. Over the course of the five-day festival, there were two broadcasts that were made every day by employing Canva and D-ID AI tools for production. There were some challenges such as difficulties in changing the anchor’s costume. This was successfully addressed by using Adobe Photoshop 2024’s Generative Fill option. Initial issues with the audio accent were also resolved with the assistance of the Resemble.ai tool. This experimental approach received positive feedback from Mathrubhumi readers, resulting in increased views and interactions. Additionally, we incorporated a QR Code for print readers, allowing them to experience our AI-generated news content.
Q. What are the limitations you find in the current set of AI-based design tools?
A. AI-based design tools have made significant advancements, but they still have several limitations. These include: failure to integrate those aspects of design that require an understanding of human emotions, cultural nuances or abstract concepts; inability to integrate requirements of multi-disciplinary projects; excessive reliance on patterns and data from existing designs leading to a homogenisation of design styles; and ethical issues generated by biases in training data.
Q. How should Graphic Designers adapt to meet the challenges posed by AI?
A. Graphic designers can proactively adapt to the challenges posed by AI by embracing it as a Tool, and Not as a Replacement. They should consider AI as complementary to their work, a tool that can improve their efficiency. Their main focus should be on creativity and improvement of final product. The key is to find a balance between leveraging AI’s capabilities and preserving the unique human touch in design.
Q. Do you see AI taking away design jobs in the media?
A. The human touch, creativity, and strategic thinking that designers bring to the table are irreplaceable. I feel that designers who adopt AI tools are likely to find new opportunities and remain integral to the media design industry.
Q. Should designers take credit for artwork created by AI? Or is this unethical?
A. This is still a grey area and it is difficult to formulate clear-cut guidelines. There can be two scenarios. In the first scenario, the designer visualises the design based on project requirements. He then takes the help of AI tools, very much like the way he uses the existing design software, to create the design. In such a situation, the designer is entitled to take credit for the final artwork. AI is only a part of the designer’s creative process.
In the second scenario, the designer submits his ideas to the AI tool, and AI then plays a significant role in generating the artwork. In this scenario, taking credit for work that is primarily generated by AI without proper acknowledgment will be unethical.
Q. What is your advice to budding media designers? How should they prepare themselves to work in an AI-driven media environment?
A. My advice to youngsters is they cannot become proficient designers unless they master traditional design principles, such as layout, colour theory, typography, and composition. These fundamentals are crucial for anyone aspiring to become a media designer.
At the same time, they must stay informed about the latest developments in AI and machine learning. They must learn to work with AI tools that automate routine tasks, generate design variations, or assist in the creative process. Some of the tools they must experiment with are Adobe’s AI features, Canva, or DALL·E 3.
The students must diversify their skill sets beyond design. Some of the areas where they need to acquire knowledge are data analysis, user experience (UX), content creation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Finally, they must build a strong design portfolio that should highlight their ability to work with AI tools.