GRAPHIC DESIGN
AI design does not belong in Churches
With the rise in popularity of AI image generators, more and more churches are starting to embrace this new technology to help them with graphic design. It’s easy to use and saves you time and effort, especially if you don’t feel like a confident designer. So what could possibly be wrong with using AI generated graphics at church?Â
I want to highlight some of the problems that an overreliance on AI can lead to in your church, specifically thinking about graphic design and visual communication.Â
AI stops people using their creative gifts
Picture this. You have a couple of volunteers in your church who make your graphics for you. But sometimes they can be a bit slow. Occasionally they make mistakes. And one day when you have a particularly tight deadline, you decide to use an AI image generator. It’s fast and you’re reasonably happy with the outcome. But it’s one less project you get to involve your volunteers with. And it gets more and more tempting with every project. And the truth is, If you’re moving towards AI generated graphics, then that inevitably means you’re moving away from people creating graphics. Where once you may have had a volunteer design all your flyers, now you let AI generate them all. And because AI is so efficient, it’s tempting to keep returning to it for everything.
And efficiency is a good thing, but in a church setting in particular, it’s definitely not the most important thing. And it’s important for the people in your church to be able to use their creative gifts to serve God and his church.Â
Would you replace the singers in your church because an AI voice never sings a wrong note? Or would you replace the pastor of your church because AI can write a sermon in less time and doesn’t require a wage? No, we shouldn’t. Church is about much more than just getting things done efficiently. Don’t undervalue people’s gifts just because AI can do it faster. And don’t give people the impression that their gifts aren’t valuable just because AI is an easier option for you.Â
I’d recommend, before you go to create something with an image generator, ask yourself whether there’s anyone in your church that can do what you’re asking it for? Is there anyone in your church who has gifts of creativity, communication and art who wants to use them to serve your church? They might be less efficient, but that’s not really the point. There are so many people in churches who are incredibly gifted and have much to offer but aren’t asked or aren’t valued. Make opportunities for people to serve in creative ways before you just hand over all those tasks to AI. It’s so worth it.
AI robs you of communication opportunities
Visual communication is so powerful. We know this. We often hear things like ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. The tone and feel of a poster communicates something beyond what the words say. So the design decisions we make have a huge impact on the message we share. And when I’m designing something myself, at every step of the design process, I have the opportunity to make creative decisions that are going to clarify the message I’m communicating. Which font to pick. What colour to use. Which text to place first, second, third. Which pictures to use. Sometimes I’ll try something and realise it’s not quite working and go in a different direction. Sometimes I realise my message needs more thought and refining. The design process makes the final design communicate my message better. And when it comes to AI, why would I want to hand over the control of all of those decisions to a machine? I want to be the one making those decisions. And the process is what helps me make the right ones. Trusting a machine to get that right in my opinion is risky. My message is important and I want to maintain complete creative control over every aspect of the work.Â
The problem with AI image generation is that it takes the process out of graphic design. You write a prompt and it creates your composition. There are no inbetween steps. Sure, you can point it in a different direction if the first attempt doesn’t come out right. You could get it to change colours, fonts and so on. But you don’t get to keep creative control over every single detail, the way you do when you’re designing it. And yes, if you write an excellent prompt, you could generate a design that gets your message across with the right tone and feel. But what if your message needs adapting? What if you could have taken things in a different, maybe better direction to your first thoughts. Let’s stop using AI as a shortcut to creativity and instead embrace the process of design.Â
And if you’d like to grow your visual communication skills, I teach church staff and volunteers simple graphic design skills that help them grow in confidence to create beautiful designs. You can learn more about the training programme here.
AI reduces perceived value
‘In a recent study, participants valued art labeled as AI generated 62 percent lower than art labeled as human made.’  We see human created art as more valuable than AI generated art. People seem to ‘believe that AI art requires little effort and, therefore, lacks value.’
And what do we design as churches? Maybe it’s a poster or booklet, but its aim is always to communicate a message we think is important. Could an AI generated design lower the perceived value of our message? It’s something we need to be wary of.
We also value person to person communication more than the alternatives. We value a face to face conversation more than an email. A hand written letter more than a text. A printed flyer or a social media graphic is already quite far removed from person to person communication but generating graphics with AI moves us yet another step further. I’m going to care much more about a sermon graphic that was painted by an artist in my church than one that was AI generated. I’m going to care more about a flyer designed by someone I know at church than one that’s generated by a machine.Â
So let’s think carefully about if or how we use these new tools in our church communications. AI is an ongoing conversation. It’s going to keep evolving so we need to keep thinking about these things.
Abby Chilton
Graphic Designer at Greater Worth
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