AI and the Essence of Design
An Aicherian perspective on the future of design
In the work and thought of Otl Aicher, design is always more than form. It is ethics, clarity, and cultural responsibility. Aicher argued that the designer plays a social role — a commitment to precision, to truth, to humanity. It was never just a matter of aesthetics, but of essence.
Today, that commitment is being tested by the rise of artificial intelligence. Tools capable of generating images, composing text, simulating decisions. And the looming question is inescapable: is AI an ally or a threat to the nature of design?
Tool or Competitor?
It’s easy to fall into a binary trap: to reject AI as the usurper of human creativity, or to embrace it uncritically as the new magic wand. But Otl Aicher was not a man of extremes. His thinking invites precision of gaze and rigour of judgement. In that spirit, perhaps we should view AI not as an enemy, but as a mirror.
AI imitates, simulates, learns patterns. It can execute quickly, and it can even surprise. But it lacks what Aicher considered essential to design: awareness of context, cultural grounding, and intuition refined by human experience. For now, AI lacks a Weltanschauung — a worldview.
The Designer’s Role Is Not to Draw
“Design is not decorative art. It is a way of thinking,” Aicher wrote. In this regard, AI can be a valuable ally: it frees the designer from repetitive tasks and opens space for deeper focus on what truly matters. It allows us to design more efficiently, yes — but it doesn’t replace the need to design with purpose.
The essential question is not whether AI can design for us, but whether it can design with our intent. Whether it can be directed by an ethic, by a sense of responsibility that transcends the output.
A New Technological Humanism
At BenjaminFlower, we don’t see AI as a replacement, but as a catalyst. A tool, not a competitor. But a tool that demands more than technical skill from us: it requires moral and cultural clarity. Aicher’s thinking compels us to focus on what matters — and what matters today is ensuring that technology serves the human, not the other way around.
In a world where everything feels accelerated, the figure of Otl Aicher reminds us of the value of time, of research, of the deliberate gesture. AI can rapidly generate a thousand variations — but it’s up to the designer to choose, to edit, to refuse. It is the designer who must protect the integrity of the gaze.
Conclusion: The Future Needs Consciousness
AI is a powerful instrument. But like any tool, it only reveals its true value when guided by vision. The designer’s vision — shaped by culture, by ethics, by intellectual clarity — remains irreplaceable.
As Aicher taught us: to design is to choose. And choice is always human.