Menu
OKTHX is an Akron-based creative studio led by Jesse R. Ewing. With three decades of experience in design and creative, Jesse brings a wealth of knowledge to OKTHX. His background includes branding, art direction, packaging, book and editorial design, illustration, photography, and typeface design. Jesse began his career with a niche publishing company at the time when graphic design was transitioning from paste-up to desktop, and got his feet wet with digital in the dot-com boom. Since then he has worked as part of a Big Ten university communications department, as a lead designer for a top financial services firm, as an art director at a boutique marketing agency, and freelanced in a variety of industries. Notable clients include Chronicle Books, Gawker Media, Simon & Schuster, Rodale, PBS, and NBC Universal. His work has won numerous design and communications awards through the years. Jesse also creates and sells original fonts through the type foundry Midwest Type.
We use the “royal we” when talking about OKTHX because, while most work is primarily crafted by Jesse, everyone is involved in creating a client’s brand identity (this is a good thing), and sometimes contractors are brought in for their particular skills when needed.
Generative machine learning, or AI (artificial intelligence), as it’s called, has become a force in the design industry as of late. For better or worse, it can’t be ignored, especially as it’s being incorporated into the design software that most of us depend on to make a living. As the corporations behind the software are pushing its use, clients are jumping on the bandwagon as well. There’s a lot of pressure in this space, and we have opinions.
There’s no doubt that some of the new AI tools provide much faster, more efficient ways to accomplish tasks that used to take hours with the previous tools available. Some of the generative capabilities can feel downright magical. But there’s a cost to it, and that’s where we struggle. Between ethical issues (the AI models being trained on material without a creator’s consent, for example), and environmental and sustainability concerns (server farms that power the AI models consume vast amounts of electricity and water, with forecasts becoming increasingly problematic with scaling of the technology), we feel we have to draw a line.
And, right now, our line is this: We will occasionally use AI tools built into software that enhance or replace existing tools used for retouching images, but we will not use generative AI to create new imagery. We will intentionally design concepts that can be realized using existing stock images or, better yet, by creating new original illustrations or photography. Our line may be redrawn in the future if conditions change, but as of today, that’s where we stand.
Photo by Jodi Miller
