Creative Work Is Changing - Fast.
The rise of AI, shifting budgets, and why it’s harder than ever to sell thoughtful creative work at a fair price.
Right now, I’m working solo, and I can get a lot done. I know people I can bring in when needed, but with the tools available today, it’s possible to deliver full creative projects independently. That wasn’t always the case. And it changes how the whole industry operates.
We’re clearly at a point where a competent designer, equipped with AI and the right tools, can offer the kind of service that would have taken a team just a few years ago. This should be a huge opportunity. But instead, it’s raising an awkward question:
Where’s the middle ground in creative services?
On one end, you’ve got freelancers offering brand or web work for <£2.5k. On the other, you’ve got studios and agencies charging £25k+. That space in between, £5–15k range, highly competent, not bloated, not cheap, is weirdly undefined right now. It either gets ignored or dragged down in the race to the bottom.
AI Can Do the Work, So What Are We Selling?
The truth is, a lot of the work we used to charge for, 80% of it, maybe, can now be done decently with AI. Not perfectly. Not magically. But “good enough” if you know what you're doing and have taste. For early-stage startups or lean teams trying to validate and sell? Spending £60/month on AI tools instead of £5k on creative work isn’t irrational. It’s efficient.
So unless you’re bringing sharp creative direction, clear strategy, or a bold point of view, and unless the client already values that, you're competing with AI and not winning. Not because you're not good, but because the buyer doesn't know how to judge value anymore.
Limbo Land
We're in a strange limbo where businesses are stuck asking: Do we hire a human or just use AI?
If you understand how to use AI well, it’s arguably better than hiring for most functional creative tasks. But if you don’t, then hiring someone with taste and experience still beats fumbling through mid AI outputs. So decisions aren't just about budget, they’re about literacy.
That's a hard thing to sell around.
What Clients Can’t Measure, They Devalue
Business is always an uphill game when you’re selling something clients don’t see as tied to revenue. Brand, design, creative direction, these can drive massive results. But they’re not always immediate, and they’re rarely linear. That makes them hard to justify when markets are cautious and budgets are tight.
So people either:
Go DIY with AI,
Outsource to the cheapest option, or
Work with the same agency they’ve always used, if they can afford it.
That’s the lay of the land right now. It’s not personal. It’s just where we’re at.
So What Now?
I’m not moaning. I’m just observing. We’re in a shift, not just in tools, but in trust, in buying behaviour, in how people perceive value in creative work.
Established agencies that are evolving will be fine. AI-literate freelancers will do well. The challenge, and opportunity, is for those of us who fall somewhere in between. The middle might be missing, but that doesn’t mean it won’t reappear in a new form.
If you’d like to chat about your businesses current positioning or branding in general then, please feel free to email me at: george@drewettdesigns.com
Or Book a free 30-minute discovery call here.
