02/09/2026
I often worry about the next generation of designers.
These days there are so many new tools to go faster in your design software, and don’t get me wrong, I’m all for speeding up those laborious tasks.
But sometimes these new tools, like ‘Remove Background’ don’t work like they’re supposed to. And you might need to revert to the old ways to get the result you need.
Doing something as simple as removing a background was one of the ways I got better as a designer. It taught me to use the pen tool, which made me a master of manipulating vectors later in my career.
I was discussing this yesterday with Vanessa Rivera over on the Designerrrs™ Community, powered by Adobe Express and we both came to the conclusion that designers should definitely strive to learn how to do tasks like background removal, photo retouching, grading and lighting using techniques that don’t use AI or a machine-learning model to help them. Not only will it give you a sense of accomplishment, but it could help you out in a pinch.
Hit the link in my bio to watch my interview with Vanessa, plus more than 30 other legends of the design industry on my community.
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