By James Laird | Reporter
Baylor department of art and art history hosted “Concept is King! The Design Summit 2025” Wednesday morning for students, faculty and the public. The event included three keynote speakers with varying backgrounds in design or technology who spoke about artificial intelligence usage in their work.
The three keynote speakers were Jeffrey G. Davis, graphic designer and professor at Judson Design and Texas State University; Alberto Sandoval, executive director of services and solutions group at Lenovo; and Bill Gardner, designer and publisher with Gardner Design, LogoLounge Books and Annual Logo Trends. The topics included how AI is being used in the workspace and how it helps designers.
“In the business world, we want to deliver things,” Sandoval said. “We want to do things. I want to use that ad. I want to take it. I want to sell more products. I want to sell more products to you. I want to sell better products than my competition.”
Sandoval said that AI usage in the design world has changed dramatically and has allowed for a new perspective on design as well as the workspace.
“What we can do today has revolutionized the way that we think about design, the way that we think about copywriting, the way that we think about interacting with agencies –– it has revolutionized everything,” Sandoval said.
Attendees sat and listened to the experience and lesson from each of the fields of design the three speakers shared. Each speaker answered questions from the audience after their presentations. The conference had a goal of showcasing the advancements of AI within the design and marketing industries and showcase to attendees the benefits of AI in their field according to its website. Kate Sudderth, a 2024 Baylor graduate, now works in graphic design and said AI is important in the design workforce and they use it every day.
“I think it’s really interesting to come to this and hear how instead of it being a scary thing and something that’s going to take your career, how it can enhance your career,” Sudderth said.
Sudderth also talked about the importance of growing in your AI knowledge because it is a critical tool in design now. Every speaker highlighted the point that AI is here to stay so it is best to master its abilities and use them as tools.
“You may get inspired by this, you may get scared by this, that’s how we move forward,” Sandoval said.
