From markets to bus stops, AI-generated design is everywhere in N.B. — here’s what designers think
AI-generated posters are showing up across N.B. markets and storefronts. Designers, artists and a student weigh in on what it means for the future of their craft.
A.I Design is cheap, fast and everywhere. So what do N.B. creatives think?
Jennifer William · CBC News · Posted: Jul 17, 2026 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 17
When walking through a farmers' market, waiting at a bus stop or grabbing a coffee in New Brunswick, chances are you'll spot branding made with artificial intelligence (AI).
Posters, flyers and logos made in seconds, by software trained on existing design material.
Generative AI allows business owners to create logos and advertisements in seconds for little to no cost — bypassing graphic designers altogether.
And the people who've built their careers on that are taking note.
Eva Liu sets up her caricature table at the Garrison Night Market in Fredericton every Thursday.
Liu is a concept artist and an animator. In her day job she designs characters and visual assets for mobile game companies remotely.
At the Garrison Night Market, she draws people's faces by hand. Live caricatures. Quick, personal and entirely human.
It is her first season at the market.
She uses AI professionally. Her clients expect it. But she draws a clear line around her own creative work that she does at the night market. "I don't think I'm threatened by AI," Liu said.
Eva Liu draws caricatures by hand at the Garrison Night Market every Thursday. The concept artist and animator uses AI professionally in her day job — but says she would never use it to create characters.
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According to the Association of Registered Graphic Designers' Creative Earners Survey — a survey of thousands of designers across Canada — the average graphic designer charges $78 an hour. A monthly AI design subscription starts at under $20.
| AI Tool | Monthly Subscriptions | Professional Graphic Designer | Hourly Rates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canva Pro | $17.99 CAD/month | Average | $78/hour |
| Adobe Creative Cloud (includes Firefly) | $89.99 CAD/month | Median | $75/hour |
| Midjourney | $13 USD/month | ||
| ChatGPT Plus | $28 CAD/month |
Source: RGD Creative Earners Survey 2024/25 (CBC)
For Liu that cost difference is not the point. She says AI has not saved her money — just time. And she is watching how the industry uses it.
"Some companies like to cut the budget and lay off people and use AI as an excuse," she said. "But honestly, I don't think people could be that easily replaced."
Gillian Goldie has been a graphic designer for nearly 20 years. She trained at the University of New South Wales and the College of Fine Arts in Sydney, Australia.
She is now the senior creative lead at New Brunswick Community College. She is also a certified member of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers.
She spots AI-generated work immediately. Not because it looks bad. Because it all looks the same, she said.
"We've all seen the posters," Goldie said. "They follow the same look and feel. Very consistent. Very generic."
She says the real cost is not financial — it is authenticity.
"People are choosing convenience over authenticity," she said. "It is coming across as generic and untrustworthy not speaking to your target audience."
She says there is an ethical dimension most people are not thinking about.
"A food truck is not trying to undermine someone else's creativity," Goldie said. "They are doing what they think is best. But a larger company using AI — that is devaluing creativity and devaluing a profession."
She says what AI cannot replicate is what makes design actually work.
"Where designers use lived experiences and original thinking — that puts good design at the forefront," she said. "AI-generated imagery just really can't provide that. It's super disconnected from who we are."
Andrew Bedford has been in the creative industry for 25 years. He is the co-founder and CEO of Ginger Agency, a marketing firm with offices in Fredericton and Saint John.
"There's a market for AI tools," Bedford said. "Before AI it was Canva. Before that it was clip art. There's always been a segment, people just getting started. And there's a place for that."
He says as those businesses grow they will eventually hire professionals. The higher end of the industry such as brand strategy, video production, animation are not going anywhere.
"AI won't be able to completely replace that," he said. "The value of our work comes from the scarcity of what we know how to do."
Bedford says AI is raising the bar for everyone and he sees opportunity in that.
"It's going to raise what average looks like," he said. "I think it will usher in a golden era of creativity. More people will be thinking about design. The bar will lift all around."
His advice to young designers who are scared is direct. "Change is part of this industry," Bedford said. "The more something scares you the more I would encourage you to spend time trying to solve it."
Not everyone is ready to take that advice.
Thomas Martens is a second-year graphic design student at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design.
He works entirely by hand. Collaging. Printing. Painting on paper. Chasing textures and imperfections no prompt can produce."The human touch and imperfections that is missing from AI," Martens said.
Thomas Martens, a second-year graphic design student at NBCCD, works on a project in Fredericton. Martens refuses to use AI in his own work — saying the human touch is what art is for.
He does not use AI. Not even for research.
"I've never even wanted to use ChatGPT," he said. "In my eyes it is laziness. If I want to learn something I will go out and try to learn it."
He hopes there never comes a time when people cannot tell the difference.
"There is still that uncanny feeling when you scroll and see something AI," Martens said. "That uncomfortability."
For Martens the issue goes deeper than aesthetics.
"Art is only served to explain and show and express the human experience," he said.
"Love and heartbreak and loneliness — things only humans can experience. Generative AI only knows digits and data. It cannot truthfully show the human experience. And if it can't do that — it's not art."
