Pitched a website redesign project last month. Spent 2 weeks on the proposal, included 3 original mockup concepts that i was genuinely proud of.
Client went with another designer who delivered 12 concepts in the pitch phase. Twelve. They looked really polished too — but i could tell they were AI assisted. the background consistency, the way the type sat on images, that slightly-too-perfect diffusion look on the hero sections. You know what i mean if you know.
i was angry at first ngl. like genuinely upset.
but then i sat with it for a while and tried to think about it differently. that designer won the pitch. but when it comes to actually building it — those 12 concepts need to become real responsive layouts, real component systems, real interactions. AI mockups dont just translate to production.
my takeaway: i need to change HOW i pitch, not WHETHER i use AI. leading with past results, implementation capability, and process makes more sense than competing on concept volume. a client who values 12 AI concepts over 3 thoughtful human ones might not be my ideal client anyway.
still stings tho. anyone else dealing with this?