Midjourney Killed the Photoshop Star: Assembling the Emerging Field of Synthography

With the release of artificial intelligence image-generation platforms to the broader public in 2022, there is an opportunity to evaluate how image-making practices may change and speculate how graphic design software, such as Photoshop, may evolve. Using a methodology of assemblage, a relational study of Photoshop and Midjourney is gathered to produce a synthetic ethnography of these agentic forces within the larger synthographic assemblage. Outputs and practices of using these two software platforms are offered to see contrasts and continuities to understand the collaborative impacts to postdigital art and education using software agents. Consideration for these computational cofigurations counteract false narratives of the new and offer creatives, educators, and learners within this social ontology grounds for ethical praxis while maintaining a relational understanding of postdigital creative expression.