From Rum-Bar Calendars to AI Posters: Who’s Designing Jamaica Now?
Scrolling through an Instagram feed in Jamaica lately feels fundamentally different. Event flyers, restaurant advertisements, and party promotions that once showcased original photography, graphic design, or recognizable Jamaican faces are increasingly populated by the eerily smooth skin, surreal lighting, and synthetic features of generative AI. What began as a subtle shift has quickly turned into an omnipresent trend. Friends and fellow partygoers have begun noticing it too, with some going as far as reposting AI-generated advertisements to their stories alongside pledges to boycott businesses that rely on them. Yet, in an island overflowing with visual artists, photographers, and young graphic designers, Jamaican businesses and promoters are suddenly handing their creative direction over to algorithms.
This poster explosion is the most visible symptom of a rapid, top-down technological shift occurring across Jamaica. The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) has actively encouraged Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to integrate AI into their business workflows. Accounting firm PwC Jamaica has documented a sharp surge in AI interest among corporate executives. Simultaneously, the Government of Jamaica has established a National AI Task Force and begun drafting the nation's first comprehensive national AI policy.
However, fortunately, not every event organizer has abandoned human talent. Justin Campbell, a director and key team member behind Fanatic, a popular youth entertainment series launched in 2022 that caters heavily to university students and young adults, continues to hire local designers. In an industry where promotional flyers can make or break an event's turnout.
Jamaican party flyers have long held a distinct visual identity within Caribbean graphic design. From bold typography, dancehall aesthetics, and street fashion to specific poses, vibrant color palettes, location cues, and local slang, these flyers serve as living records of Jamaica's evolving pop culture. When visiting Skylark, a hotel in Negril, the walls are decorated with old Jamaican party advertisements and posters that now feel like snapshots of another era. Similarly, almost every Jamaican can recognize the look of an old rum-bar calendar: the bold designs, posed photographs, and advertisements that became so familiar that they are now almost nostalgic. At the time, these things were not necessarily created with the intention of becoming cultural artifacts; they were simply advertisements made by Jamaican creatives for Jamaican audiences.
This tension reflects a broader national policy paradox. While the government promotes AI as a key engine for national economic productivity, official frameworks, including Jamaica's UNESCO AI Readiness Assessment, emphasize the need to safeguard ethical standards, public trust, and socioeconomic inclusion. The government has even announced a J$545 million AI skills initiative intended to upskill workers and mitigate job displacement caused by automation. Meanwhile, political leaders like Opposition Spokesperson Denise Daley have urged caution during parliamentary debates, warning that rapid technological innovation must not outpace core societal values or compromise human dignity. The national goal is for Jamaicans to prosper alongside technology, yet young creatives find themselves among the very first workers feeling its disruptive sting.
The next AI-generated flyer that pops up between Instagram stories or on a WhatsApp status update might seem trivial, just another temporary advertisement that will disappear within a day. But behind those glossy, synthetic images lies a fundamental question about the future of Jamaica's creative identity. As machines make design faster, cheaper, and more convenient, Jamaica must decide whether it is willing to trade its rich artistic heritage for algorithmic efficiency or whether it will stand behind the human creators who give Jamaican culture its voice.
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