Job Check
Set and Exhibit Designers
Design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions. May study scripts, confer with directors, and conduct research to determine appropriate architectural styles.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 02Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 03Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 04Read scripts to determine location, set, and design requirements.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 05Submit plans for approval, and adapt plans to serve intended purposes, or to conform to budget or fabrication restrictions.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 06Attend rehearsals and production meetings to obtain and share information related to sets.Mostly human for now
- 07Confer with clients and staff to gather information about exhibit space, proposed themes and content, timelines, budgets, materials, or promotion requirements.Mostly human for now
- 08Research architectural and stylistic elements appropriate to the time period to be depicted, consulting experts for information, as necessary.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 09Observe sets during rehearsals in order to ensure that set elements do not interfere with performance aspects such as cast movement and camera angles.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 10Collaborate with those in charge of lighting and sound so that those production aspects can be coordinated with set designs or exhibit layouts.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job lossToo little dataNot enough work use was seen to measure. This does not mean the job is safe from AI.Anthropic, 2026
39%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 77% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 34% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Attend rehearsals and production meetings to obtain and share information related to sets.
- Confer with clients and staff to gather information about exhibit space, proposed themes and content, timelines, budgets, materials, or promotion requirements.
AI tools for your work
Official connectors that let an AI assistant work inside the apps designers use. Each is made by the app’s own maker.