How AI is Transforming Design
How AI is Transforming Design:
Featuring Insights from Industry Experts
In the creative industry, AI tools are becoming increasingly accessible, bringing unique opportunities to design and marketing agencies. At Lollie’s, we see AI as an objective, invaluable team member who sharpens and refines our ideas. AI helps us uncover blind spots—those “rose-colored glasses” moments we might miss when fully immersed in a project. Whether we’re using Adobe’s Creative Cloud AI tools for workflow efficiency or generating fresh concepts through carefully crafted prompts, AI serves as an assistant, not a replacement. We believe that the true magic happens when technology supports, rather than overshadows, human creativity.
To explore the broader impact of AI in creative work, we recently asked a variety of professionals how they leverage AI to streamline processes without sacrificing the essential human touch. Here’s a look at what industry experts had to say, along with our own reflections on how we maintain balance in a tech-forward world.
Automate Repetitive Tasks with Adobe Sensei
Design agencies can leverage AI tools to streamline their processes by using them for repetitive, time-consuming tasks like automating design variations, generating mock-ups, or even enhancing image quality. This allows designers to focus on the more creative and strategic aspects of a project, like concept development and user experience, ensuring that the human touch is still present in the work.
One AI tool I recommend is Adobe Sensei, integrated into Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite. Adobe Sensei uses AI to automate tasks such as image cropping, object recognition, and layout suggestions, speeding up workflow significantly. For example, it can intelligently select objects or enhance images with just a few clicks, saving hours of manual work. This efficiency enables our designers to focus on refining creative details, collaborating with clients, and ensuring the final product aligns with the brand’s vision.
While AI handles the more routine aspects, the human touch comes through in creative decisions, storytelling, and unique design elements that AI cannot replicate. This balance between automation and human insight allows us to deliver projects faster while maintaining high-quality, personalized design.
Andrew Lee Jenkins, Owner at Andrew Lee Jenkins
Use Midjourney for Creative Pitches
AI should be considered a launchpad for further creativity. Ultimately, it needs the seeds of human thought and creativity, but it may produce something unexpected that can then be refined by a human relative to the original requirement.
We work in the video production industry, creating commercials and content for brands. While we may have a good idea for a creative concept, it can sometimes be difficult to articulate that to a client, especially one who may not have the same visual-mind. Therefore, we use Midjourney as part of our creative pitch process.
Midjourney can be a powerful tool in producing images that reflect our creative vision and help demonstrate it to a client. This has resulted in us winning work based on creative ideas alone, as well as streamlining our pre-production process because clients can approve concept art and visuals before we begin production.
Ryan Stone, Founder & Creative Director at Lambda Video Production
Enhance Workflows with Canva's Magic Write
Design agencies can leverage AI tools to streamline processes by automating repetitive tasks, enhancing creative workflows, and providing data-driven insights while maintaining a human touch through thoughtful integration. For instance, AI can assist in generating design variations, optimizing layouts, and even providing initial drafts based on specific parameters. This allows designers to focus more on the creative aspects of their work, such as refining concepts and adding personal touches that resonate with clients.
One specific AI tool I recommend is Canva’s Magic Write, which uses AI to generate content and design ideas based on user prompts. This tool has significantly improved our processes by enabling our team to quickly brainstorm and create initial drafts for marketing materials, social media posts, and presentations. By automating these aspects, we’ve been able to accelerate project timelines while still ensuring that our unique branding and creative vision are at the forefront. Ultimately, integrating AI tools like this allows design agencies to enhance efficiency and creativity while still delivering personalized and human-centered designs.
Shehar Yar, CEO at Software House
Accelerate Idea Generation with AI Tools
AI tools are now helping creators to explore their ideas and concepts faster than ever before. We can generate and sketch ideas faster, create work faster, and it’s only getting better. However, the human component to curate and refine the concept into the final product hasn’t changed. You still need Art Directors with a keen eye to guide the process, but production is made easier, just like design programs made producing work easier years ago.
Derek Ambrosio, Creative Director at Creative Roam
Integrate Processes with Make.com
Design agencies can unlock greater efficiency by focusing on end-to-end process improvement rather than just implementing individual tools. AI should not only automate tasks but also enhance entire workflows by connecting various functions seamlessly. I recommend Make.com as a powerful tool to integrate and automate processes across platforms—whether managing emails, meeting insights, or document creation.
However, tools alone aren’t enough. Meaningful process improvement happens when AI and humans work together. Make.com helps agencies focus their creative energy where it matters most by automating a majority of repetitive tasks in manual processes, such as customer research, proposal writing, and personalized emails. With humans focusing on high-value tasks and AI streamlining repetitive ones, the result is a process that’s not only more efficient but also maintains the personal touch that clients value.
This approach has saved significant time for my agency clients, improved productivity, and ensured happier staff and clients without sacrificing creativity or client relationships.
Heidi Araya, CEO & Chief Consultant at BrightLogic
Overcome Creative Blocks with AI Tools
The way they can leverage these awesome AI tools is by using it as a pathway through creative blocks. We should be taking inspiration from it vs. letting it do all the work. People who love to create the best draws inspiration from what’s around them or what they have access to tap into this creativity. This is where the human touch remains and doesn’t get lost in translation. As for what AI I use, ChatGPT is my primary, Midjourney is secondary for visuals, and Creasquare is what I use to tie everything together for thumbnails and post templates.
Marktwain Beaver, Owner/Creative Director at True Narrative Media
Communicate Visions with AI-Generated Images
Clients and other stakeholders can use AI-generated images to share their vision with artists at the design agency. Then the artists can create completely original work that fits the client’s vision while reducing back-and-forth communication. It’s a valuable tool for nonartists to communicate with artists, even if they lack the terminology to communicate their ideas from words to visual form.
Stephanie Hanson, Creative Director
Tailor ChatGPT for Creative Campaigns
We would recommend the basic version of ChatGPT, but just tailor your prompts to ask it questions that actually help you in the creative process. We typically ask for help with ideas for campaigns. We use the client’s ideas, our ideas, write them out but give specific details for things that must be in the project, then we feed it into AI and ask for a more detailed breakdown, as well as any creative ideas it has, as well as feedback. This allows us to be in control of the project but with AI just giving us a slight help from angles that we might not have thought of.
Callie Poston, Company Director at Forever Callie Media
While AI tools are reshaping creative workflows, we believe that no technology can replace the value of human intuition and thoughtful design. It’s easy to access AI, but true expertise lies in using it strategically and pairing it with genuine human insight. Much like social media, where so many claim expertise, AI is only as effective as the guidance it receives—and that’s where skilled, nuanced use sets us apart.
For those seeking more than just automated design, our team offers a human-centered approach, ensuring every project aligns with our clients’ vision and needs. Let’s connect and discuss how we can bring your ideas to life, with AI enhancing, not defining, the creativity at work. After all, creativity thrives in conversation, collaboration, and the expertise that only people can provide.
© 2024 Lollie’s Handmade | All rights reserved