gamechangers

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped working life, creative collaboration, and the very nature of human connection in 2020. And AI emerged as the next gamechanger. Handy, if you urgently need an image of a cat in a Batman suit!

ai isn’t the future. it’s already here

Artificial intelligence has already become one of the most significant events of the decade, if not century.

I don’t see it as a replacement for designers. I see it as another tool—rather like the Macintosh was in the 1990s or Photoshop in the early 2000s.

I use AI every day. It helps me organise ideas, improve copy, check tone, spot awkward grammar and occasionally explain what I’m trying to say rather better than I can myself.
Being dyslexic, that’s something I’m genuinely grateful for.

The thinking still has to be human. AI simply helps express faster or with greater clarity.

staying AI-safe

The arrival of generative AI also raised important questions about copyright, authenticity and ethics.

Around that time Adobe introduced its own AI tools, (Phew!) trained in ways that respected licensing and usage rights. That felt like an important and welcome step forward. It’s great fun using other platforms but using adobe keeps our clients safe – and that’s all that matters.

when “fake” is exactly what’s needed

One of my first projects to make extensive use of AI imagery was for Pro Prop Costume, a remarkable business managing thousands of costumes and props for film, television and theatre.

The challenge wasn’t to fool anyone. It was to create imaginative visuals that would have been expensive—or sometimes impossible-to photograph.

Roman ruptures, old master paintings, fantasy costumes and historic settings. We found all of these could be generated easily and quickly.

Since then AI-generated imagery has quietly found its way into all sorts of projects, from Christmas e-shots and arts festivals to tourism campaigns, estate agents and abstract visuals explaining data.

Firefly Brass candle stick holder isolated 77617

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Firefly Jungle scene foliage, white rabbit, Roman Bust, Lion, Blue sky, space in middle 77673 - 14-02-2025 10-13-32

Firefly full unicorn, white, no background, no crop 874

other ai images creeping into client work

From Christmas card e-shots to abstract backgrounds concering data analyisis, arts festivals to estate agents and tourism… these are the first images of a new era in image making.

Firefly Yellow bauble on branch of a Christmas tree with tree lights, night sky snow fall landscape_

Firefly 20th anniversary, scientific, data, vault, cloud, molecules, hyper realistic 3d rendering il-2

tech has its limits

Video meetings have become a normal part of working life, and they’ve made it much easier to collaborate with clients wherever they happen to be.

I still smile whenever I think about the American lawyer who accidentally appeared in a court hearing as a cat because a filter had been left switched on.

“I am not a cat,” he assured the judge. We’ve all had days like that.