The bookends of creativity
As a designer, I’ve been thinking a lot about how AI is changing our work. It’s fascinating. A bit scary. But mostly exciting.
Here’s what I’ve realized: In the future, the beginning and end of our work will matter most.
The power of the prompt
It all starts with the prompt. The questions we ask. The instructions we give.
Coming up with the right prompt is an art. It’s like distilling your entire creative vision into a few sentences.
I spend more time crafting prompts now. It’s become a crucial skill. The better the prompt, the better the output.
The AI does its thing
Once you have a great prompt, you let the AI loose. It’s amazing what it can do.
It generates designs, writes copy, images, video, even code. All in a fraction of the time it would take us.
But here’s the thing: it’s not perfect. Not yet, anyway.
The art of curation
This is where we come back in. At the end of the process. As curators.
We sift through what the AI has created. We pick the best bits. We refine. We combine.
Sometimes we ask for new versions. Sometimes we tweak things ourselves.
It’s about having an eye for quality. Knowing what works and what doesn’t.
Taste makers rise
In this new world, taste makers become more important than ever. People with a strong point of view. With refined aesthetic judgment.
“Look for what you notice but no one else sees.”
Rick Rubin – The Creative Act: A Way of Being
We’re no longer just creators. We’re curators too. Guardians of quality and style.
The new creative process
So our creative process now has these crucial bookends:
- Crafting the perfect prompt
- Curating and refining the AI’s output
The middle part – the generation – that’s the AI’s job now.
Skills for the future
What does this mean for us creatives? We need to sharpen two key skills:
- The ability to express our vision clearly. To ask the right questions.
- The ability to recognize quality. To make good choices.
These were always important. Now they’re essential.
Embracing the change
It’s a big shift. But I’m excited about it. It frees us up to focus on the truly human parts of creativity.
We’re no longer bogged down in the nitty-gritty execution. We can think bigger. Push boundaries further.
The future of work is here. And it’s all about the bookends of creativity.
