How we use AI in design, and where we don't
Lately clients ask us one question more than any other: do you use AI? We do, every day. Here's exactly where, and the places we deliberately keep it out.
Where AI helps in our design process
Research. Summarising interviews, reviews and competitor sites, so our time goes on spotting patterns rather than transcribing.
Exploration. Pulling together rough directions and references early on, so a workshop starts with fifty starting points instead of five.
Prototyping and code. Building working prototypes faster, and writing and checking code. This website was built with an AI coding assistant working alongside us (here's why we rebuilt it at all). Every page was then checked against our design file, measurement by measurement, before it went live.
The dull but necessary bits. First drafts of documentation, checklists, image descriptions, test passes. Work that has to be done well but doesn't need to be done slowly.
Where we keep AI out
Brand decisions. Positioning, naming direction and how a brand should feel are judgement calls, made with the client by people who've been in the room.
Final marks. Logos and identity marks are drawn by our designers. A brand should own its mark outright and be sure it's original, so we don't ship generated logos.
Client data. We don't put confidential client material into AI tools unless the client has agreed to it.
The last mile. Everything that leaves the studio has been reviewed and finished by a person who's happy to put their name on it.
“AI-first in the process, human-finished in the result.”
HOW WE PUT IT TO CLIENTS
What it changes for clients
Mostly, more of a project goes into thinking and less into production. Exploration is wider, prototypes show up earlier, and the build stays closer to the design. What doesn't change is the part you're really paying for: judgement, taste, and someone being responsible for getting it right.
Google takes a similar view of content: it says it rewards helpful work however it's produced, and that appropriate use of AI isn't against its guidelines. The standard is the quality of the result, not the tool.
What to ask any design studio about AI
Which parts of the work use it? Who reviews what it produces? Is anything you deliver generated, and if so, do we own it outright? What happens to the material we share with you?
A good studio will answer all four plainly. If the answer is 'we don't use AI at all', ask how they keep up. If it's 'AI does all of it', ask who's accountable. We're happy to answer all four about our own branding and UI/UX work; ask us.
- 1We use AI for research, exploration, prototyping, code and testing.
- 2Brand decisions, final marks and client data stay with people.
- 3Everything that leaves the studio is reviewed and finished by a person.
- 4Ask any studio where they use AI, who checks it, and who owns the result.
