curiosity over fear, always
I saw a post today—Creative Director ranting about AI like it’s the end of creativity. And the comments? This felt like high school drama and bullying. People tearing each other down instead of building anything or anybody up. If you’re leading with that kind of fear, I genuinely feel for your team. Fear doesn’t guide—it limits.
Let me add to that noise—but hopefully turn it into something else. A rhythm. A song. More connection. More support. More curiosity.
A lot of friends and family not in and out of design have asked: “Johnny, how do you feel about AI?”
here’s my answer:
When I was a child, my family got one computer for six kids.I took it over.Opened MS Paint and got obsessed—drawing pixel by pixel, building cities with a mouse.It was clunky and weird. But it sparked something. I couldn’t stop. Gosh, what a tool it was for me at that time. That same energy is still in me.And yes, AI is absolutely strange. But it’s also an ally. A tool helping me move faster, learn quicker, stretch way further.
at my studio, I use AI to:
—Build mockups from my own product shots
—Test UX flows in Figma
—Pull palettes from photos I take while biking or walking
—Name colors so they feel emotional, real, brand-aligned for my client
—Manipulate textures
—Create styles from my own sketching and paintings with Neural Effects in Photoshop It’s simple.
Sometimes kind of dumb.
But it gives me time back—to sketch, to think, to feel.
here’s my answer:
When I was a child, my family got one computer for six kids.I took it over.Opened MS Paint and got obsessed—drawing pixel by pixel, building cities with a mouse.It was clunky and weird. But it sparked something. I couldn’t stop. Gosh, what a tool it was for me at that time. That same energy is still in me.And yes, AI is absolutely strange. But it’s also an ally. A tool helping me move faster, learn quicker, stretch way further.
AI is giving us back our time
As a deep thinker and very passionate writer, I also use it to process notes.
To find patterns.
To uncover threads I didn’t know were there.It’s made me a sharper, more intentional communicator.
Maybe the most powerful thing about AI isn’t what it does—It’s what it frees us up to do.
it doesn't care like we care
And here’s what it can’t do:
It can’t read your client’s tone shift when they talk about what matters.
It can’t feel what lights them up.
It can’t say, “That—that’s where we go deeper.”
It doesn’t care. We do.
So no—I’m not afraid. I’m inspired. And I’m still pouring everything I’ve got into the real work—the work that connects, that moves, that matters.
To anyone feeling overwhelmed by all of this: You’re not alone. Keep creating. Keep evolving. Let’s build together. Let’s keep it human.
Always.
