{"id":15627,"date":"2025-10-27T15:30:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T08:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T15:30:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T08:30:17","slug":"how-is-among-equals-using-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"How is Among Equals using AI?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among Equals<\/a> is a London-based creative studio which works on strategy, branding, campaigns for clients like Candy Kittens, Netflix and Vinterior. Here, founder Emily Jeffrey-Barrett explains how they use AI,\u00a0 and how she feels about it.<\/p>\n

You can see all the articles in this series here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Broadly speaking, are you excited for how AI will change the design industry, or nervous?<\/h5>\n

I\u2019m neither \u2013 I\u2019m curious. Cautiously curious. We\u2019re already surrounded by AI \u2013 it\u2019s been shaping what we see, buy, read and scroll for ages now. But we haven\u2019t seen its teeth yet.<\/p>\n

Right now, the conversation about AI is incessant and deafening. You know that scene in Interstellar<\/em> when they finally land on what looks like a mountainous planet? It\u2019s full of possibilities.<\/p>\n

Until they realise those aren\u2019t mountains. They\u2019re waves. Huge, horrifying waves, about to smash right into them. That\u2019s what the AI discourse feels like. You can\u2019t go on LinkedIn these days without bumping into dramatic takes:<\/p>\n

\u201cWE NO LONGER NEED AGENCIES \u2013 OR EMPLOYEES!\u201d
\n\u201cI MADE A FEATURE FILM IN THREE MINUTES USING ONLY TWO FINGERS!\u201d
\n\u201cI ASKED AI TO WRITE AN AD AND IT WON CANNES, D&AD AND MY EX BACK.\u201d<\/p>\n

The internet loves extremes. But with every innovation, the truth will lie somewhere in the middle.<\/p>\n

AI undoubtedly makes climbing bigger mountains possible. For small teams or limited budgets, you can now produce more, to a higher quality, than was ever previously possible.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a valuable thinking partner, a powerful way to bring ideas to life. But relying on AI as you would a human is a dangerous game. Outsourcing your brain to an app is like plating up Deliveroo every night and pretending you cooked.<\/p>\n

It might be easier, quicker, maybe even more delicious in the moment. But eventually you\u2019ll end up sluggish, poorer, and your knife skills will have gone to shit.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re barely scratching the surface of what AI can do at the moment. The interesting question to me isn\u2019t what AI can do, but what we\u2019ll choose to do with it.<\/p>\n

According to Harvard Business Review<\/em>, the top use of ChatGPT is therapy\/companionship, which is kind of poetic. \u201cFind purpose\u201d is number three on the list.<\/p>\n

We could be using this massive technological leap to right historic wrongs, act on global issues. Instead, we\u2019re using it to soothe our own existential crises. We\u2019re changing our world, not the world.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, AI is a tool \u2013 it\u2019s neither good nor bad, it\u2019s neutral. In the right hands, a stick can be a toy; in the wrong hands, it\u2019s a weapon. The same is true of AI. It\u2019s enormously powerful, but how will humanity use it?<\/p>\n

Do you have an agreed policy around AI as a business?<\/h5>\n

Nothing formal. But there\u2019s an unwritten rule \u2013 AI is a thinking partner, not a creative.<\/p>\n

We use it to challenge our thinking, not to do the thinking. I\u2019d never expect anyone to hand me a list of ChatGPT-written lines. We use AI, we work it, we direct it. It\u2019s not a substitution for imagination, judgement or decision-making.<\/p>\n

We got into this industry to create, not produce. And the more people treat AI like a creative, the more boring the work will get \u2013 to experience, but also to do.<\/p>\n

Who wants to come to work to ask a computer to come up with ideas, so they have time to make a deck? No thanks.<\/p>\n

When did you realise AI was going to have an impact on design?<\/h5>\n

I didn\u2019t have one single lightbulb moment. I\u2019d been waiting for it for years, it always felt inevitable.<\/p>\n

But around 2022, one of our creatives presented concept work and I asked where she\u2019d found the mock-ups and imagery, because they looked amazing and were perfectly curated for the concept. She said, \u201cI made them.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the shift. Suddenly, we could realise our visions faster and more accurately, without relying on external specialists. It unlocked creative freedom.<\/p>\n

Have you undergone any AI training, either as a studio or individuals?<\/h5>\n

No formal training, no \u2013 right now, we\u2019re 100 percent self-taught.<\/p>\n

We experiment constantly, share what we learn, and run regular internal sessions \u2013 think \u201cLunch & Learns\u201d but with fewer sandwiches, and more curiosity.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve considered formal courses, but everything\u2019s moving so fast that by the time a curriculum\u2019s written, it\u2019s outdated. We\u2019d rather get stuck in, play around, and figure it out ourselves.<\/p>\n

We do invest heavily in training \u2013 everyone in the organisation has their own budget. But that focuses on what AI can\u2019t do \u2013 presenting, decision-making, persuading people to buy your vision. The human stuff.<\/p>\n

Our bet is that, if AI\u2019s levelling the technical playing field, people skills are what will set us apart.<\/p>\n

How do you use AI in the studio\u2019s creative process?<\/h5>\n

Mainly as a way to go faster, clearer and sharper. We use it for quick research, to generate visuals for pitches, to sense-check tone and messaging.<\/p>\n

I also use it to interrogate my own thinking \u2013 I\u2019m constantly asking it to poke holes in my logic or play statements\/points of view\/decisions back to me. A bit like a coach.<\/p>\n

But the gap between the hype and the reality is still big.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s brilliant at asking questions, good at generating quantity, but it can\u2019t judge quality. For us, AI is an eager, positive, always-on thinking buddy.<\/p>\n

By the time something ends up on a billboard, brand, box, tiny button at the bottom of a website, it\u2019s gone through so many layers of human thinking \u2013 strategy, creativity, experience, confidence, persuasion \u2013 that even when AI plays a part, it\u2019s only ever in a supporting role.<\/p>\n

Do you think clients care if\/how you use AI in your work?<\/h5>\n

Not really, and I think that\u2019s healthy. It\u2019s just expected that we use it now.<\/p>\n

What still matters most is clarity of thought. The brief still rules. \u201cShit in, shit out\u201d has never been truer.<\/p>\n

What is exciting is that it levels the playing field. As a small agency, we can now bring million-pound ideas to life visually, by ourselves. That\u2019s liberating. The creative barriers \u2013 time, budget, manpower \u2013 have shrunk.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, clients don\u2019t come to us for \u201cstuff\u201d \u2013 they come for ideas that make people care.<\/p>\n

And I still passionately believe that, while AI can supercharge your capacity and speed up your progress, it can\u2019t do your work for you. Work, ultimately, is imagination plus decision-making. And AI can\u2019t do either well. It can imitate feeling, but it can\u2019t mean it. It can\u2019t dream.<\/p>\n

And crucially, it can\u2019t make decisions. It has no guts, no instinct. It doesn\u2019t have to stand up in front of a board and justify itself.<\/p>\n

What we do takes courage. I don\u2019t mean \u201cbrave ideas\u201d \u2013 I\u2019m talking about having the conviction to believe in one idea, sell it in, fight for it. Clients care more about having someone on their side. And AI isn\u2019t that. At least, not yet.<\/p>\n

Do you use AI for any non-creative aspects of running your business?<\/h5>\n

Yes. everywhere. HR is the biggest one \u2013 writing policies, checking employment law, and understanding best practice for things like feedback and progression planning.<\/p>\n

We use it in finance too. It knows our targets and ambitions, flags opportunities and challenges in cash flow, and helps us model different operational scenarios. Legal language, contracts, it tightens those up as well.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s definitely saved us time, but more importantly, it\u2019s saved us money. We can have quick five-minute chats with lawyers or accountants just to sanity-check something, rather than paying for full consultations. It\u2019s never let us down. Just don\u2019t ask it to do complex financial analysis \u2013 or, if you do, check the maths.<\/p>\n

We also use it to analyse patterns in client briefs, which is equal parts useful and horrifying. This year, lots of people still want to be \u201cthe Oatly of category X\u201d but most REALLY want to be \u201cthe Liquid Death of category X.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most requested phrases of the year? \u201cOwnable colour,\u201d \u201cCreate a cult,\u201d and \u201cHyper-disruptive.\u201d Client Briefs 2025 wrapped \u2013 coming soon.<\/p>\n

Beyond the best-known tools, what\u2019s one AI tool you\u2019d recommend to other design studios?<\/h5>\n

We\u2019re pretty experimental by nature and we\u2019ll try anything once. So we mix it up. For deeper research, we use Claude \u2013 it\u2019s more thoughtful and better at handling long, complex inputs.<\/p>\n

For creative research, like campaign or brand reference hunting, we use Prvctice. For image generation, we use anything and everything going \u2013 from Nano Banana to Endless Tools to Visual Electric. Anything that can help us visualise rapidly and test out our ideas.<\/p>\n

For generating interactive tools, apps, forms etc, Figma Make. For rapid insights and playback, Notebook is great. And in our pitches, AI is everywhere \u2013 visualising video flows, building moodboards, tightening story arcs.<\/p>\n

There are so many that we use every day. But I can\u2019t recommend one \u2013 it depends entirely on what you need it for. It\u2019s like asking which website I\u2019d recommend \u2013 for what?<\/p>\n

AI is a means to an end. If you want to test an app idea quickly and don\u2019t know how to code, Figma Make. If you want to get decent imagery without the pain of refining through 100 different prompts, Visual Electric. If you want lawyer-level insight, Claude.<\/p>\n

If you want to feel really, really good about yourself and be told you have \u201cexcellent ideas!\u201d 15 times a minute, stick with good old ChatGPT.<\/p>\n

\nWhat to read next: <\/strong>How is View Source using AI?<\/a> | How is Studio Dumbar\/DEPT using AI?<\/a> | How is Base Design using AI?<\/a> | How is Studio Gruhl using AI?<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Among Equals is a London-based creative studio which works on strategy, branding, campaigns for clients like Candy Kittens, Netflix and Vinterior. Here, founder Emily Jeffrey-Barrett explains how they use AI,\u00a0 and how she feels about … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[145],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow is Among Equals using AI? - Blog TSK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How is Among Equals using AI? - Blog TSK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Among Equals is a London-based creative studio which works on strategy, branding, campaigns for clients like Candy Kittens, Netflix and Vinterior. Here, founder Emily Jeffrey-Barrett explains how they use AI,\u00a0 and how she feels about …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog TSK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-27T08:30:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/\",\"name\":\"Blog TSK\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/\",\"name\":\"How is Among Equals using AI? - Blog TSK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-27T08:30:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-27T08:30:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How is Among Equals using AI?\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How is Among Equals using AI? - Blog TSK","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How is Among Equals using AI? - Blog TSK","og_description":"Among Equals is a London-based creative studio which works on strategy, branding, campaigns for clients like Candy Kittens, Netflix and Vinterior. Here, founder Emily Jeffrey-Barrett explains how they use AI,\u00a0 and how she feels about …","og_url":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/","og_site_name":"Blog TSK","article_published_time":"2025-10-27T08:30:17+00:00","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/","name":"Blog TSK","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/","name":"How is Among Equals using AI? - Blog TSK","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-10-27T08:30:17+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-27T08:30:17+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/how-is-among-equals-using-ai\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How is Among Equals using AI?"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15627"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}