The Creative Shift – People, Process, and Technology in the Age of Generative AI
Authored by: Adam Driggs, Director of Adobe Solutions
Introduction: A Creative Revolution in Progress
The rise of generative AI (GenAI) marks a transformative moment for creative professionals across industries. From design and writing to video production and brand storytelling, GenAI is reshaping how ideas and content are generated, refined, and delivered. But amid the excitement and innovation lies a critical tension: will AI augment or automate creativity?
This article explores the current research on how GenAI is impacting creative work and highlights why a people-centered, integrated approach is essential.
At LeapPoint, we believe in designing solutions that honor human ingenuity while leveraging technology to unlock new possibilities.
What the Research Says: Evidence from the Field
Recent meta-analyses and empirical studies provide a nuanced picture of GenAI’s effect on creativity. Human + GenAI collaboration can lead to notable boosts in productivity and idea generation, especially for early-career professionals. However, it also carries risks. Most notably, a measurable reduction in idea diversity and originality. While these tools offer speed and scale, they may unintentionally lead to homogenized creative output.
Beyond the numbers, qualitative research has captured how creatives themselves are adapting. Interviews and ethnographic studies reveal that creative professionals aren’t passive recipients of AI tools. Instead, they actively shape how these tools are used, setting boundaries, crafting prompts, and exercising judgment on when to embrace or override machine-generated content. Key themes that emerge include a desire for ethical transparency, shared authorship, and tools that amplify rather than dilute creative identity.
These insights can be summarized in the following table:
The Human Factor: Empathy in the Age of Automation
Creative professionals aren’t being displaced: they’re being redefined. In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, the human elements of creativity—intuition, empathy, risk-taking, and storytelling—are more valuable than ever. LeapPoint’s approach centers on these values. We believe that technology should elevate people, not sideline them. Our work begins with understanding the human experience of creative professionals and building solutions that respect and enhance their craft.
Bridging People, Process, and Technology
Successful GenAI adoption doesn’t begin with tools, but with people. Organizations that excel in modern content supply chains do so by taking a structured yet flexible approach grounded in empathy, experimentation, and measurable impact.
We’ve seen firsthand—from our work with many global brands—that when Adobe Firefly and the other GenStudio solutions are implemented thoughtfully, they don’t just improve asset creation; they transform creative operations into intelligent, AI-enabled systems.
People
At the heart of this transformation is a new kind of creative leadership: the Creative Engineer. This hybrid role blends deep creative operational knowledge with a passion for AI. These individuals think, speak, and solve problems like creatives but are excited in the potential of GenAI. They are essential partners in identifying opportunities, designing pilots, and scaling what works across the enterprise. Their presence ensures that GenAI adoption remains grounded in the real needs of creative professionals, not just technical possibilities.
Process
Creative excellence doesn’t scale without structure. That’s why we help clients establish Content Centers of Excellence (CoEs) that govern, standardize, and evangelize repeatable solutions. CoEs serve as operational anchors for innovation. They help creative teams move faster, but with clarity. They distill learnings into playbooks, frameworks, and templates that can be reused across campaigns, brands, or markets—ensuring that successful experiments are not one-offs but the beginning of a repeatable system.
Technology
Integrating solutions like Adobe GenStudio into modern content supply chains enables organizations to automate asset creation, orchestrate workflows, and accelerate time to market. When deployed thoughtfully, tools such as Firefly, Workfront, Creative Cloud, AEM Assets, and Fusion can be linked into scalable ecosystems, governed by insights and optimized for reuse, velocity, and brand consistency. The goal is not technology for its own sake, but to build human-centered, data-enriched, and future-ready creative operations.
Thinking Systemically, Acting Empirically
LeapPoint approaches transformation with both heart and rigor. Our delivery model favors rapid experimentation rather than over-engineered planning. We move quickly to prototype and test, while capturing what works in a closed feedback loop that refines both tools and team behaviors.
Our cross-functional teams combine domain expertise in creative operations, data science, change management, and Adobe platform engineering. This team-of-teams model ensures that every solution is not only technically sound—but organizationally adoptable and culturally resonant.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Creative Work
As GenAI continues to evolve, so will the roles, rhythms, and rules of creative work. New positions like the Creative Engineer will become essential bridges between creative vision and technical possibility. CoEs will formalize learning into scalable playbooks. And GenStudio will become more than a tool—it will be the connective tissue of content creation.
But none of this happens automatically. It requires deliberate design, organizational alignment, and a relentless focus on the human experience.
For individual contributors—especially creatives who thrive in moments of collaboration—the future also means finding new ways to spark those serendipitous creative breakthroughs. Think about the everyday rituals: walking over to a colleague’s desk to get a second opinion, workshopping ideas on a whiteboard, or grabbing a quick gut check from a trusted teammate. In a remote or fast-moving environment, those interactions don’t always happen. GenAI, when implemented thoughtfully, can be that sounding board. It can help you riff on a concept, test different directions, and validate what’s working when no one else is around.
This is the opportunity: for creative professionals to lean in—to explore how AI can be both a collaborator and a creative amplifier. And for Creative Engineers to lead the charge in translating human insight into scalable solutions. LeapPoint is here to guide that evolution.
Conclusion
GenAI will only reach its full potential when it amplifies human creativity—not when it tries to replace it. The creative process is deeply human, and we believe its future should be too. At LeapPoint, we are leading this shift—not just with cutting-edge solutions, but with a people-first mindset, a strong process framework, and a deep respect for the craft of creativity. Let’s create the future, together.
