A few months later, I got a call from Rolling Stone. David had requested me to shoot him for an article they were doing. This started our 15 years of collaborations: I would get a phone call from David's office, and they would ask if I was I available to talk to David. A few minutes later, the phone would ring, and David would tell me about the project.
AI is everywhere, and for designers, it's both an exciting opportunity and a huge challenge. Tools can now generate graphics, write copy, even build prototypes - but can they understand why a user feels something, or what will truly delight them? That's where human designers come in. Over the past year, as I've experimented with AI in my workflow, I've realized something crucial: the real skill isn't just "using AI" - it's thinking differently with AI, combining creativity with judgment, speed with insight.
I have an intimate, complicated relationship with AI - like a coworker I both rely on and don't fully trust. I use it as a creative amplifier for everything from marketing strategy to coaching content.
Lourdes, then a Ph.D. student at UNLV, had started collaborating on campus events with her friend Lin Smith Jerome, who was married to Jerome and would soon become her closest creative partner.