Explore the role of AI in NMCO’s Creative workflow! While AI technology has taken off the NMCO creatives share how they utilize these evolving tools to streamline their creativity. Whether it’s generating writing prompts, speeding up repetitive tasks, or bettering our health and wellbeing, our creatives are leveraging AI to boost efficiency while keeping the human touch at the heart of everything we do.
NMCO’s CEO and CCO
Lucky Gonzalez
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
From a business perspective, I use AI to help navigate the ever-changing laws, rules, regulations, and procedures. I’ve found that I can find answers much quicker than I can searching with Google.
If I can’t find something on a specific website and I’m confident it’s there, I’ll use AI to search the site for answers.
If Google is searching to find answers on the internet, AI is having a conversation with me on the internet. AI is the next Google Search. While ChatGPT is a great resource to help generate written information, I don’t want to rely on it to take away from the human aspect of creative writing. I do use it to help with grammar and punctuation. It should be used as a tool, not a crutch.
The other side of the coin is the energy consumption of AI. We’re using massive computer resources to have AI generate text, pictures, videos, music, data, algorithms, code, and other resource-intensive instructions. This isn’t good for the environment. Something has to power these computers, something has to cool these computers, and it will catch up to us. We shouldn’t be living beyond our means.
Time will tell what will happen with AI. It feels like it will be sooner rather than later. AI is absolutely impressive. Scary even. I hope people use it for good. Let’s all hope it’s used to make everyone’s lives better.
Tina Ballew
Founder & Chief Creative Officer
As someone who enjoys detailed planning and long-term goals, I’ve recently started using it to guide a 5-year plan for myself and how I want to position my business toward the goals I want to accomplish. Before, I would intuitively create goals and plans based on my limited industry knowledge.
Now, it populates everything I need, broken down by quarters, one year up to five years, with SMART goals. I tweaked it to make sense to me now. The information is spot on; I know it’s data obtained from some of the world’s best companies.
I’ve also used it to guide me in my wellness when I need to refocus on myself. I’ve had it create meal plans, workout schedules, and prompts for mindfulness. It shouldn’t replace professionals, but is a helpful resource when needed. It feels like a personal business planner and life coach.
NMCO’s Video Team
Ryan M. Robson
Video Specialist & Photographer
I believe I mostly use AI through Lightroom assistance with the removal and cleaning of edits that may be too difficult for the clone tool.
NMCO’s Graphics Team
Jenna Dunlap
Graphic Designer
Generative fill in Photoshop. I find this tool very useful because we are able to expand and adjust photos if needed, without having to take another photo or spend a ton of time editing ourselves. It’s a time saver and allows us to work more efficiently!
Chat GPT !!!! This helps us think of new ways to write captions, fill in the blanks, get ideas kickstarted…really a useful tool for everything. I use it a lot when I am writing. If I need help thinking of a quick way to rephrase something or if I need to know more information for what I am writing about, Chat GPT saves me time and gives me quick ideas to help along the process.
Dana Apodaca
Senior Graphic Designer & Art Director
I like to use the Write for Me GPT to help me improve my art statements for logos and brands. I’m able to collect my thoughts, instruct the prompt to include crucial pieces of information, and then refine the response to suit my needs.
Generative Fill in Photoshop has been a game changer because I can easily remove distracting objects from photos, like a stain on a blouse or a stop sign in the distance.
My biggest tip for using AI is to not let it do the heavy lifting. It is only a tool to help you reach your goal- it’s not meant to do all the work. Use it to assist your writing, idea generation, etc., but then take what it’s given you and take it further, make it even better with your own personal knowledge, skills, and experiences.
NMCO’s Studio Manager
Steph Preciado-Shelton
Studio Director
I’ve used AI to break down legal jargon in layman’s terms for studio management. It’s a great tool to get an answer in real time and without breaking the bank.
On a creative level, I’ve used AI to generate visual ideas quickly. If I like the initial idea, I will work it more and remove or add other ideas to make it my own.
NMCO’s Web Team
Anna Kat Hollis
Senior Web Developer
I used AI to answer this prompt – just kidding!! Everything written below was by a human for a human.
I primarily use AI for troubleshooting problems on a website. Like Lucky said, I find that I’m able to find answers a lot quicker than searching with Google. Whenever I’m experiencing an error on a website that I’ve never seen before, I start a conversation with AI, and it helps me break down the issue and find solutions quickly. I’ve noticed that a lot of our hosting providers are using AI chatbots to help clients troubleshoot as well.
I use AI as a tool to help my writing. I often write up copy and send it to AI for grammatical errors or very slight language tweaks. This helps me keep my own writing voice, but strengthens my sentence structure and other small things that I may be overlooking.
Blanca Martinez
Digital Designer
Generative fill in Photoshop has been such a time saver as a designer! While it’s not always perfect, it is a great tool for expanding photos and removing backgrounds! (something that would take me a painstakingly long amount of time to do!)
Grammarly! I love utilizing the extension in my browsers to catch small misspellings or grammatical errors since Adobe doesn’t have a spell check embedded in its applications yet (fingers crossed that is implemented soon!)
In Illustrator, I enjoy playing with the Generative Recolor or utilizing the Retype feature. Both are great tools that help streamline my overall design process.
A quick reminder that AI is a tool! Not a means to an end. We can appreciate the help new AI tools can provide without letting them take control or dictate our creativity.
As AI technology continues to evolve, so does our approach to creativity. At NMCO, we don’t see these tools as a replacement for imagination, instead it helps our creatives push boundaries, work smarter, and tell more impactful stories. By embracing innovation while staying true to our creative roots, we’re building a workflow where technology and artistry can move forward together. The future of creativity is here, and our creatives are excited to shape it, one idea at a time!
