Halina Santiago, Chief Creative Officer & Co-Founder of Prompt: “Please, can we just stop being software snobs?”

Are you a software snob? Someone who sneers at the democratisation of design through online tools? Despite her evident expertise, Halina Santiago – the Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of Prompt – has a far more inclusive attitude. “We’ve all seen numerous memes making fun of graphic designers who use Canva,” she told us. “Please, can we just stop being software snobs? It’s nice to see more people having access to design software and using it either as designers catering to clients or entrepreneurs using it for their own businesses.”

That’s quite a relief, as here at TechFinitive we’re advocates of Canva, Midjourney and even Copilot Designer. And our collective design qualifications… well, let’s not go there. Let’s instead introduce Prompt, a creative marketing agency that specialises in content and commerce.

Founded earlier this year, with the backing of Lizard Global (we published our interview with Jeremy Raes, Co-Founder and CEO of Lizard Global, yesterday), it helps businesses deliver impactful campaigns using digital marketing. A great example being its strategy and execution during the launch of Malaysia’s first Padel and Social Club earlier this year, in partnership with ASCARO.

Halina – with stints as a Creative Director at Ogilvy, Grey Group and Publicis – brings design flair to Prompt, and a BA in Fine Arts. But, as you’ll see from the full interview below, she embraces technology too. “I don’t view AI and automation as a threat; a challenger is more likely,” she said.

“Creativity and design thinking are not dependent on technology, it can survive without it. It has for thousands of years. I’d like to think that graphic designers of today will evolve to be even more creative, more innovative, with the help of these tools.”

Which brings us very nicely to our first question…

When thinking of your creative process, at what point does technology come in? What role does it play in different stages, from concept to final design?

There’s no set time or stage where technology comes in. Sometimes an idea, as the cliché goes, really does come out of nowhere while you’re in the shower or walking in the park. And it can easily come when you’re doom-scrolling on your social media feed, so in that case, you can say that it can start from the get-go and trigger the creative process. Whether it’s browsing Pinterest, lurking on Discord, or simply playing around your design software can spark ideas and prompt you into action. Technology, when it comes to the initial stages of my creative process is often that, it serves as a trigger and serves as an inspiration.

When it comes to the execution part then it serves as a tool for bringing ideas to life. A lot of tools and software now help make your work efficient whether it’s for your own personal project or when you’re collaborating with other people.

Post the delivery of final designs, now you have tools to measure its effectiveness, reach and engagement, where you can learn and then again get inspired, and kickstart another creative process.

How has technology changed the way you collaborate at work? And in your view, has it improved or worsened navigating creative differences with clients or team members?

Prior to the pandemic, I was used to working remotely as my team and our clients at that time were based in different parts of the world. Since then, technology has only helped improve how one or a team can collaborate at work.

Using platforms/tools/software for collaboration just makes things easier, as long as communication is well-established among the team members. It’s so easy to jump into a call to brainstorm together, or leave a comment on a shared deck and work independently with clear tasks aligned. Regardless of whether you’re working remotely or together in one office space, tech has made it a lot easier to be on the same page, figuratively and sometimes even literally.

I don’t recall any particular moment where it worsened navigating creative differences with clients or with colleagues. Creative differences can and may always be there, but tech as tools help in addressing these differences and challenges, oftentimes in a more efficient and impartial way. Sure, there are still painful things when clients and agencies don’t use the same platforms and tools, and that can be a bit challenging. And of course, sometimes nothing beats an “offline” discussion over a couple of drinks to sort things out.

Generative AI art has taken the graphic design space by storm – what are your views on the use of tools like Stable Diffusion, Leonardo, Midjourney and others?

I can speak about Midjourney as we use this a lot at Prompt, and to say that it has not amazed me would be a complete and utter lie. It is a tool, a powerful one but not without its challenges and controversies. I personally enjoy playing with prompts, my favourite being /imagine… Because isn’t that what we always do anyway? We imagine. And curiosity really gets the best of me to see what others are imagining too if they are aligned with mine, or if they will inspire new ideas.

I mentioned lurking on Discord to see what images are being created, and to study what prompts are being used and generated. It’s a great learning space. But it still is a tool. It can be a tool that can complete the whole creative process from brainstorming, to execution and to final design that will eventually be published without using any other tools or software. 

Midjourney has become a saving grace for those who don’t want to pay a premium service for stock photo images or to save time in generating a shape for someone not used to creating one from scratch on Adobe Illustrator. For a lot of young and aspiring graphic designers, or for owners of small businesses who can’t afford a graphic designer, having access to generative AI art could be very helpful & useful.

It needs to be said though that there are still a lot of ethical concerns on intellectual property, authenticity and transparency. So as creative leaders finding a balanced and conscious approach to using AI, is something that we should strive to do. To view it as a complement to human creativity rather than a complete replacement. 

With the rise of AI and automation in design, how do you see the role of a graphic designer evolving in the next few years?

To reiterate, I would like to view AI and automation in design as a complement to human creativity. I don’t believe graphic designers will be extinct (talk to me again in five years!). I don’t view AI and automation as a threat; a challenger is more likely.

Creativity and design thinking are not dependent on technology, it can survive without it. It has for thousands of years. I’d like to think that graphic designers of today will evolve to be even more creative, more innovative, with the help of these tools.

I’m sure people might say that graphic designers will just be lazy, given advancements in AI are making things easier. But I see designers learning from it and making use of the time saved to come up with new ways of working, coming up with new styles that will excite us.

With the high chance of a great number of creative content relying solely on AI, it can and does limit originality. But look at it this way, we might also truly see which ones will stand out, and cut through the clutter. Even today you can already spot highly skilled graphic designers and creatives who are really using AI to their advantage and bettering their craft while maintaining their own unique styles to deliver truly exceptional and original pieces of work.

Over the course of your career, what is one technological shift you’ve witnessed in graphic design that really stuck with you?

The technological shift that really stuck with me or is stuck with me is exactly what is happening now with the rise and adaptation of AI tools. I don’t believe I have ever witnessed nor experienced first-hand the exponential speed at which generative AI is evolving. From still images to cinematic videos, it’s just mind-blowing. It’s scary and exciting at the same time.

In what ways has the accessibility of design software democratised the field of graphic design, and what challenges or opportunities has this created?

We’ve all seen numerous memes making fun of graphic designers who use Canva. Please, can we just stop being software snobs? It’s nice to see more people having access to design software and using it either as designers catering to clients or entrepreneurs using it for their own businesses.

It has definitely become more challenging for some designers and agencies to justify their cost because you simply cannot say that just because you are using a more “professional” software means you can charge “x” amount higher. It still boils down to the quality of work, and if it meets the task at hand, and honestly a lot of these software can do the job. But then again, it’s an opportunity to showcase what you can offer and add value to what you can deliver that goes beyond what software or tools you are using.