Creative x AI Workshop Series

Behavioural Curriculum for AI-Supported Creative Empowerment

Mentoring
Behavioural-Design
AI
Creative-Education

The “Creative x AI” Workshop Series was co-designed as a behavioural curriculum to empower young Black creatives through AI-supported design education. The programme delivered reflective, tools-based learning using platforms such as Figma, Midjourney, ChatGPT, RunwayML, and Jitter. Its aim was to build confidence, strengthen creative identity, and enhance employability within the creative industries.

Published

Aug 2025

1. Executive Snapshot

  • Role: Co-Designer & Lead Research Facilitator
  • Duration: Multi-session workshop series
  • Target Group: Emerging young Black creatives
  • Context: Creative economy skills gap amid rapid AI integration

Core Problem: Young creatives lacked structured support to integrate AI tools into their practice in a way that strengthened rather than diluted creative identity and employability.

Outcome: Developed and delivered a research-informed behavioural curriculum integrating AI tools to enhance creative confidence, identity clarity and portfolio readiness.

2. Strategic Context

The acceleration of generative AI tools has disrupted entry pathways into the creative industries. For historically marginalised creatives, this presented both:

  • Opportunity (expanded tool access)
  • Risk (skill displacement and identity erosion)

There was limited structured education focused on:

  • Ethical AI integration
  • Identity formation
  • Translating AI fluency into employability

The intervention aimed to close this capability gap.

3. Research & Diagnostic Phase

Research Questions

  • How do emerging creatives perceive AI in relation to authorship and identity?
  • What capability gaps limit effective AI adoption?
  • What behavioural barriers affect experimentation and confidence?

Methods

  • Pre-workshop reflective surveys
  • Facilitated group discussions
  • In-session observation
  • Iterative feedback loops
  • Artefact analysis (outputs created using AI tools)

Tools Explored

  • Figma (design workflows)
  • Midjourney (visual generation)
  • ChatGPT (ideation & structuring)
  • RunwayML (video augmentation)
  • Jitter (motion design)

Constraints

  • Uneven digital literacy
  • Variable access to hardware
  • Psychological resistance to AI

4. Key Insights

  1. Identity Anxiety: Participants feared AI would replace their originality.
  2. Tool Overwhelm: Exposure without structure led to shallow experimentation.
  3. Confidence Deficit: Low belief in professional competitiveness limited ambition.
  4. Opportunity Gap: Few participants knew how to translate AI use into employability language.

5. Intervention Design

Based on findings, the curriculum was structured around three behavioural pillars:

  1. Identity Before Tools: Reflection-first exercises anchored AI use in personal narrative.
  2. Structured Experimentation: Tool use embedded within defined creative challenges.
  3. Translation to Employability: Outputs reframed as portfolio artefacts with articulated design rationale.

The workshops combined:

  • Guided prompts
  • Co-creation exercises
  • Live tool demonstration
  • Structured critique cycles
  • Meta-reflection

6. Implementation

  • Multi-session modular format
  • Progressive tool complexity
  • Peer collaboration
  • Iterative content refinement
  • Adaptive pacing based on cohort feedback

7. Impact & Evidence

Qualitative outcomes included:

  • Increased reported confidence in AI tool usage
  • Stronger articulation of creative identity
  • Production of portfolio-ready artefacts
  • Greater clarity on positioning within creative industry roles

Behavioural indicators observed:

  • Reduced hesitation in tool experimentation
  • Increased peer feedback engagement
  • Clearer self-descriptions of creative value proposition

8. Strategic Value & Transferability

This intervention demonstrates:

  • Behavioural design applied to capability development
  • Ethical AI integration frameworks
  • Curriculum architecture for digital transformation
  • Scalable model for educational institutions or corporate upskilling

Transferable to:

  • Corporate AI onboarding
  • Innovation team capability building
  • University-level digital design curricula
  • Workforce development programmes