An introduction to Futureproof: Create

Key Takeaways

AI Empowers, It Doesn't Replace: View AI as a tool to empower, not replace, creative professionals. By adopting an "abundance mindset" and automating mundane tasks, creatives can focus on higher-value strategic thinking and better ideas. Like Photoshop before it, AI will democratize creativity rather than eliminate it.

Master 10 Essential AI Skills: To stay "futureproof," creatives must master new tools and concepts. Key skills include writing with a knowledge base for brand context, using reference documents for intentional output, maintaining visual consistency with Midjourney SREFs, and automating workflows.

Context is Crucial for Quality Output: Avoid generic AI results by providing specific context. Uploading brand guidelines, past work, and strategic documents enables AI to generate intentional, consistent content that aligns with a brand’s unique voice and vision.

Community and Collaboration Drive Innovation: Navigating the shift to AI requires collaboration and shared learning. The Futureproof: Create initiative is a community for professionals to share behind-the-scenes case studies and real-world insights, helping everyone learn to leverage AI and lead the industry's transformation together.

What is Futureproof: Create?

AI isn’t a passing trend. We’re in the throes of a fundamental shift in how creative work gets done. That’s why we’ve launched Futureproof: Create—a community for creative professionals to navigate this shift together. Our goal? To ensure that rather than being replaced by AI, creatives own the transformation, leveraging AI to drive more impact, efficiency, and ultimately, better ideas.

Every month, we're going to invite people from the community to share what they're working on and give a behind-the-scenes case study of how they did what they did and what they learned along the way.

Why are we doing this?

At Traction, we've been pioneers and champions of a Liquid Workforce. We see that workforce as more than a staffing model, we see it as a community and see an opportunity to help that community grow. The very nature of creative work is changing by the minute.

Some creatives are concerned they might be replaced by robots. Others see it as an opportunity—a tool to supercharge their creative potential and take on projects that were previously impossible.

We get it. Change is scary. But history tells us that when new creative tools emerge, they don’t eliminate creativity; they democratize it. The introduction of Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Canva didn’t kill the creative industry. It made high-quality creative output more accessible—and forced those in the industry to innovate.

As Lauren Evans put it during our session, “Approach AI with an abundance mindset. It’s not about what AI will take from us—it’s about what we can do with it.”

Regardless, we can all help each other thrive.

Who can benefit from being part of this community?

Maybe you're a creative director or filmmaker who is breaking new boundaries with AI video production tools. Maybe you're a Creative Services department leader of an in-house team that wants to do high-level production at scale. Maybe you're a designer or writer and want to figure out how you'll make a living as the robots come knocking.

We know one thing. The tools are changing, but talent still matters. Let's do more together.

If you're interested in joining the community or presenting a case study, drop us a line.

In our first session, we started with the basics. We hope you find this summary of "10 Things every creative should know about AI" valuable.

10 AI skills every creative should know.

Our discussion included a Top 10 list of AI concepts that every creative professional should understand. If you want to remain futureproof, you need to master the tools that will define the future.

1. Write with a knowledge base.

Generative AI isn’t just about writing text—it’s about writing with context. Feeding AI tools the right reference documents allows you to generate content that actually aligns with brand voice and strategy.

You can customize your ChatGPT Teams instance with your company value props so it knows exactly what to say about you. You can upload reference files to Projects in Claude.ai to achieve the same. Having this foundational knowledge allows you to have powerful messaging that is consistent across your entire org.

2. Use reference docs.

AI performs better when it has context and it is amazing at processing information. Uploading brand guidelines, past work, and strategic documents allows it to generate content that feels intentional rather than generic.

A simple example: We recently uploaded a brand strategy deck and our Creative Brief template into Claude and had it write a brief and a script for a brand video. The client loved it and didn’t ask for a single change.

3. Personalize your writing style.

Creative consistency is key. AI can be trained to adopt your specific brand voice. This gets you to better writing quicker — that doesn’t sound like it came from a chatbot.

4. Use Midjourney SREFs and Personalization Codes for images.

This technique allows designers to maintain a consistent brand look and feel in AI-generated images by setting reference codes that lock in stylistic elements. We just did this for another client as an essential part of their Brand Guidelines. SREF codes will emulate an individual image style, while P-codes allow you to create moodboards to inspire your GenAI outputs.

5. AI-powered image editing in Photoshop.

Masking images used to take hours. AI now makes it instant. Tools like Photoshop’s AI-powered selection and background generation cut production time from hours to seconds. And the result for nuanced selections like wispy hair are better than 99% of creative pros could ever do on their own. Figma just introduced a similar “remove background” AI feature.

6. Directors prompt better.

Prompts aren’t just about describing what you want. The more precise and directive your prompts are, the better your results will be. This should be exciting for creatives who have the experience and vocabulary to ask for “a slow dolly track, left-to-right” when they craft a prompt.

7. Using frames for video creation.

AI-powered video tools like Runway allow creatives to set specific frames to guide video generation, helping maintain brand identity and storytelling structure.

8. Adding ingredients to AI-generated content.

Refining AI-generated work is easier when you import specific elements—objects, characters, or environments—into AI tools like Runway or MidJourney. This ensures consistency, maintains branding, and aligns AI-generated visuals with your creative vision, making it especially useful for brands looking to scale content while staying on-brand.

Joe Skopek, a creative technologist at Traction, also touched on a fascinating aspect of AI image generation: the concept of "splats." Unlike traditional pixels, AI builds images from a cloud of tiny data points that coalesce to form the final visual. Understanding this can help refine how we work with AI-generated imagery and optimize prompts for better results.

9. Automate workflows with AI agents.

Workflows can now be greeted that automate multiple steps of any repeatable process. You can generate, schedule, and publish content across multiple platforms with little human intervention. The example below shows how you can scrape content from any blog post, route it to ChatGPT and Dall-E to generate and post content on social media channels.

10. Do more with less.

The best creatives aren’t the ones who spend more time—they’re the ones who get more done. AI gives us the ability to focus on high-value strategic thinking rather than mundane execution.

AI isn't the end of creativity—it's a new beginning.

One of the most exciting takeaways from our session is that AI doesn’t replace creativity—it enhances it. But success in this new era requires a shift in mindset. It’s not about resisting AI. It’s about learning to work with it.

What’s next for Futureproof for Talent?

This is just the beginning. Our next session will focus on AI-powered branding, exploring how generative tools can enhance creative integrity while scaling production.

Going forward, we’ll feature behind-the-scenes case studies from members, breaking down how AI-driven projects come to life—from concept to execution. These deep dives will provide real-world insights into what’s working, what’s not, and where AI is pushing the limits of creative work.

Want to showcase your work? We’re inviting members to present their own case studies in upcoming sessions. If you’ve integrated AI into branding, video production, or content automation, we want to hear from you.

Let us know if you’d like to present. Futureproof isn’t just about keeping up with AI—it’s about leading with it.

AI is moving fast. The ones who master it will be the ones who win. Are you ready?

Frequently Asked Questions about Futureproof: Create

Q1: What is Futureproof: Create?

A1: Futureproof: Create is a community initiative launched by the marketing agency Traction for creative professionals to navigate the fundamental shift to AI together. The goal is to empower creatives to own this transformation, using AI to drive more impact, increase efficiency, and ultimately generate better ideas rather than being replaced by the technology. The community meets monthly, with members sharing behind-the-scenes case studies about their work with AI.

Q2: Will AI replace creative professionals?

A2: No, AI is here to empower creatives, not replace them. AI should be approached with an "abundance mindset," focusing on what can be accomplished with it. History shows that new tools like Photoshop and Canva democratized creativity rather than eliminating it, and AI is viewed as the next evolution of this trend. It allows creatives to automate mundane execution and focus on high-value strategic thinking.

Q3: Who should join the Futureproof: Create community?

A3: The community is designed for a wide range of creative professionals who are adapting to AI's impact on their work. This includes:
Creative directors and filmmakers exploring AI video production tools.
Leaders of in-house creative services departments who want to scale high-level production.
Designers and writers seeking to understand how to thrive as AI tools become more common.

Q4: What are the most important AI skills for creatives to learn?

A4: To remain "futureproof," creatives should master several key AI concepts and tools. The most critical skills involve providing AI with context to generate high-quality, on-brand work:
Write with a knowledge base: Feed AI tools reference documents, brand strategy, and value propositions so they can write with brand context.
Maintain visual consistency: Use advanced features like Midjourney SREFs and Personalization Codes to lock in stylistic elements and ensure a consistent brand look in AI-generated images.
Master AI-powered editing: Leverage AI features in tools like Photoshop and Figma to dramatically speed up production tasks like image masking, cutting production time from hours to seconds.
Automate workflows: Use AI agents to automate multi-step processes, such as generating and publishing content across various social media platforms with minimal human intervention.