This content was created by Girlboss in collaboration with Adobe.
You can’t be sad while looking at Kitiya Palaskas and Shyne Webster’s work. It’s just a fact! These two creatives are paving the way forward when it comes to bold, colorful and mood-boosting designs—if you haven’t seen their work, it’s amazing—so, I wanted to tap them for all of their invaluable (and joyful!) design knowledge. More specifically, I wanted to learn how they’re using the latest and greatest creative tools, like the Adobe Express mobile app, now equipped with Adobe Firefly generative AI technology, to help them reach new heights of creative possibilities. Check out their answers (and incredible work) below!
How would you describe your personal design aesthetic?
Kitiya: “My design work is known for being maximalist, color-forward, playful, bold and textural—all using craft-based techniques reimagined in contemporary ways. My personal aesthetic definitely matches this!”
Shyne: “Full of life. Whether that means using lots of bold, vibrant colors or textured elements, I always want my work to feel warm, lively and interesting to people. In my client work, I’m limited by the parameters of brand guidelines, but that sense of life and energy are still imbued in my work regardless of whether it’s a sleek, minimal brand or a rowdy one like my personal brand. Being able to infuse life into any type of creative work regardless of the style is my jam!”
By: Shyne Webster
How have creative tools like Adobe Express helped you level-up your content and helped build your brand?
Kitiya: “As a small business, with my only staff being contractors that don’t work with me every day, I’m all about time saving and efficiency in everything I do. I use Adobe Express primarily for creating social media tiles, adding flair (design assets, animations, etc.) to existing designs before posting online, scheduling content, and quick image editing on-the-go. Prior to integrating Adobe Express into my design and marketing workflows, things felt very disparate and disorganized. I used all sorts of different platforms and programs to create my work and marketing collateral, and nothing ever felt seamless or efficient. The biggest benefit of using Adobe Express to me is the ability to work seamlessly across multiple Adobe programs and integrate that work directly into my Adobe Express designs. The ease of integration is a huge positive for me. In particular, I find the Photoshop and Creative Cloud Libraries integration really useful because I work with a lot of handmade papercraft graphics to add flair to my designs. It’s great to be able to use these scanned pieces in Photoshop, then tweak the grain and shadows there, and have my files be immediately available to integrate into my marketing collateral within Adobe Express, and to update in real time if I make any changes to the original designs.
Shyne: “I love to use Adobe Express to create social media content, specifically graphics promoting events or announcements, and for networking assets. One of my favorite uses is for making branded QR code phone lockscreens that I can share with new folks while I’m out at conferences and events. Before Adobe Express, creating fun, high-quality content took a lot more time and effort. I would have to open up other complex editing tools and completely start from scratch by pulling assets from various stock websites, my camera roll, etc. But now, I not only have the tools powered by Adobe Firefly generative AI, Photoshop, and even Illustrator, but I also have easy access within the Adobe Express app to thousands of design assets and decorative elements. So now, I can hop right into Adobe Express and create from my imagination rather than having to spend so much time gathering stuff and then designing.”
By: Kitiya Palaskas
How have advancements in generative AI technology positively benefited your experience as a creative?
Kitiya: “Admittedly, being a handmade artist, I initially found generative AI intimidating to use. But after gently easing into the world by incorporating it into my existing marketing collateral design projects and to help with streamlining my design workflows, I’ve realized that it indeed has a meaningful place in my design practice. It easily allows creatives like me to think more outside the box. I see AI being most helpful and inspiring for creatives in the ideation phases of a creative project, as well as to increase efficiency and save time in the day-to-day functioning of a creative business. With the right tools in my pocket, I can achieve all the various tasks of running my business all on my own.”
Shyne: “As a staunch advocate for human-centered design, and just prioritizing humanness in creative works in general, I will say that generative AI has been helpful in expanding my imagination for what I can create. It has definitely inspired me to keep pushing the envelope in my work by combining seemingly random or unrelated concepts to find something fresh, to be more artistic, and to have more fun as an artist. I think generative AI is a helpful brainstorming tool for creatives and helps bridge the gap between your skill set and your vision.”
What are some ways you like to use the new Adobe Firefly generative AI tools in the Adobe Express mobile app?
Kitiya: “I’ve been using them heavily in the ideation process, as a compliment to my handmade practice. I’ve experimented with using it to create brand-new visions for what my designs could look like and then building designs in real life. I have also really been enjoying using tools like Text to Image to generate unique textures and patterns which I then print out and bring back into the analogue world to use as art materials for my collages and creative projects. There are endless possibilities for creating digital materials in this way that can then be transformed into actual tactile materials to craft with.”
Shyne: “To touch up my photos! I’ve been doing the digital nomad thing for the last couple months, and I’ve found that the ‘remove objects’ feature has been so helpful for getting random junk out of my beautiful images. Additionally, the Text to Image feature has been super helpful in my brand design workflow because it allows me to create custom mockups for client work that are curated to their brand personas without extra time or stress.”
How has Adobe Express helped you become more productive as a content creator?
Kitiya: “It’s a one-stop-shop for designing and producing most of my marketing collateral, from social media tiles, to workshop event flyers and presentations, to animated videos for social content. Since integrating it into my marketing workflow, I’ve definitely noticed an increase in efficiency, which is important to me because I look after all my own business marketing alongside production, business admin and design duties. Being able to create content from the ideas phase all the way through to the final upload all from one app is so easy and useful. When you're a busy solo creative business owner, this kind of functionality and efficiency is worth its weight in gold!”
Shyne: “It’s an all-in-one tool for both still and moving content. Getting to design artistic compositions from scratch, and even animating them or splicing in video content, has added a lot of ease and delight into my content creation processes!
What's your biggest piece of advice for aspiring creatives?
Kitiya: “You are capable of anything you put your mind to. Walk your own path and don’t let external things like societal pressures, social media, or other people’s expectations cloud your dream vision of your creative future. Don’t wait for your career to come to you, you can get started today! Share your work authentically with the world, make friends with other designers and get involved in your local design community. Opportunities will find you if you put yourself out there. Finally, and above all—be you, not them!”
Shyne: “Find good influences and stick to ‘em. I know that ‘create more than you consume’ is a popular mantra in creative circles today, but as they say, ‘garbage in, garbage out.’ It’s so important to have good inspiration and to be able to find inspiration from all around you. Without good inputs, it’s nearly impossible to have substantial and meaningful creative outputs. I’ve seen this in my own creative practice. When I’m inspired and artistically stimulated, it’s way easier and way more life-giving to create beautiful work!”
Ready to tap into your creative genius and discover the endless design possibilities? Download the Adobe Express mobile app and try all of the incredible features, including Adobe Firefly generative AI, today.
