At ENC, we have a slightly different take:
It’s not either/or. It’s how you use it.
We believe AI is a tool—just like a pencil, a camera, a typeface, or a whiteboard. But a tool is only as good as the person wielding it. And in our case, the people behind the work are everything.
We use AI in our workflow. That’s not a secret. It helps us draft ideas faster. It can spark a new angle when we’re stuck. It helps us pull research or analyze audience data at scale. And yeah—sometimes it even makes us laugh (like when it suggests a brand name that sounds like a Harry Potter spell).
But here’s the line we don’t cross:
We never use AI to replace the real, human, nuanced thinking that builds a lasting brand.
You can’t outsource instinct.
You can’t replicate lived experience.
You can’t automate a brand’s voice into something truly unforgettable.
ENC has always stood for intentional design, soulful strategy, and storytelling that hits in the heart. That kind of creative work? It doesn’t come from a prompt. It comes from conversation. From listening closely. From deeply understanding the people behind the brand and the people they’re trying to reach.
So yes, we use the tools.
But the touch? That’s still all us.
We’re transparent about the places AI helps behind the scenes:
But even in those use cases, it’s never the thing. It’s the assist.
And everything we share externally—from brand strategy to visual identity to campaign writing—goes through a human (and often very opinionated) ENC filter.
In other words: we won’t trade originality for speed.
Because the best ideas? They’re rarely the fastest ones.
They’re the ones that stick.
Let’s be honest—there are corners of the industry where AI is replacing jobs, especially in fast-turn, templated, high-volume content. But at ENC, we’ve never been about rinse-and-repeat branding. We build foundations. We build meaning. We build brands that don’t just survive a trend cycle, they evolve with their people.
We’re also not in denial about AI’s rise. We’re paying attention. We’re experimenting. And we’re learning how to stay sharp—not scared.
To us, that means doubling down on what makes us human.
And reminding our clients (and ourselves): You can’t skip the soul part.
Let’s make this real. We asked the ENC team to share their take on how AI fits into their creative process—and where it doesn’t.
Jess
What’s one way you use AI in your role that actually helps you think more clearly, not less?
AI is my organizer bff! I often have dozens of loose ends, open tabs, notes, references, and other random ideas all floating around. I use AI to help sort and organize the chaos into patterns, prioritize what matters, and show me some angles I might not have seen.AI is my organizer bff! I often have dozens of loose ends, open tabs, notes, references, and other random ideas all floating around. I use AI to help sort and organize the chaos into patterns, prioritize what matters, and show me some angles I might not have seen.AI is my organizer bff! I often have dozens of loose ends, open tabs, notes, references, and other random ideas all floating around. I use AI to help sort and organize the chaos into patterns, prioritize what matters, and show me some angles I might not have seen.
Lanya
Is there a moment when AI made you laugh or gave you a totally unexpected idea?
I never really know what i'm going to get when I ask AI to help me during my design process. Very rarely its exactly what I had in mind, instead it's often something totally unexpected that makes me laugh and think what did I say that made you think this was the direction I was going?
Marly
What’s something you’ll never use AI for—and why?
I don't think I will ever use AI for creating full content plans, writing an entire email, organizing a schedule from scratch. And by that I mean, I don't ever just copy and paste exact verbatim to my projects. It serves as a staring point to gather ideas, OR an end point when I've created the ideas and concept, just need a helping hand in wrapping into one, beautiful bundle.Because I've been listening to the client for weeks or months, am deep into the weeds of a project, and bring another perspective that AI will never, it's important for me to take the ideas or ways to word something, and ensure it always aligns with the client, the end user, etc.
Channing
Do you think AI has changed the creative industry for better or worse—or just… different?
I think AI has challenged and changed the creative industry in a way nothing else has. Overall, it offers a new lens to see and understand the creative world. It’s made things better by speeding up mundane, everyday tasks and by pushing creatives to produce more original work that stands apart from the now-recognizable look of AI-generated content. On the flip side, it’s made things worse in how easy it is to copy or replicate ideas using AI. In the end, knowing how to use AI to your advantage is important—but so is not giving it the power to create in your place.
Elizabeth
As a designer, how do you balance inspiration from AI-generated visuals with your own creative instincts and style?
Similarly to any inspiration, I use these visuals as catalysts for my own creative potential. I like to see how they've been used, but I also want to push myself to go further .. past the AI, past other human intelligence, into my own realm of brain power and possibility. And that is where the magic happens !
Ellyse
What’s something people misunderstand about using AI in a creative agency setting?
I think the biggest misunderstanding is assuming AI replaces the creative process—when in reality, the best agencies use it to support the process, not shortcut it. For us, AI isn’t the idea generator. It’s the prompt sharpener, the time saver, the “what if” expander. The heart, the story, the nuance—that still comes from real people, real experience, real intuition. We use it like we’d use any creative tool: intentionally, thoughtfully, and always in service of deeper strategy and originality.
We’re not here to make blanket statements.
We’re here to do great work.
Work that feels like it was made for someone—not just generated for everyone.
So no, ENC won’t be handing over the reins to a robot.
But we will keep asking questions.
We’ll keep experimenting.
We’ll keep making things with our minds and our hearts—because that’s the only kind of creative we’re interested in.
It’s not either/or.
It’s how you use it.
And at ENC, we’re using it with intention.