Smarter Week

AI and automation by role

How Brand / Graphic Design teams can use AI and automation

Below are 13 common tasks for Brand / Graphic Design teams, most common first. For each one you get the best fix (AI, automation, a feature in software you already have, or a simpler process), the steps to set it up and, for AI fixes, a prompt to copy.

Also called: Graphic Designer, Brand Designer, Brand Manager, Visual Designer, Creative Lead, Production Designer, Creative Director

Find your own hour leaks, free See the fixes

Task 1 · typically 30 min, a few times a week

Resize and reformat designs for every channel

Software featureBest fix

Resize designs for every channel in one click

Canva Magic Switch, Adobe Express resize and Photoshop Generative Expand reformat a design to each size and fill in the gaps, so you only fix the details.

Typically saves about 65% of the time10 min to set up
  1. 1Finish the master design.
  2. 2Use Canva Magic Switch (Resize) or Adobe Express resize and pick all the sizes you need.
  3. 3Use Generative Expand where the background needs to stretch.
  4. 4Check text and logos on each size, then export all at once.

Tools: Canva Magic Switch · Adobe Express · Photoshop Generative Expand · Figma auto layout

One more way to fix it
Software feature

Set up a brand kit and locked templates in Canva or Adobe Express

With your logos, colors and fonts loaded and key layouts locked, anyone can make an on-brand graphic in minutes and you review less.

Typically saves about 40% of the time2 h to set up
  1. 1Load logos, colors and fonts into Canva Brand Kit or Adobe Express brand libraries.
  2. 2Build templates for the formats you make most, and lock the logo and layout.
  3. 3Share them with the team and with sales.
  4. 4Use the brand-check features (Canva brand controls) before anything goes out.

Tools: Canva Brand Kit and brand templates · Adobe Express brand libraries · Figma components

How to automate this task

Task 2 · typically 30 min, a few times a week

Make social graphics, banners and simple designs

Software featureBest fix

Set up a brand kit and locked templates in Canva or Adobe Express

With your logos, colors and fonts loaded and key layouts locked, anyone can make an on-brand graphic in minutes and you review less.

Typically saves about 40% of the time2 h to set up
  1. 1Load logos, colors and fonts into Canva Brand Kit or Adobe Express brand libraries.
  2. 2Build templates for the formats you make most, and lock the logo and layout.
  3. 3Share them with the team and with sales.
  4. 4Use the brand-check features (Canva brand controls) before anything goes out.

Tools: Canva Brand Kit and brand templates · Adobe Express brand libraries · Figma components

One more way to fix it
AI

Generate background images and variations with AI

Adobe Firefly, Canva Magic Media and ChatGPT image generation can make backgrounds, illustrations and variations in seconds. Check your company's rules on AI images first.

Typically saves about 40% of the time10 min to set up
  1. 1Check what your company allows; Adobe Firefly is designed to be commercially safe.
  2. 2Describe the image with the prompt below.
  3. 3Generate a few options and pick one.
  4. 4Place it in your brand template and add your own copy.
Prompt to copy
Create an image for a [FORMAT, e.g. LinkedIn post 1200x627] about [TOPIC]. Style: [e.g. flat illustration / photo-realistic / abstract]. Colors: [BRAND COLOURS]. Leave space on the [LEFT/RIGHT] for a headline. No text, no logos, no real people's faces.

Tools: Adobe Firefly · Canva Magic Media · ChatGPT image generation · Google Gemini image generation · Midjourney

How to automate this task

Task 3 · typically 30 min, a few times a week

Get content reviewed and approved by stakeholders or legal

Process fixBest fix

Set one approver and a review deadline for each type of content

Most approval time is waiting and conflicting comments. One named approver, one round of consolidated feedback and a deadline cut the back-and-forth.

Typically saves about 35% of the time45 min to set up
  1. 1List the content types and who truly needs to approve each.
  2. 2Name one final approver per type; everyone else is optional input.
  3. 3Set a 48-hour review deadline; silence means approved for low-risk content.
  4. 4Ask for feedback in one consolidated round, not a stream of emails.

Tools: Asana, Monday, Wrike or Notion

One more way to fix it
Software feature

Collect feedback as comments on the file, not in email

Proofing tools like Filestage, Ziflow, Frame.io, Adobe Workfront or the comment features in Canva and Figma keep all feedback, versions and approvals in one place.

Typically saves about 35% of the time45 min to set up
  1. 1Pick the tool that matches your files (Canva or Figma comments for designs, Frame.io for video, Filestage or Ziflow for mixed).
  2. 2Share a review link instead of attaching files.
  3. 3Ask reviewers to comment directly on the file and click approve.
  4. 4Turn on automatic reminders for reviewers who have not responded.

Tools: Filestage · Ziflow · Frame.io · Adobe Workfront · Canva and Figma comments

How to automate this task

Task 4 · typically 30 min, every day

Handle ad-hoc marketing requests from sales and other teams

Process fixBest fix

Take requests through one form with a weekly triage

Requests by DM and hallway interrupt deep work. A form with the right questions and a weekly prioritization slot cuts interruptions and rework.

Typically saves about 30% of the time45 min to set up
  1. 1Create a request form in Asana, Monday, Wrike, Jira or Microsoft Forms: what, who it is for, deadline, examples.
  2. 2Reply to every DM request with the link.
  3. 3Triage once or twice a week and tell requesters the date.
  4. 4Publish what the team will not do, and point to self-serve templates.

Tools: Asana, Monday, Wrike or Jira forms · Microsoft Forms · Slack Workflow Builder

One more way to fix it
Software feature

Give sales self-serve templates and an asset library

Locked Canva templates, a Highspot or Seismic library, or a shared folder of approved one-pagers let sales make simple changes themselves.

Typically saves about 35% of the time2 h to set up
  1. 1List the requests you get most (one-pagers, event invites, case study edits).
  2. 2Turn each into a locked Canva or Adobe Express template with editable text.
  3. 3Publish them, with approved decks and case studies, in one library (Highspot, Seismic, SharePoint or Google Drive).
  4. 4Point repeat requests to the library.

Tools: Canva brand templates · Adobe Express · Highspot · Seismic · SharePoint or Google Drive

How to automate this task

Task 5 · typically 30 min, a few times a week

Check other people's work against the brand guidelines

Software featureBest fix

Set up a brand kit and locked templates in Canva or Adobe Express

With your logos, colors and fonts loaded and key layouts locked, anyone can make an on-brand graphic in minutes and you review less.

Typically saves about 40% of the time2 h to set up
  1. 1Load logos, colors and fonts into Canva Brand Kit or Adobe Express brand libraries.
  2. 2Build templates for the formats you make most, and lock the logo and layout.
  3. 3Share them with the team and with sales.
  4. 4Use the brand-check features (Canva brand controls) before anything goes out.

Tools: Canva Brand Kit and brand templates · Adobe Express brand libraries · Figma components

One more way to fix it
AI

Have AI check copy against your brand guidelines first

Load your style guide into a Claude Project, ChatGPT Project, Gem or Canva's brand tools; it flags off-brand words and tone before it reaches you.

Typically saves about 40% of the time30 min to set up
  1. 1Upload your brand and style guide to a Claude Project, ChatGPT Project, Gemini Gem or Copilot agent.
  2. 2Share it with the team and ask them to run copy through it before review.
  3. 3Use the prompt below for one-off checks.
  4. 4Spend your review time on judgment calls, not commas.
Prompt to copy
Using our brand and style guide [PASTE OR ATTACHED], review the copy below. List every place it breaks the guide (tone, banned words, capitalisation, claims, formatting) with a suggested fix. Then give the corrected version. Do not change the meaning.

Copy:
[PASTE]

Tools: Claude Projects · ChatGPT Projects · Gemini Gems · Grammarly brand tones · Writer

How to automate this task

Task 6 · typically 20 min, a few times a week

Retouch photos and remove backgrounds

Software featureBest fix

Use one-click AI background removal and retouching

Photoshop Generative Fill, Lightroom AI masking, Canva Background Remover and Magic Edit, and tools like Photoroom handle routine edits in seconds.

Typically saves about 60% of the time15 min to set up
  1. 1For backgrounds: Canva Background Remover, Photoroom or Photoshop Remove Background.
  2. 2For removing objects or extending images: Photoshop Generative Fill or Canva Magic Eraser.
  3. 3For batches of product photos, use Photoroom or Lightroom presets.
  4. 4Spot-check edges and colors before publishing.

Tools: Adobe Photoshop Generative Fill · Adobe Lightroom · Canva Background Remover and Magic Edit · Photoroom

How to automate this task

Task 7 · typically 15 min, every day

Hunt for the latest logo, photo or file version

Software featureBest fix

Keep approved assets in one searchable library

A digital asset manager (Brandfolder, Bynder, Frontify, Canva Brand Hub) or one well-organized shared folder, with AI search and tags, ends the hunt for the latest version.

Typically saves about 50% of the time3 h to set up
  1. 1Pick one home: Canva Brand Hub, Brandfolder, Bynder, Frontify, or a single SharePoint or Google Drive folder.
  2. 2Move the current approved logos, photos and templates there; archive old versions.
  3. 3Turn on auto-tagging or AI search if the tool has it.
  4. 4Share one link with the company and pin it in chat.

Tools: Canva Brand Hub · Brandfolder · Bynder · Frontify · SharePoint or Google Drive

One more way to fix it
Process fix

Agree one home for each kind of file

Most searching comes from the same thing living in three places. Pick one place per type and link to it.

Typically saves about 35% of the time1 h to set up
  1. 1List the five things people search for most.
  2. 2Pick one home for each (one folder, one wiki page, one system).
  3. 3Pin the links in your team channel.
  4. 4Move or delete the copies.

Tools: SharePoint, Google Drive, Notion or Confluence

How to automate this task

Task 8 · typically 60 min, once a week

Write campaign and creative briefs

AIBest fix

Have AI fill in the brief template from your notes

Keep one brief template; paste your notes and AI fills in each section and lists the questions you still need to answer.

Typically saves about 45% of the time10 min to set up
  1. 1Agree one brief template (goal, audience, message, deliverables, dates, budget, approver).
  2. 2Paste the template, your notes or the request email, and the prompt below.
  3. 3Answer the open questions it lists.
  4. 4Share the brief before work starts, and get one sign-off.
Prompt to copy
Fill in this campaign brief template using my notes. Template: [PASTE TEMPLATE]. Notes and request: [PASTE]. Keep each section short. Do not invent budgets, dates or targets; instead, list the open questions I need to answer at the end.

Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot

How to automate this task

Task 9 · typically 45 min, once a week

Sit in status or update meetings

Process fixBest fix

Replace the status meeting with a written update

Everyone posts three lines in a shared thread before a set time; you only meet when something is blocked.

Typically saves about 60% of the time15 min to set up
  1. 1Agree a format: done, next, blocked.
  2. 2Create a channel or a thread that repeats every week.
  3. 3Ask everyone to post by a set time; the lead reads them and replies to the blockers.
  4. 4Keep a shorter meeting only for the blockers, or cancel it outright.

Tools: Slack, Teams or email

How to automate this task

Task 10 · typically 45 min, every day

Sort through and reply to email

AIBest fix

Have AI draft replies to routine email

Paste the thread and a one-line instruction; edit the draft instead of writing from a blank page. Most routine replies take a minute instead of five.

Typically saves about 35% of the time5 min to set up
  1. 1Open the AI assistant your company allows (or the one built into Outlook or Gmail).
  2. 2Paste the email thread, or use the built-in "draft reply" button.
  3. 3Tell it the point you want to make in one line.
  4. 4Read the draft, fix anything wrong, and send.
Prompt to copy
Draft a reply to the email below. My point: [WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY IN ONE LINE]. Keep it under 120 words, friendly and direct, and match the tone of the sender. Do not invent facts or commitments.

Email:
[PASTE THE EMAIL]

Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot · Gmail "Help me write" or Outlook Copilot

One more way to fix it
Process fix

Batch email twice a day and let rules file the noise

Rules move newsletters, notifications and CCs out of your inbox, and checking at set times stops email from cutting your day into pieces.

Typically saves about 25% of the time20 min to set up
  1. 1Create rules that move notifications, newsletters and emails where you are only CC'd into folders.
  2. 2Turn off desktop and phone notifications for email.
  3. 3Pick two or three set times a day to process the inbox to zero.
  4. 4Tell your team that anything urgent should come by phone or chat.

Tools: Outlook or Gmail rules

How to automate this task

Task 11 · typically 15 min, a few times a week

Chase people for approvals or sign-offs

AutomationBest fix

Move approvals into a tracked workflow with reminders

Approvals in Teams/Power Automate, Slack Workflows, or your e-signature tool remind people for you and show what is stuck.

Typically saves about 60% of the time1 h to set up
  1. 1List the approvals you chase most.
  2. 2Set up an approval flow (Power Automate Approvals, Slack Workflow Builder, DocuSign or your HR/finance system).
  3. 3Add automatic reminders after 24 hours.
  4. 4Agree a default: no answer in 48 hours means it goes ahead (where safe).

Tools: Power Automate Approvals · Slack Workflow Builder · DocuSign or Adobe Acrobat Sign

How to automate this task

Task 12 · typically 20 min, a few times a week

Take notes and send recaps after meetings

AIBest fix

Let an AI notetaker write the notes and the recap

A notetaker records the meeting, writes the summary and action items, and you send the recap in one click.

Typically saves about 75% of the time15 min to set up
  1. 1Check which notetaker your company allows: Copilot in Teams, Zoom AI Companion, Google Meet "Take notes for me", Otter, Fireflies or Granola.
  2. 2Turn it on for your recurring meetings and tell attendees it is on.
  3. 3After the meeting, review the action items and fix names or owners.
  4. 4Send the recap straight from the tool, or paste it into email or chat.

Tools: Copilot in Microsoft Teams · Zoom AI Companion · Google Meet "Take notes for me" · Otter, Fireflies or Granola

How to automate this task

Task 13 · typically 180 min, once a month

Make training, how-to or marketing videos

AIBest fix

Turn a script or procedure into a finished video with AI

AI writes the script from your notes, then a video tool turns it into a clip with a natural voiceover or presenter, in any language. A 2-minute training video goes from days to an afternoon.

Typically saves about 60% of the time30 min to set up
  1. 1Paste your procedure, slides or notes into an AI assistant with the prompt below to get a short script.
  2. 2Pick a tool: a presenter video (HeyGen, Synthesia), a voiceover over your own screens or photos (ElevenLabs, Descript), or generated scenes (Gemini Omni in Google Vids, which is free with a Google account).
  3. 3Keep it under 3 minutes, add captions, and check every fact, name and number on screen.
  4. 4Label AI voices and presenters, and never clone a real person’s voice or face without their written permission.
Prompt to copy
Turn the material below into a script for a [LENGTH, e.g. 2-minute] [TRAINING / HOW-TO / PRODUCT] video for [AUDIENCE]. Use short spoken sentences, one idea per scene. Give me a table with: scene number, what’s on screen, and the voiceover line. End with a one-line recap. Don’t add anything that isn’t in my material.

[PASTE PROCEDURE, SLIDES OR NOTES]

Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot for the script · HeyGen or Synthesia · ElevenLabs or Descript · Gemini Omni in Google Vids

How to automate this task

Quick wins

Have you tried…

Have you let an AI notetaker write your meeting notes and action items?
Tools like Copilot in Teams, Zoom AI Companion or Otter join the call, write the summary and list who owes what. You just check it and send.
Have you had AI draft a reply to a tricky or routine email?
You paste the email and say the point you want to make; the AI writes a draft you edit. Outlook and Gmail now have this built in.
Have you tried running your standup as a written check-in in chat instead of a call?
Bots like Geekbot or a Slack or Teams workflow ask everyone the same three questions each morning and post the answers. You only meet when someone is blocked.
Have you used Canva Magic Switch or Adobe Express to resize a design for every channel at once?
You make the design once, pick all the sizes you need, and the tool rearranges it for each. You only fix small details.
Do reviewers leave feedback as comments on the file instead of in email?
Proofing tools and Canva or Figma comments keep all the feedback and approvals on the design itself, so nothing gets lost between versions.
Have you set up an AI assistant loaded with your brand guidelines to check copy?
You upload your style guide to a Claude Project, ChatGPT Project or Gem once. Anyone can paste copy in and get off-brand words and tone flagged before it reaches review.
Have you used Generative Fill or a background remover to edit a photo in seconds?
Photoshop, Canva and Photoroom can remove backgrounds, erase objects or extend an image with one click instead of manual masking.
Do you send a booking link instead of emailing back and forth about times?
A booking link shows your free times so the other person picks one. Outlook and Google Calendar both have this built in.

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