Shortcutting Creativity: Lessons from Converting 10,000 SVGs
Recently, I tackled a technical challenge: converting 10,000 SVG files into PNGs for marketing materials and presentations.
Now, let me tell you—I’m not an engineer. Writing a terminal script to automate this was a huge deal for me. Seriously, be excited for me!
Okay, I’ll admit it… AI helped. Yep, this is yet another AI post. But hear me out.
Why This Was a Big Deal
For years, I’ve toyed with the idea of going back to school for computer science. But my career in media and marketing has been way too much fun to step away. Still, I often found myself thinking, “This is beyond my skill set.”
My usual solution? Wait for an engineer to save the day. (Shoutout to the incredible product managers who’ve stepped in for tasks like this—looking at you, Saadiq Rodgers-King!)
This time, though, I did it myself.
The Role of AI
Here’s the thing: AI didn’t replace me—it empowered me. It helped me bridge the gap between creativity and technical execution. And trust me, no engineer is going to begrudge you for automating your own grunt work.
Let’s be real—no creative wants to manually convert 10,000 files. The lesson here is about valuing your time and effort.
The Bigger Picture
I recently listened to Jon Dudkowski discuss AI’s role in the entertainment industry on The Wall Street Journal podcast. One key takeaway stuck with me:
The perceived cost savings of AI can snowball into massive downstream costs if you don’t understand the full pipeline and the implications of early decisions.
This is so true. Knowing when and where to use AI is as important as knowing how to use it.
As creatives, we need to move past the “I can’t do that” mindset. It’s about embracing technical opportunities to:
- Climb the vertical chain of creativity to stay relevant.
- Extend yourself across different disciplines to become truly indispensable.
AI isn’t here to replace us—it’s here to help us do more, think bigger, and bridge the gap between creativity and execution.
Next time you face a technical challenge, don’t assume it’s beyond your skill set. Try. Experiment. Use tools like AI to support you. You might just surprise yourself.
