Why This Designer Keeps AI Behind the Curtain

Artificial intelligence continues to dominate conversations across architecture, design, and creative fields, but Robert Polacek, co-founder and creative director of RoseBernard Studio, argues the most meaningful discussions have moved beyond fear of replacement. Instead, he focuses on how AI can expand creative capacity and foster stronger collaboration across the industry.

Polacek sees AI as an efficiency tool that allows creatives to spend more time developing ideas and refining conceptual work. Recent studies support this view, with 84% of architects expressing optimism about using AI to automate manual tasks.

“As much as we are creatives, building physical spaces for people to be in, there’s so much technology we can leverage to help us get there sooner,” Polacek explains. “AI can help us have more creative time and hone our skill sets at the same time.”

His recent experience at Milan Design Week reinforced this perspective. While exploring exhibitions with fellow creatives, Polacek noticed that AI wasn’t overtly visible in the work presented. Instead, its influence appeared integrated subtly across architecture, installations, renderings, written material, and creative production methods.

“We realized AI was everywhere, but it wasn’t out in the forefront,” he notes. “It was behind the scenes, doing what it needed to do to create the art that we were seeing. That’s exactly what we’re preaching. AI doesn’t have to announce itself; it can work for us, but behind the curtains.”

Polacek believes this tactful usage is crucial for creative industries navigating rapid technological change. Studios that treat AI purely as a shortcut to cost reduction risk diminishing the human qualities that give creative work meaning and emotional presence. Conversely, firms that resist technological evolution entirely place themselves at a significant disadvantage operationally and creatively.

“We want to create less friction, so we’re constantly aware of keeping up,” Polacek says. “That’s what you need to do to remain aligned with the technological evolution.”

Inside RoseBernard Studio, adaptability has become embedded in the firm’s culture. Team meetings regularly evaluate emerging software, test new systems, and determine whether tools can improve workflow, collaboration, and creative development.

“We meet every two weeks as a team and look at the software we’re working on and the ones coming out,” Polacek says. “We ask ourselves, ‘Should we change?’ And if it meets our needs, we do, because we’re nimble enough to do that.”

He believes agility gives smaller studios a meaningful advantage in the current dynamic moment. Large firms often face enormous implementation challenges when new technologies emerge, particularly with multiple offices, departments, and legacy systems involved. “By the time everyone gets trained and adjusted, something new comes along, and everything changes again,” he says.

Conversations following a recent RoseBernard Studio presentation reinforced these observations. During the presentation, team members demonstrated different AI applications within their workflows, from conceptual development and rendering production to research and strategic thinking. Afterward, younger designers approached the team with a consistent concern: many firms still restrict or prohibit AI use entirely, a practice Polacek deliberately rejects.

According to him, younger creatives increasingly expect technology to function as part of everyday professional practice. Those expectations will continue influencing how future studios are formed, staffed, and operated. “I’m hiring people right out of school because they know the latest technology,” he says. “They use it outside of work for jewelry design, art making, dance, and all kinds of creative work.”

Efficiency has allowed the studio to remain lean while expanding creative output. Polacek emphasizes that AI has not replaced jobs inside the firm. Instead, the technology has enabled the studio to operate more effectively with existing teams. “AI has made mundane tasks, once handled by the younger generation, unnecessary. That means you no longer need 20 years of experience to make an impact; you need a willingness to learn and the creativity to make a difference.”

Polacek also insists that accessibility to advanced creative tools can create new pathways for younger entrepreneurs and boutique firms entering the industry. Software advancements now allow smaller teams to accomplish work that once required expansive departments. “It is easier now to get a streamlined workflow on your own. If you’re creative enough and business savvy, there’s more opportunity there.”

Still, he doesn’t view this shift through a competitive lens. He sees it as an opportunity for collaboration between smaller studios with complementary strengths and perspectives. “Put three small firms together and all of a sudden you have an amazing team,” he says.

Technology continues to reshape the relationship between digital systems and physical creative practice. Having worked across analog and digital eras, Polacek notes that the current moment requires greater adaptability and continuous learning. “AI can’t harm you unless you stop learning. That’s when you could become disposable,” he adds.

Polacek’s perspective ultimately frames AI as the infrastructure supporting creativity. Through that lens, the future of design practice will belong to studios capable of balancing technological fluency with human imagination and collaborative thinking.