Sue Walsh on AI’s Creative Risks, Designing for Values, and Why Hope Is a Designer’s Most Powerful Tool

The Drum Awards Judge of the Day: SYPartners’ Sue Walsh on AI’s Creative Risks, Designing for Values, and Why Hope Is a Designer’s Most Powerful Tool

The Drum Awards Festival puts the spotlight on design that means more than just aesthetics. It honours work that carries values, builds connections, and helps create better futures. Today, we hear from Sue Walsh, creative director at SYPartners and a judge for the Design category. She offers a grounded, human-centered view on AI, creativity, and the role of hope in design.

SYPartners’ Sue Walsh

Walsh breaks down AI into three roles: synthesizer, editor, and generator. She finds AI excellent at synthesizing and useful as an editor, but she stays cautious about AI as a generator. “AI is great for speeding up tasks,” she says, “but if we let it do all the creative work, what do we lose? Our voice comes from lived experience.”

She points out that creativity is often messy and inefficient—and that’s where meaning lives. “If we treat AI outputs as finished work, we miss the struggle and discovery that give creativity its depth.”

Designing with Values and Consistency

When asked about balancing brand consistency with real-time reactions, Walsh reframes the issue: it’s as much a business challenge as a brand one. Brands must decide what’s foundational and what can adapt. “Great brands have a core identity but know how to lead conversations, not just react.”

She stresses that design is a reflection of values. Every design element signals something. “Design tells a story without words—whether you plan it or not.”

Why Experience Design Matters

Walsh sees experience design as the future. Despite advances in technology, humans crave live, physical, social experiences. “Technology can make things easier, but it can’t replace the feeling of being in a crowd or sharing a moment. The challenge is designing experiences powerful enough to pull people out of their routines and back into the world.”

The Undervalued Role of Emotion

She believes emotion is a fundamental design principle that brands often overlook. “We feel first and rationalize later. That’s why storytelling, beauty, and poetry matter in design.”

Looking ahead, Walsh expects top designers to be versatile—fluent in editorial judgment, originality, tech mastery, and sustainable innovation.

The Most Urgent Design Challenge

For Walsh, the biggest challenge is holding on to hope. “Design is about believing a better future is possible. It’s about moving something from its current state to something better. Without hope, what do we have?”

Join The Drum Awards Festival

The Drum Awards Festival celebrates design that pushes industries forward. Submit your most impactful design projects for a chance to be reviewed by leading creatives like Sue Walsh. Help shape a better future through creativity. Submissions close September 4, 2025.