◂ Classroom Materials
Session One of Two · The Foundation

AI, from the ground up.

Before we build anything, the basics — what these tools actually are, how to talk to them, and which ones earn a place in your studio. No jargon, no hype, no experience needed.

~60 minutes
The whole foundation
6 chapters
Why · What · Prompt · Tools · Ladder · Plan
Zero jargon
Built for designers
No. 01 The Case for AI

Why now? Because the studios that start early win.

Design is at an inflection point. The studios adopting AI now will pull ahead — not because AI replaces designers, but because it makes every person on your team dramatically faster at the parts that aren't the design itself.

65%
of small businesses will use AI workflow tools by 2027
10×
faster to a first proposal draft with AI assistance
2026
the year AI moves from experiment to essential
No. 02 The 2-Minute Explainer

What is AI, really?

Think of it as a brilliant, tireless junior designer who's read nearly everything ever written — but has never actually been in a room with a client. It doesn't truly think; it predicts the next best word. And it's shockingly good at it. Here's where that helps, and where your eye still has to lead.

It Can

  • Write client emails, proposals, and follow-ups
  • Brainstorm concepts, narratives, and room stories
  • Read and summarize contracts, specs, and long PDFs
  • Help you build repeatable studio processes
  • Draft marketing copy, captions, and newsletters
  • Turn messy notes into clean client-ready documents

It Can't (Yet)

  • Hang the art, steam the drapes, or measure a window
  • Replace your eye, your taste, or your judgment
  • Know your specific clients and their homes
  • Run your studio for you
  • Be 100% accurate every time — it makes things up
  • Make the final selection — that's still yours
No. 03 The Skill That Changes Everything

The art of the prompt.

The gap between "that's generic" and "how did it know that?" comes down to one thing: what you type in. There's a simple formula — and it's exactly how you'd brief a talented new hire.

Role + Context + Task + Format
Example · Post-presentation follow-up

"You are a high-end interior designer with a warm, confident voice. I just presented concepts to the Harpers for a $250K full-home renovation — a coastal-modern palette, custom millwork in the study, and a statement chandelier in the stair hall. They were most excited about the primary suite. Write a follow-up email that keeps the momentum — three short paragraphs, warm but professional."

No. 03b The AI Deep Dive

Don't just tell it what to do — let it interview you.

The most powerful move isn't a better command. It's giving AI a role and letting it ask you the hard questions first. The result is a plan built around your studio, not a generic template.

Example · Your studio's business coach

"You are my blunt-but-supportive studio business coach. Walk me step by step through mapping how I take a client from first inquiry to signed proposal, comparing it to a sharper model, and designing a clear, repeatable process I can document and train my team on. Ask me questions one section at a time. Don't skip ahead. Push me with tough, practical questions."

AI will guide you through understanding how clients find you, where inquiries go cold, how you qualify the right projects, and how to turn your best instincts into a repeatable system — from first conversation to signed agreement.

Map Your Inquiry-to-Proposal Flow Find Where Leads Go Cold Qualify the Right Projects Build a Repeatable Process Create a 30-Day Plan Consultation Checklists

Coach-prompt approach courtesy of Navot Shoresh, Spire.

No. 04 Your Toolkit

The tools that actually matter.

We've tried dozens. These are the ones worth your time — the all-rounders first, then the specialists that quietly save hours. You'll go deep on one of them, Lovable, in Session 2.

Top Pick

Claude

claude.ai

Best for writing, long documents, and careful reasoning — proposals, briefs, and nuanced client comms. Its Cowork mode works right on your desktop; this class site was built with it.

Top Pick

ChatGPT

chat.openai.com

The popular all-rounder. Great first stop for emails, brainstorming, and quick answers. Custom GPTs let you save a specialized assistant in your voice.

AI Assistant

Gemini

gemini.google.com

Lives inside Google Workspace. Perfect if your studio runs on Gmail, Docs, and Drive. Also strong at generating images.

Build · Session 2

Lovable

lovable.dev

Describe a tool in plain English and it builds a real, working web app — no code. This is what you'll use hands-on in Session 2 to build something for your own studio.

AI Desktop Agent

Claude Cowork

claude.ai/cowork

An AI that works on your desktop — reads your files, drafts documents, builds presentations, manages email. Set it up first using the guide above.

Visuals

Image Generation

Midjourney · Nano Banana · Gemini

Concept imagery and mood-board starters from a text description. A jumping-off point for the conversation — never a substitute for your eye.

Design

Canva AI

canva.com

AI-assisted design for social posts, newsletters, and quick client-facing graphics and presentations.

Voice & Audio

ElevenLabs

elevenlabs.io

Natural AI voiceovers for walkthrough videos and reels.

Meetings

Fathom

fathom.video

Joins your calls, writes the notes, extracts action items, and syncs to your CRM. Never scramble to remember what a client asked for again.

Voice Recording

Plaud

plaud.ai

A pocket recorder for site walkthroughs and calls. Dictate a room's whole scope on the drive home and get a clean summary. Always ask permission first.

Research

Perplexity

perplexity.ai

Answers with real, cited sources — vendor research, product specs, and trends. Try its Comet browser and Computer agent; could be the next big thing.

Automation

Zapier AI

zapier.com

Connects your tools with automated workflows — auto-send follow-ups, sync a new inquiry to your CRM, trigger next steps without lifting a finger.

No. 05 Where Are You?

The AI maturity ladder.

Most designers in the room start at Level 1 or 2. That's exactly right. By the end of this class, you'll be standing on Level 3 — and you'll have touched Level 4.

1

Curious

You've heard about AI but haven't really tried it. That changes today.

Sign up for Claude or ChatGPT
2

Exploring

You've used it for a few things — an email, some brainstorming, a draft or two.

Learn the prompt formula
3

Integrating

AI is part of your daily rhythm. You've saved custom assistants for the tasks you repeat.

Build Custom GPTs & Skills
4

Building

You're making your own tools and automations. AI is woven into how your studio runs.

Build with Lovable — that's Session 2
You can reach Level 3 in a single week.
No. 05b Use AI Responsibly

Your clients trust you with their homes.

Extend that same care to how you use AI — protect their privacy, verify what it tells you, and always keep a human eye on anything before it reaches a client.

✓ Do This
Always verify the details
Check dimensions, lead times, and specs against the vendor's actual documents.
Use the prompt formula
Role + Context + Task + Format = dramatically better results.
Start small, build confidence
Emails first, then proposals, then whole processes.
Keep a human in the loop
Read everything before it reaches a client. Your voice is the final layer.
Bring your team along
Share prompts and wins so the whole studio levels up together.
✕ Avoid This
Don't paste a client's private data
No home addresses, security or gate codes, or financial details.
Don't trust it blindly
AI invents things — wrong specs, discontinued products, made-up stats.
Don't skip the review step
Every draft needs your eyes before it leaves the studio.
Don't share proprietary info publicly
Use paid/enterprise accounts or check the data-retention policy first.
Don't ship AI copy as-is
Edit for your voice, verify the facts, and add your expertise.
Privacy Pro Tip

Use paid AI accounts (Claude Pro, ChatGPT Team) that don't train on your data. When in doubt, anonymize — replace "the Harpers at 42 Oak Lane" with "a client with a $250K whole-home project." Treat AI like any vendor: you wouldn't hand a client's gate code to a contractor you just met.

No. 06 Your Action Plan

7 days to AI confidence.

One small action a day. That's the whole plan. By Day 7 you'll wonder how the studio ran without it.

1

Sign up for Claude or ChatGPT

Both are free to start. Create an account and ask it one real question about your studio.

2

Write your first client email with AI

Use the formula: Role + Context + Task + Format. You'll be surprised how close it gets.

3

Try the AI business interview

Tell AI to interview you about how you win projects. Let it ask the tough questions and help you build a repeatable process.

4

Draft a proposal or scope of work

Give AI the project details and let it write the first draft for you to shape and polish.

5

Create your first Custom GPT or Skill

Start with your email voice or a proposal template. Train it once, use it forever.

6

Explore one new tool

Pick one: Fathom for meeting notes, Plaud for voice capture, Canva AI for social, or Perplexity for research.

7

Build something in Lovable

Describe a tool you wish your studio had, and watch AI build it — no code. That's exactly what we do in Session 2 →

Your Guide

Taught by someone who actually uses it.

Adam Zell
Adam Zell
Founder & CEO
Boston Automations

20+ years in technology before founding a design-build practice. Built 25+ AI-powered tools with zero coding experience — including this class site. Designed New England's largest Bang & Olufsen experience at the Boston Design Center.

"The studios pulling ahead aren't the most technical — they're the ones who got curious early. Today is you getting curious."

Everything in this session is something Adam's own studio uses to spec faster, write better, and free its people to do the parts that need a human. You'll see what's real, what's hype, and what's worth your time.

Ready to build?

Session 2: build it yourself.

You've got the foundation. Now the fun part — in Session 2 you'll build a real, working tool for your own studio in Lovable, in your studio's branding, following prompts written out step by step.

Go to Session 2 →
With Thanks
To Eric Haydel M-Geough  &  Jon Soto Bang & Olufsen — thank you for hosting us today.