Creative Comeback: Using AI to Stay Creative When You’re Feeling Stuck

Something I’ve always struggled with as a designer was coming up with my own projects. I’m so accustomed to having a brief, and a strategy, a target audience. It’s a challenge to then sit down and create a business name and industry as well. Add to the fact that maybe you’re looking for work or trying to grow into a new area. There’s a unique heaviness that settles in when you feel creatively stuck. For designers, writers, photographers, and artists alike—especially those in transition, between jobs, or searching for the next gig—the weight of creative block can feel not just frustrating but personal. You start to question your skills, your worth, your momentum.

But here’s the truth: creativity isn't a faucet you forgot how to turn on. It’s a current. And sometimes, we just need a tool to help us tap back into it.

That’s where AI comes in—not as a replacement for your talent, but as a creative companion. Think of it as a brainstorming buddy who’s always available, never judges your rough drafts, and is happy to generate 20 weird ideas just so you can find the one that sparks something true.

Today, I want to show you how AI (like ChatGPT, Midjourney, or DALL·E) can help you stay inspired, build portfolio pieces that feel real, and re-ignite your creative energy. Whether you're applying for your dream design job or just trying to get your mojo back, let’s dig into how AI can help you make your next move.

Reframing AI: From Threat to Teammate

First, let’s clear the air: AI isn’t here to take your job. It’s a tool. One that still needs a visionary human—you—to wield it effectively.

What AI can do is help you overcome that inertia that shows up when you’re staring at a blank canvas, unsure of what to make next. It can help simulate real-world client prompts so you can build out your portfolio with purpose. And it can save you time by giving you a starting point for brainstorming, mood boards, creative briefs, and naming projects, and fleshing out campaign strategies to spark visual ideas.

If you’re job hunting, interviewing, or freelancing in a slow season, here’s a powerful mindset shift:

AI can be your dream client who just dialed your number. Use AI to create the project brief for the work you want to be hired for.

Create the dream project for the dream client—even if they haven’t hired you yet. Use it to prototype concepts, explore new styles, and reignite your imagination. You don’t need permission to make something amazing.

Let’s look at how you can do that.

1. Prompt Your Way Out of a Rut

When you feel stuck, decision fatigue can be paralyzing. Too many options. Not enough direction. That’s why a prompt with constraints is magic—it gives you a challenge to respond to. It pulls you out of the fog and into a focused problem-solving mindset.

Below are six fully fleshed-out AI prompts that simulate real client briefs. Use them as a launchpad to generate logo designs, visual identities, writing samples, product packaging, illustrations, or anything else that fits your creative niche.

Prompt 1: Eco-Friendly Packaging for a Startup Skincare Brand

Client Name: GreenGlow Naturals
Industry: Organic Skincare
Target Audience: Gen Z and Millennial consumers who prioritize sustainability, clean beauty, and minimal design aesthetics.
Creative Challenge:
GreenGlow Naturals is launching a new zero-waste face oil made with wildcrafted botanicals. They need a visual identity and packaging design that emphasizes their “ingredient-first” philosophy while standing out on social platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Prompt Your AI:

“Generate a packaging concept and brand tone for a sustainable skincare brand called GreenGlow Naturals that targets Gen Z. Include packaging copy ideas, color palette inspiration, and a moodboard description.”

Prompt 2: Logo + Merch Design for a Local Indie Record Store

Client Name: Static Bloom Vinyl
Industry: Music / Retail
Target Audience: Vinyl collectors, indie music fans, and college students in a downtown arts district.
Creative Challenge:
Static Bloom Vinyl wants a retro-modern logo refresh, plus a merch line that includes shirts, totes, and pins. They want something gritty but warm—like a Nirvana demo tape meets a Wes Anderson color palette.

Prompt Your AI:

“Write a brand brief and visual style guide for a record store named Static Bloom Vinyl. Include retro typography ideas, illustration styles for merch, and slogan/tagline options.”

Prompt 3: Website Copy + Branding for a Career Coach for Creatives

Client Name: Brighter Path Coaching
Industry: Career Coaching / Personal Development
Target Audience: Early- to mid-career creatives feeling burned out, uncertain, or ready to transition.
Creative Challenge:
Brighter Path needs a full brand voice developed—tone, messaging, and website copy that speaks directly to creatives in transition. The founder wants the brand to feel uplifting, safe, and energizing.

Prompt Your AI:

“Help write homepage copy and develop a brand voice for Brighter Path Coaching, a service that helps creatives navigate job changes. The tone should be warm, clear, and hopeful.”

Prompt 4: Brand Identity for a Boutique Ice Cream Truck

Client Name: Dream Drip Creamery
Industry: Food & Beverage
Target Audience: Families, kids, and festival-goers looking for a premium, Instagram-worthy treat.
Creative Challenge:
Dream Drip is a new gourmet ice cream truck that serves unique flavors like lavender-honey, mango-lassi, and charcoal vanilla. They want a playful yet elevated visual identity and menu board design that attracts people from 100 feet away.

Prompt Your AI:

“Create a full brand concept for a boutique ice cream truck called Dream Drip Creamery. Include logo ideas, flavor naming inspiration, truck design themes, and a tagline.”

Prompt 5: Book Cover Concept for a Self-Published Wellness Author

Client Name: Selah June
Industry: Publishing / Wellness
Target Audience: Women ages 25–45 interested in healing, mindfulness, and journaling
Creative Challenge:
Selah is self-publishing her debut book, Still Waters: Quiet Practices for a Chaotic World. She wants a cover that feels peaceful and poetic without being overly soft or cliché.

Prompt Your AI:

“Design a book cover concept for a self-help author named Selah June. The book is titled Still Waters. Suggest fonts, color palette, layout ideas, and visual metaphors that avoid overused tropes.”

Prompt 6: Social Media Campaign for a Summer Art Workshop

Client Name: BrightMakers Collective
Industry: Art / Education
Target Audience: Aspiring adult artists looking for low-pressure, joy-filled creative experiences
Creative Challenge:
BrightMakers is launching a summer “Creative Comeback” workshop series to help adults reconnect with their inner artist. They need engaging, scroll-stopping content to promote the program on Instagram and Pinterest.

Prompt Your AI:

“Generate social media content ideas for a summer art workshop series called Creative Comeback. Include inspirational quotes, photo concepts, workshop descriptions, and tone of voice.”

Making AI Work for You

Once you generate a prompt like the ones above, here’s how you can turn it into a full creative project:

• Visual Designers can design logos, packaging, mockups, pitch decks, or merch lines.

• Writers can build full copy decks, tagline explorations, or web pages.

• Photographers can develop shot lists, moodboards, or narrative campaigns.

• Illustrators can storyboard branded visuals, create icons or hero graphics.

And most importantly, these aren’t just “practice projects.” If they’re thoughtful, well-developed, and solution-oriented—they are portfolio pieces. Don’t wait for permission.

Why This Matters (Especially Right Now)

If you’re out of work or in between creative gigs, it’s easy to feel like your creativity isn’t “earning” its keep. But that’s backwards. You don’t become creative because someone pays you. You get paid because you’re creative.

AI can help you keep making, keep imagining, and keep solving problems—even if you don’t have a client at the moment. And that momentum? That’s what gets noticed. That’s what builds confidence. That’s what gets you back in the game.

Your creativity isn’t on pause—it’s just waiting for the right prompt.

Final Thought

AI isn’t here to replace your imagination. It’s here to help you reconnect with it. And if you’ve been feeling stuck or uninspired lately, let today be your permission to explore, to prototype, to make a little mess with your ideas and see what happens.

Creativity isn’t always lightning. Sometimes, it’s a gentle nudge.

Let AI be that nudge.