As brands race to harness the speed and scale of generative AI, a quiet tension simmers beneath the surface. How does one embrace cutting-edge technology without sacrificing the human touch that gives design its soul?
Chris Znerold, founder of Portal Design, believes he has found the answer. His pop-up creative lab fuses generative AI with the tactile magic of artisan craftsmanship, compressing months of design exploration into a single morning without compromising authenticity. "Design has always been about optimism," Znerold says. "We believe that AI, in the hands of skilled artisans, can elevate creativity rather than dilute it."
Portal's flagship offering is a four-hour creative sprint designed to align artistry with speed. The session begins with a strategic deep dive into goals and market insights before launching into collaborative ideation using GenAI tools. From there, there will be a shift into hands-on concept development. By lunchtime, investor-ready prototypes are in front of real consumers for live feedback.
It's an ambitious model with an even bolder promise: real-time market validation baked into the design process itself. "We've eliminated the lag between inspiration and execution," Znerold explains. "This isn't a conference room brainstorm that ends in a whiteboard photo. It's a working session where ideas take shape, get tested, and evolve, all in half a day."
Znerold acknowledges the unease surrounding generative AI. From social media threads predicting mass layoffs to creatives fearing obsolescence, the conversation often veers dystopian. But Portal stands in direct opposition to that narrative. Rather than replace traditional artistry, Portal's workshops elevate it. Creatives, from illustrators to industrial designers, leverage AI not as a shortcut but as a collaborator. The result is a hybrid output: data-informed yet deeply human, scalable yet soulful.
Much of Portal's process is inspired by agile methodology. In contrast to the traditional 'waterfall' approach, where research, design, and branding happen in sequence, Portal runs these tracks concurrently, using iterative loops to surface problems and validate concepts early.
"Too often, companies spend millions and realize at the end they've built the wrong thing," Znerold says. "It's heartbreaking, not just because of the money lost, but because of the human energy wasted." By integrating research and testing throughout the process, Portal minimizes that risk. Online surveys, sentiment analysis, and interactive mockups deliver immediate insights, allowing teams to course-correct in real-time.
While legacy agencies lean on long-term retainers, Portal thrives on short-burst, high-impact engagements. Clients aren't locked into months-long timelines or bloated overheads. Instead, they walk away with an actionable playbook, ready to execute internally or with a team of their choice.
"It's project-based collaboration. No one's held hostage. Whether you're a Fortune 500 team or a solo founder, you walk away with something real and the freedom to act on it," Znerold says. To make these experiences more accessible, Portal is also planning future offerings like online webinars and coaching sessions, democratizing access to high-level creative guidance for founders at any stage.
Portal's sprints are meticulously structured to balance creativity with clarity. There are four phases to it. The first is Discovery & Immersion, where strategic goal-setting and rapid-fire ideation take place across different mediums. The second phase is Collaborative Concepting. Here, the live concept is generated using AI tools and interdisciplinary creative input.
The third phase, Real-Time Validation, is where creators get to work on immediate testing with target audiences via surveys, sentiment scans, and mockups. The final phase includes Refine, Align & Action Plan. Here, the integration of feedback and strategic alignment culminates in a detailed execution roadmap. In Znerold's view, it's not just a process; it's a philosophy. He states, "Design is how we shape the future. And the future needs more than speed. It needs integrity."
The founding ethos behind Portal is rooted in optimism. Znerold sees the studio not just as a business but as a form of stewardship. It's a response to the excesses of Silicon Valley, where inflated budgets and talent hoarding created a distorted creative economy. He affirms, "I think collaboration is the new competition. It's time we let go of the old agency model and instead empower the best creatives, may it be freelancers, independents, or artisans, to do their best work together."
He's also bullish on timing. With the rise of the gig economy, on-demand research pools, and cultural readiness for AI collaboration, Znerold believes the market is primed for a creative reformation. "Great ideas have always been about timing. And right now, the conditions are perfect to reimagine how we create," the creative founder concludes.
