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Short course

Generative AI for Creativity Short Course

<p>Generative AI for Creativity Short Course | On campus and online</p><p>Image: Joanna Domagalska, 2022 BA (Hons) Graphic And Media Design, London College of Communication, UAL</p>
Discover how generative AI can support idea development, creative exploration and day-to-day tasks and learn how to use it with purpose in creative projects.

Next start months
April 2026
September 2026
February 2027
Tutor(s)
Paul Clothier
Price
From £460.00

Course description

Course overview

Generative AI is becoming part of how ideas form and how creative work is influenced and developed. This 5-week course offers a clear and practical introduction to large language models and generative AI tools. It explores how they operate, where they bring value and how to use them with purpose in creative projects and everyday work.

The course combines presentations, demonstrations and a hands-on project. Students learn techniques for exploring ideas, refining concepts and strengthening their own processes. The course is taught using creative and design examples, but the techniques can be applied to many areas of life. A personal project runs throughout the course, and sessions include time for development and review. Students will work on their project during each session and can optionally spend time outside class to develop it further.

The course aims to build practical confidence with generative AI while keeping human judgement and originality at the centre of the work. It also covers topics of relevance to creatives, including copyright, data sources, originality and responsible practice. Students work on a project that applies AI techniques in a creative area of their choice and leave with skills they can use well beyond the course itself.

This course is available both on campus or online. Please check location assigned to specific dates in the booking section.

Who this course is for

This course is aimed at designers, creatives, managers and entrepreneurs in the creative industries (beginner to intermediate) who are looking for practical ways to use generative AI in their work.

The course would also be well suited to individuals who are new to the creative sector, or who hope to transition into it, and want a clear understanding of how AI can support idea development, creative exploration and day-to-day tasks.

Necessary experience: General digital literacy is required. Students should feel comfortable using a laptop or tablet and working in a web browser. No technical background or prior experience with AI tools is needed.

Key information

Topics covered

  • How generative AI tools and large language models work
  • Techniques for generating and refining AI outputs
  • Methods for exploring ideas and developing creative concepts
  • Ways to check accuracy and relevance in AI-generated material
  • Demonstrations and exercises from design and creative contexts
  • Discussion of originality, authorship, copyright and responsible use
  • A guided project developed step by step across the course
Learning outcomes

  • Explain the basic principles of how large language models and generative AI tools work
  • Use structured techniques to produce reliable and well-formed AI outputs
  • Apply generative AI tools to explore ideas, refine concepts and support creative tasks
  • Review and check AI-generated content for accuracy, relevance and suitability
  • Work with generative AI responsibly and recognise basic authorship and originality concerns
  • Work on a multi-week project that applies AI techniques within chosen creative area
  • Digital badge and certificate of attendance
Materials

  • Laptop or tablet with internet access and an account for an LLM tool (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.)
If you are taking this course online, please see our Guide to taking online short courses

Tutor

Paul Clothier

Paul is an experienced mobile learning designer, author, and educator whose work spans corporate learning, higher education, and technology. He spent over a decade at Apple, working on learning design and performance support for global audiences. That experience continues to influence his work, with careful attention to clarity, usability, and how people learn on mobile devices.

Alongside his consulting work, Paul teaches courses on instructional design and generative AI for Cambridge. He also speaks regularly at international learning and education conferences, sharing practical insights from real-world projects and long-term industry experience.

Paul is the author of Mastering Mobile Learning Design (Routledge), a practical book written for experienced instructional designers and learning professionals. His teaching and writing focus on design choices, constraints, and trade-offs, grounded in the real mobile contexts rather than abstract theory.

Outside his professional work, Paul paints abstract acrylics and composes music for dance companies. This creative practice influences how he thinks about learning design, bringing an awareness of rhythm, pacing, and composition to the way learning experiences are structured.

Book a course

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