With the rapid rise of language models and AI-generated imagery, artificial intelligence has become a game-changer across a range of industries—including office design. In this interview, we chat with Steve Ballantyne, founder of Brand IQ, about how AI is transforming the way businesses tell their stories. Steve shares his insights on why AI is more than just a trend—it’s a powerful tool helping modern workplaces create engaging, meaningful content with ease.
Steve, tell us a bit about Brand IQ and your work.
Brand IQ is a brand consultancy that works with businesses across New Zealand and Australia. I founded it in 2018 to help organisations tell better stories. We focus on everything from brand research and strategy to identity, naming, and storytelling. More recently, we’ve been using AI-generated imagery to help bring brand stories to life in new and creative ways.
Artificial intelligence has certainly exploded over the past few years. How has it impacted Brand IQ?
AI technology lets us create extraordinary imagery without breaking the bank. It’s become an integral part of our business, letting us help organisations of all sizes tell their stories through powerful, engaging visuals. In many ways, AI has levelled the playing field, allowing smaller brands to punch well above their weight.
A big part of your business is helping brands tell their stories. What’s the key to building a strong brand?
Consistency is everything. Your visuals need to reflect your brand in a way that’s authentic to who you are as a business. When your visuals align with your mission and values, they help tell a cohesive story—one that builds trust and strengthens your identity in the minds of your audience.
Imagery reflects a company’s culture and values. It’s about creating spaces that look great and feel meaningful to the people working in them.
What role does AI-generated imagery play in brand building?
AI allows brands to express themselves in ways that were previously unimaginable. It’s not just about creating visuals—it’s about weaving those visuals into a cohesive story that connects emotionally with people.
AI-generated images let us tailor every detail to reflect a brand’s unique DNA. We can quickly concept, iterate, customise, and adapt images to suit a brand’s voice and values. AI lets us generate countless design concepts, bringing ideas to life faster and more affordably than ever before. It’s like having a creative partner who never gets tired or runs out of ideas!
Can you give us an example of a project where you have leaned on AI?
We’ve been working with the Australian Marketing Institute for the last few years, and part of that work involved developing a cohesive range of brand images.
These images are instantly recognisable as theirs. We infused their colours and branding elements into each one, creating a consistent look and feel. It would have been a real pain and very expensive to create visuals like these using traditional methods – but it was quick, easy, and affordable with AI.
Let’s talk about Buro. Can you explain the role of storytelling for our brand?
At Buro, your brand values include collaboration, innovation, and sustainability, so you want to translate these values into tangible, visible elements of your office design. That could be open-plan seating that encourages connection, using eco-friendly materials, or artwork that sparks creativity. Imagery plays a big role in bringing values to life.
Without a story, you’re left with generic images of desk chairs and office pods. Storytelling gives meaning and context to your products and connects emotionally with your audience.
How can furniture and product design companies like ours make the most of AI?
AI can generate highly detailed concept images that help designers explore ideas they may not have considered. It can simulate how different materials might look, feel, and perform and suggest alternative forms or functionalities. This opens up new frontiers for experimentation and innovation in product design.
A furniture designer friend was talking about an idea he had for a couch that was shaped like an iceberg. The next day I sent him an AI-generated concept image of exactly that. He was able to use it to build a prototype and take it into production in just a few weeks.
At Buro, you could use AI to test different configurations and styles virtually before committing to physical prototypes. This not only saves time and money, but also enables greater personalisation, tailoring designs to specific office layouts, workflows, or ergonomic needs.
AI bridges the gap between ideas and reality, making it easier to move from concept to creation. It gives designers the freedom to explore without limits while keeping things efficient and practical.
AI generated personas for the MONDO range. Mondo is Buro’s fun and funky range of affordable, ergonomic chairs. We tasked Steve with creating AI images to represent five different Mondo personas, in our brand colours and guidelines.
Buro has recently released new products in our Mondo range. How would you use AI-generated imagery to bring these stories to life? (Not that I’m getting you to do my homework or anything!)
Ha! Happy to help. I’d start by using AI to visualise your brand story, brainstorming the big-picture ideas behind the Mondo range. Then, still using AI, I’d create imagery that captures the look, feel, and emotion of the products.
AI lets you create visualisations of different office environments, showing how Mondo products can support a modern workplace by encouraging collaboration, productivity, and well-being.
Whether through dynamic wall art, interactive installations, or subtler design elements, the goal is to design spaces that reflect Buro’s ethos and capture your essence.
The new Mondo Mistral office chair combines stylish ‘V’-shaped armrests with ergonomic comfort, featuring a synchronized adjustable seat and backrest.
Do you see AI becoming an integral part of workspace design?
Without a doubt. Imagine office walls that change their appearance based on the time of day, or meeting spaces that adapt to the energy of the team. AI-generated imagery can enable personalised and interactive design elements, making office spaces more dynamic and engaging.
Another business I’m involved in creates digital art, which commercial interior designers love because they can get specific, unique artwork that reflects their clients’ brand values and environments—without the high costs or long lead times of traditional methods.
What emerging trends in AI do you think will have the greatest impact in the next five to 10 years?
I see a rise in adaptive workspaces that are powered by AI—environments that respond to employee needs in real time. AI-driven visualisations will play a major role in creating modular, multifunctional spaces that evolve with a business.
I also think sustainability will continue to be a huge focus, with AI helping to design furniture and layouts that minimise waste and maximise efficiency.
What are the most exciting opportunities AI can unlock for office design?
AI has the potential to revolutionise modern workplaces by analysing vast datasets on posture, movement, and comfort to create ergonomic seating that perfectly supports the human body.
It can also drive customisation, allowing businesses to tailor seating solutions to specific user groups or brand aesthetics. Plus, AI can be used to explore sustainable materials, helping companies like Buro pave the way forward in eco-conscious design.
You can even use AI to incorporate wellness elements, like optimising natural light placement, balancing acoustics, or incorporating biophilic design elements. It’s all about creating environments that feel good to work in. Design with empathy, powered by data.
What advice would you give to companies just starting to explore AI-generated imagery?
Start small but think big. Use AI to experiment with concepts or streamline parts of your workflow like prototyping or visualisation. Focus on areas where AI can add immediate value, then build from there. Most importantly, make sure your AI initiatives align with your brand’s core values. Technology should amplify what makes your brand unique, not overshadow it.
Excited about AI? We are too.
At Buro, we believe AI is shaping the future of design and modern workspaces. Want to see how AI can bring your brand story to life? Get in touch with Steve at Brand IQ and explore what’s possible.
