AI has become increasingly difficult to ignore across the design industry, but not everyone is responding to it the same way. A small group of early adopters are already investing in a range of tools focused on increasing output at a lower cost. A larger group, by contrast, are continuing to test new tools as they come to market, often influenced by what competitors are doing. Some are bringing in specialists to help navigate integration challenges, while others are still holding back, wary of what it means for design authorship.

That dynamic isn't unique to design. Deloitte's 2026 ‘The State of AI in the Enterprise’ research found a similar trend nationally. Around two thirds of Australian respondents plan to increase AI investment in the next financial year, well below the 84 percent recorded globally. Only 12 percent of Australian leaders say generative AI is already transforming their business or industry, compared with 25 percent internationally.

“AI adoption should follow business strategy, not drive it”

In a recent masterclass at Melbourne Business School, Professor Jon Whittle, author of 'AI for Business' and a leading Australian AI expert, took a holistic view of what it takes for businesses to move from experimentation to business-wide adoption. One issue raised was that many organisations are investing in the technology without being clear about what they're trying to achieve. Instead, AI adoption should follow business strategy, not drive it.

For design businesses, the key takeaways below provide a practical way to think about where AI fits, how it should be used and what needs to be in place to support it.

Five takeaways

1. Start with the problem, not the tool

Before investing in AI, ask yourself what problems you're trying to solve across your systems and processes, and how they connect to your strategy. Then ask if AI is the right solution. If it is, concentrate on the few areas where you're likely to get the best return, rather than introducing AI everywhere without knowing why.

2. Faster doesn't always make it better

A poor process with AI added is still a poor process, just faster. Whittle calls this the "efficiency trap," and it can mean missing out on an opportunity to do things differently. AI won't improve the outcome if the underlying process is broken, outdated or ineffective. Review each process first, then decide where AI can help. And if it saves time, decide where that time is reallocated.

3. Be sceptical of the hype

You don't need to become an AI expert, but you do need enough of an understanding to challenge what you're being told. If someone says a tool will save you 30% of your time, improve your profitability, transform your business or that AI search has overtaken SEO, ask what evidence that claim is based on, especially if it doesn't reflect the nuances of your profession.

4. A thinking partner, not the decision maker

Whittle warns against handing over your thinking to AI. He makes a valuable point about tacit knowledge. AI can't access experience that hasn't been documented. That could be how you approach a design problem, handle a client relationship or manage marketing and content creation. If it's not your area of expertise, a generated response may sound convincing even when it's wrong. Instead, use it to challenge your ideas and explore options, but make the important decisions yourself.

5. AI adoption isn't just about technology

This one's the most obvious point, and still the easiest to overlook. The evidence presented suggests that adoption barriers have little to do with the technology itself, and much more to do with human, social and organisational factors. In practice that means someone needs to own how AI is introduced and used across the business, understand where people are ready or unsure, and provide the leadership, training and support needed to do it well. That's a strategic responsibility, not a technical one.

Every business is different

There's no single approach to AI that suits every design business. What works for a competitor may not work for you. The tools you choose, how much you invest and how quickly you get onboard depend on what you want your business to achieve.

That's why strategy needs to come first. AI can help solve an issue, automate a repetitive process or further improve what you're already doing well. But it can't make that decision independent of you, or the people helping you run your business.

AI won't fix your strategy problem. It will just highlight what's missing, faster.

There's a good chance your marketing budget looks a lot like last year's. And the year before that.

It's not surprising. By the time you get to it, you're trying to get through performance reviews or lock down revenue targets while managing the latest resourcing issue. It gets done, but not always as well as it could. The result is a budget that mostly rolls over with the same assumptions and activities, disconnected from the strategic decisions being made everywhere else in the practice.

Marketing budgets across many industries are benchmarked at around five to ten percent of annual revenue. In architecture and design, the reality is usually lower. Studios tend to invest under five percent and rely heavily on referrals and existing relationships to generate project work.

Part of this comes down to how marketing is structured. It rarely sits as a formal discipline the way it might in larger practices or other professional services businesses. More commonly it’s added to someone’s existing responsibilities rather than led by a trained marketer. So when money is tight, the marketing budget is an easy target.

Zero-based budgeting offers a different way of thinking about this. Instead of assuming existing activities will continue each year, it encourages you to step back and reconsider where your marketing dollars should go.

WHAT ZERO-BASED BUDGETING MEANS

Zero-based budgeting is a financial planning method where everything starts at zero. Nothing rolls over from the previous year by default, and every expense has to be justified again before funds are allocated to it.

In a marketing context, this means reviewing what you're currently doing and what you could be doing, then deciding what’s worth paying for.

For your studio, that might include photography, award submissions, public relations and industry events. In practice, these may sit across both marketing and business development budgets, sometimes separated and sometimes treated as one. How they're categorised matters less than going through each one and asking whether it still supports your strategic objectives.

If the purpose of a line item is unclear, that's probably a sign it shouldn't be in the budget.

Why Start From Zero

Recurring marketing spend can build up over time. Look closely and you might find the same awards being entered each year, subscriptions renewing without anyone noticing and event tickets being reallocated to whoever is free. Some of it may still have value, but you won't know without checking. Zero-based budgeting creates a direct link between your priorities and where your money goes.

“If your focus is shifting toward education projects, workplace interiors or multi-residential work, your marketing spend should reflect that”

It also allows you to redirect resources as things change. New sectors emerge, client expectations evolve and digital channels continue to develop. A fresh review makes it easier to move investment toward the areas that support the work you want to pursue.

Perhaps most importantly, the process prompts a better discussion about what marketing is meant to achieve in the first place. Some activities build awareness and reputation over time. Others strengthen relationships or generate enquiries more directly. A balanced budget makes room for both.

HOW TO APPLY IT IN PRACTICE

Creating a marketing budget isn’t complicated, but it shouldn't be done in isolation either. Too often it starts with a number set by finance, before anyone has properly assessed what needs to be done. It makes more sense to look at your strategy first. From there, marketing can identify what's required, then work with finance to land on an amount that's right for the studio.

After that’s settled, agree on your priorities for the year ahead. That might mean revenue targets, sectors you want to develop, client groups you're hoping to attract, or states you want to be more visible in.

Then list every activity currently in place, alongside anything new you're considering. Review each one. Does it support where your studio is headed? What kind of impact can it realistically have, and at what cost?

Once you've worked through the list, rebuild the budget around the activities that deliver on those priorities. Some will remain while others will go, with new initiatives taking their place.

"A STUDIO WORKING THROUGH SUCCESSION PLANNING NEEDS A MARKETING BUDGET THAT PUTS THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS FRONT AND CENTRE”

Zero-based budgeting isn't frictionless. It does add workload. But if your strategy is in place, the process shouldn't take long. The risk comes when it's applied too rigidly, pushing toward short-term reductions at the expense of longer-term marketing and relationship-building that practices rely on. The goal isn't to cut costs or have a larger budget. It's to make sure spend connects to where the studio is going and that the team doing the work understands the reasoning behind it.

BEFORE YOU START

Zero-based budgeting shouldn't lead you to short-term thinking. Some marketing activities take time to show their full impact. Awards, editorial coverage and speaking engagements build reputation and visibility over a longer period.

The way to know is to track performance consistently. What you're looking for is the trend, not a single reading. Website visits, enquiries, proposal win rates, media coverage and event attendance can tell you which activities are working and which aren't.

A STRATEGIC TOOL, NOT JUST A FINANCIAL ONE

Done well, zero-based budgeting becomes more than a financial exercise. It prompts you to think about where you're taking the studio and how your marketing can support it. For smaller and mid-sized studios, where resources are limited and leadership time is valuable, that discipline is worth the effort. Instead of repeating the past, the budget becomes a strategic decision about where to invest for the year ahead, and why.

DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST TO GUIDE YOUR NEXT BUDGET REVIEW

Not long ago I was speaking with an architect who had recently started their own practice. They mentioned a conversation with a senior colleague who questioned their decision to invest in marketing so early on. The suggestion was that it was a distraction the practice couldn’t yet afford.

The advice was well intentioned. A new practice needs focus, there's cashflow to manage and a pipeline to build. That part made sense.

But the conversation stayed with me for another reason.

It pointed to something I regularly hear across this industry. When people say marketing, they’re usually referring to something quite different.

As a formally trained marketer, I bring a particular perspective. But this isn’t an academic issue. When there’s no shared understanding of what marketing is, budgets get misdirected, roles become confused, and frustration builds within teams. For a studio that's starting out, going through change or trying to grow, that lack of clarity costs time and money.

WHAT PEOPLE OFTEN MEAN BY MARKETING

In many studios, marketing has become shorthand for communications - social media, award submissions, project photography, press coverage. The visible, tactical output.

These activities are important, and they influence how a studio presents itself. But they sit within marketing communications rather than marketing. They're a product of strategy, not a substitute for one.

When 'comms' becomes the default definition, marketing as a discipline gets reduced to a list of disconnected tasks. The strategic work of understanding the market and making choices about target clients and positioning can get overlooked.

MARKETING IS NOT THE SAME AS COMMUNICATIONS

Marketing starts with recognising that you are not the client. What you find interesting about your work is not always what clients respond to when they make decisions.

From there, marketing involves understanding the market, the kinds of clients you want to attract, what matters to them, and what other options they may be considering. Marketing strategy takes that understanding and turns it into choices. Which clients should the practice focus on? How should it position itself? What project work should it pursue? The answers are as much about what not to do as what to do.

Making those choices doesn't need to be overly complicated, but they do need to be grounded in reality, speaking to clients and industry partners, paying attention to how decisions get made, and testing your assumptions against what you hear.

Writing project copy, preparing a press kit, and posting on Instagram. These are how those strategic choices get conveyed to the market. They're what we see, not the strategy itself.

“Marketing helps a practice understand the market and identify where the value is. Marketing strategy decides where to focus and how to compete. Communications make those CHOICES visible”

WHERE STUDIOS FEEL THE IMPACT OF CONFUSION

The difference may sound subtle, but it becomes obvious in practice.

The marketing budget is one of the clearest examples. Most studios can see what they spend on photography, awards, public relations or a website refresh. What's harder to see are the costs behind it, billable hours, delayed approvals, preparing assets that aren't needed, or reworking material because the strategy was unclear.

Hiring is another example. It's not uncommon for studios to advertise for communications support and call it marketing. The role description focuses on copywriting, coordinating photography, preparing press assets or managing social media. These are important tasks and they require a specific skill set, but they’re not the same as deciding what work the studio should pursue and how it should compete for it.

When the two get blurred, studios hire for one thing and expect another. Someone is brought in to manage communications, then expected to solve marketing problems that sit outside the role. The same thing happens internally when that responsibility is added to someone else's job without the authority to do it properly. The result is unrealistic expectations and a role that's difficult to do well.

“Without strategic clarity, communications can easily turn into a series of scattered tasks instead of a focused investment”

Principals or directors stay closely involved in communications because they want to ensure the work accurately reflects the practice. That's understandable. But when the thinking sits mostly with them, everything depends on their review and availability. A single social media post can go through multiple rounds of feedback just because the strategic direction was never agreed on or shared with the team.

When that happens, productivity slows down, nothing gets signed off and leadership gets pulled into detail that shouldn't need their attention.

What looks like a communications problem is often a decision making problem.

MARKETING IS PART OF BUILDING THE PRACTICE

Once that distinction is clear, communications has a much better chance of doing its job well. It ends up more focused, more consistent and more useful over time because it’s supporting an agreed business direction rather than trying to create one.

Marketing works best when it’s connected to where the practice is heading, rather than left to instinct or operating in isolation. It belongs in the strategic thinking that informs direction and growth, not just in the communications that follow.

Every time a principal decides which projects to pursue and which to pass on, that’s a marketing decision. Every time someone writes a proposal and wonders how to explain their value, that’s a marketing problem. Every time a practice wins a project and can’t say exactly why, or loses one and can’t explain that either, marketing is somewhere in the answer.

Which brings me back to that original conversation. Was it too early for that architect to be thinking about marketing? I don’t think so.

If marketing is mistaken for social media posts, award entries or press coverage, then yes, it can look like a distraction. But if it means getting clear on who the studio is for, what kind of work it wants to win, and how it will compete, that’s not a distraction at all. It’s part of building a practice.

Every year the same conversation happens. Someone raises it, often as an afterthought at the end of a meeting, usually around budget time, after a photography shoot or when a deadline appears in an inbox. Which awards are we entering? And almost immediately, half the room has moved on.

Deciding whether to enter can go either way, if it gets discussed at all. Opinions are mixed. Not all awards are seen as equal, with some more respected than others. The cost always comes up, and someone remembers the submission that took three weeks to prepare and didn't even make the shortlist. Sometimes the answer is a reluctant yes. Just as often, it gets pushed to next year, when the landscaping has grown in.

The scepticism is fair. Awards take time, they cost money, and not every program is worth the effort. But they deserve a second look before the year gets away from you.

WHY AWARDS WORK DIFFERENTLY HERE

Architecture's relationship with advertising is unlike most industries. The profession discouraged it for a long time, and most clients still find their architect through word of mouth, referrals and repeat business. In an industry where paid advertising isn’t the norm, awards offer another way to build visibility.

They can also create visibility beyond your own channels. Awards programs, publishers and industry platforms often feature shortlisted and winning work, which gives studios a legitimate reason to share a project more widely.

Awards do something your website, socials and portfolio can't do on their own. They bring in peer recognition. A shortlist or win shows that others in the profession have looked at the work and rated it. For a client deciding who to engage, that kind of endorsement can build credibility in a way your own channels can't.

There’s something else awards can do. Preparing an entry encourages a studio to revisit a finished project away from the pressure of deadlines, delivery and client demands. That can help the team see the work differently. And when a project is shortlisted or wins, that recognition can mean a lot to the people who worked on it and to everyone in the studio.

None of this means every project should be entered into every award. Before deciding, it's worth stepping back. What you've spent months or years working on might mean something different to you than a jury without the same emotional attachment.

BEING STRATEGIC ABOUT IT

The real question is which awards are right for your studio. And it starts with knowing what you want them to do.

“The program and the project should reflect the kind of work you want more of, not just the work you're proud of”

Some programs are followed closely by peers. Others are more visible to developers, project managers or commercial clients. Some reach residential clients through the publications that cover them, and some are taken more seriously within the profession than outside it. Who is paying attention counts as much as the award itself.

Discipline plays a part too. Architecture, interiors, urban design and product design each speak to different audiences. If your studio works across more than one area, think about which programs suit each part of the practice rather than defaulting to the most prominent name. It’s also worth looking closely at the categories. Sometimes a newer or less obvious category is the better fit.

Before committing, look at previous winners and shortlisted projects. It helps you get a feel for the kind of work being recognised, who the jury might be, and whether the award still feels relevant to your studio.

International awards need a bit more thought. Are you entering to build local credibility, get attention in a market you want to work in, or both? The costs are usually higher and the field is broader. If the project is shortlisted, is this the one you want in front of a global audience?

IF YOU DECIDE TO ENTER, DO IT WELL

Start with the guidelines and read them properly. Every program has its own criteria, word counts, image requirements and project completion dates. If you miss those, a strong project can fall over before it even gets in front of the jury.

Photography is often the first thing a juror will see, so lead with the image that has the most impact and order the rest in a way that walks them through the project. Exterior, interior and detail shots all have a role where relevant, but plans, sections and elevations are just as important. They add a layer of understanding that photography alone can't always convey.

Set aside time to review the questions properly. If the project was completed some time ago, it can be tempting for the team to lift copy from the website, a capability statement or an old project profile. Award submissions need something more specific. Go back to the project, return to the criteria and plan the entry around what the jury is being asked to assess.

When it comes to writing, think less magazine editorial and more direct explanation of why the project is award worthy. Jurors are moving through a high volume of entries. They don't need flourish. They need to understand the thinking behind the project, how it responds to its context, what problem it solves and what gives it merit.

Before you submit, it helps to get someone else to read it or even leave it overnight and come back to it. Fresh eyes tend to catch gaps, repetition and assumptions that are hard to see once you’ve been close to it for a while.

And get ahead of the deadlines. Early entry fees can save you money, and the submission is often better when it hasn’t been pulled together in a rush.

Awards won't be right for every studio, every project or every year. But in an industry that doesn't advertise, they're one of the more effective tools available to those that use them well.

Download our awards guide for key programs, deadlines and fee information.