Adobe's Brooke Hopper, senior principal designer of machine intelligence and new technology, joins SCAD Signal host Thomas Hull to discuss design leadership and the evergreen skills that carry designers through technological change. She explains how a designer's role has grown from making individual artifacts to shaping teams, systems, and business strategy, and why taste, judgment, and point of view come from practice, especially as generative AI makes producing work effortless. Drawing on her experience, Hopper urges designers to slow down, test work with real people, and ask whether something should be made just because it can be. She also makes the case for curiosity, design education, and hiring for the "why" behind the portfolio.

Brooke Hopper, Senior principal designer for machine intelligence and new technology, Adobe

A respected voice in the creative technology community, Brooke Hopper is the senior principal designer for machine intelligence and new technology at Adobe, where she focuses on how emerging technologies can strengthen creative workflows and support artists' ownership of their work. With expertise in UX/UI strategy, web marketing, and creative leadership, she collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to shape next-generation tools for digital creators. Hopper has contributed to Adobe Fresco and to drawing and painting features across Creative Cloud, bringing a clear, user-centered approach to the design of expressive digital environments. Her work centers on building products that expand creative capability and make advanced technology accessible to artists and designers. Additionally, she speaks nationally on design innovation, digital artistry, and the evolving role of intelligent tools in the creative process. She is also an active advocate for women in technology and creative leadership.

Thomas Hull, Chair of Graphic Design, SCAD

With SCAD for more than seven years, Hull has led the graphic design department, mentored young designers, and served as a professor. Partner and Design Director at Rigsby Hull for nearly 25 years, Hull leads the day-to-day operation of the studio and develops strategic communications and design programs for a variety of clients — from Fortune 500 companies like Weyerhaeuser, ExxonMobil and International Paper to non-profit organizations such as LIVESTRONG, Union of Concerned Scientists and the Smithsonian Institution. His work has won consistent, international acclaim and is part of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s permanent collection, the Denver Art Museum, AIGA Archives, and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University. In addition, his designs have been included in AR100, Communication Arts, 50 Books/50 Covers, and Graphis.