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M.G. Martinez Ortiz
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The rapid embedding of Generative AI into creative production has outpaced the organisational structures needed to govern it, particularly within small, AI-native design studios operating between internal experimentation and client-facing delivery. This thesis investigates that gap through a field-first, literature-iterative study conducted at a 21-person AI-native design studio (pseudonymised as Studio Nova) operating across production and R&D projects. It asks: what are the opportunities and challenges of embedding Generative AI in a small AI-native design studio, and how can these inform a strategy for structuring feedback, curation and communication between studio and client? This overarching question is broken down into three sub-questions addressing, respectively, the studio's internal coordination structures, the breakdowns occurring at the studio–client boundary, and the criteria against which a design intervention should be evaluated.
The approach combined a targeted literature review across seven bodies of work, including Sociotechnical Systems theory, boundary spanning and joint optimisation, with two-phase field research inside the studio. Phase 1 combined exploratory interviews and an organisational mapping exercise; Phase 2 extended this through structured interviews across the main creative studio roles and naturalistic observation. Together, these phases surfaced six patterns that led to the design of five strategic pillars, later used as the evaluative criteria for the design intervention.
The key insight was that the studio had a well-functioning internal iteration loop, but no equivalent structure at the studio–client boundary. Feedback broke down there through misaligned expectations, low visibility into the studio's process, inconsistent terminology, and unpredictable timing. The Project Manager was left to bridge this gap informally, without a shared structure either side could rely on. Closing this gap required formalising the Project Manager's role as a Boundary Spanner, giving them a structure to raise and resolve governance questions before production begins.
To address this, REFRAME was developed: a three-layer governance process centred on the Project Manager as Boundary Spanner. The first layer, a Theoretical Framework, maps four governance domains: Client x Social, Studio x Social, Studio x Technical and Client x Technical, intended to identify gaps before a production project starts. The second layer, an interactive Governance Tool, translates this map into a facilitation canvas for the governance conversations themselves. The third layer, a Project Governance document, was proposed as a future direction: a record of what was agreed that could be referenced throughout production. REFRAME was validated with Studio Nova's intended primary users against the five strategic pillars established during field research.
This thesis contributes REFRAME, a validated three-layer governance process for AI-native creative studios, and demonstrates how Sociotechnical Systems theory and boundary-spanning roles can be operationalised into a practical tool, extending governance literature beyond technical system boundaries into the organisational and creative dimensions of AI adoption. ...
The approach combined a targeted literature review across seven bodies of work, including Sociotechnical Systems theory, boundary spanning and joint optimisation, with two-phase field research inside the studio. Phase 1 combined exploratory interviews and an organisational mapping exercise; Phase 2 extended this through structured interviews across the main creative studio roles and naturalistic observation. Together, these phases surfaced six patterns that led to the design of five strategic pillars, later used as the evaluative criteria for the design intervention.
The key insight was that the studio had a well-functioning internal iteration loop, but no equivalent structure at the studio–client boundary. Feedback broke down there through misaligned expectations, low visibility into the studio's process, inconsistent terminology, and unpredictable timing. The Project Manager was left to bridge this gap informally, without a shared structure either side could rely on. Closing this gap required formalising the Project Manager's role as a Boundary Spanner, giving them a structure to raise and resolve governance questions before production begins.
To address this, REFRAME was developed: a three-layer governance process centred on the Project Manager as Boundary Spanner. The first layer, a Theoretical Framework, maps four governance domains: Client x Social, Studio x Social, Studio x Technical and Client x Technical, intended to identify gaps before a production project starts. The second layer, an interactive Governance Tool, translates this map into a facilitation canvas for the governance conversations themselves. The third layer, a Project Governance document, was proposed as a future direction: a record of what was agreed that could be referenced throughout production. REFRAME was validated with Studio Nova's intended primary users against the five strategic pillars established during field research.
This thesis contributes REFRAME, a validated three-layer governance process for AI-native creative studios, and demonstrates how Sociotechnical Systems theory and boundary-spanning roles can be operationalised into a practical tool, extending governance literature beyond technical system boundaries into the organisational and creative dimensions of AI adoption. ...
The rapid embedding of Generative AI into creative production has outpaced the organisational structures needed to govern it, particularly within small, AI-native design studios operating between internal experimentation and client-facing delivery. This thesis investigates that gap through a field-first, literature-iterative study conducted at a 21-person AI-native design studio (pseudonymised as Studio Nova) operating across production and R&D projects. It asks: what are the opportunities and challenges of embedding Generative AI in a small AI-native design studio, and how can these inform a strategy for structuring feedback, curation and communication between studio and client? This overarching question is broken down into three sub-questions addressing, respectively, the studio's internal coordination structures, the breakdowns occurring at the studio–client boundary, and the criteria against which a design intervention should be evaluated.
The approach combined a targeted literature review across seven bodies of work, including Sociotechnical Systems theory, boundary spanning and joint optimisation, with two-phase field research inside the studio. Phase 1 combined exploratory interviews and an organisational mapping exercise; Phase 2 extended this through structured interviews across the main creative studio roles and naturalistic observation. Together, these phases surfaced six patterns that led to the design of five strategic pillars, later used as the evaluative criteria for the design intervention.
The key insight was that the studio had a well-functioning internal iteration loop, but no equivalent structure at the studio–client boundary. Feedback broke down there through misaligned expectations, low visibility into the studio's process, inconsistent terminology, and unpredictable timing. The Project Manager was left to bridge this gap informally, without a shared structure either side could rely on. Closing this gap required formalising the Project Manager's role as a Boundary Spanner, giving them a structure to raise and resolve governance questions before production begins.
To address this, REFRAME was developed: a three-layer governance process centred on the Project Manager as Boundary Spanner. The first layer, a Theoretical Framework, maps four governance domains: Client x Social, Studio x Social, Studio x Technical and Client x Technical, intended to identify gaps before a production project starts. The second layer, an interactive Governance Tool, translates this map into a facilitation canvas for the governance conversations themselves. The third layer, a Project Governance document, was proposed as a future direction: a record of what was agreed that could be referenced throughout production. REFRAME was validated with Studio Nova's intended primary users against the five strategic pillars established during field research.
This thesis contributes REFRAME, a validated three-layer governance process for AI-native creative studios, and demonstrates how Sociotechnical Systems theory and boundary-spanning roles can be operationalised into a practical tool, extending governance literature beyond technical system boundaries into the organisational and creative dimensions of AI adoption.
The approach combined a targeted literature review across seven bodies of work, including Sociotechnical Systems theory, boundary spanning and joint optimisation, with two-phase field research inside the studio. Phase 1 combined exploratory interviews and an organisational mapping exercise; Phase 2 extended this through structured interviews across the main creative studio roles and naturalistic observation. Together, these phases surfaced six patterns that led to the design of five strategic pillars, later used as the evaluative criteria for the design intervention.
The key insight was that the studio had a well-functioning internal iteration loop, but no equivalent structure at the studio–client boundary. Feedback broke down there through misaligned expectations, low visibility into the studio's process, inconsistent terminology, and unpredictable timing. The Project Manager was left to bridge this gap informally, without a shared structure either side could rely on. Closing this gap required formalising the Project Manager's role as a Boundary Spanner, giving them a structure to raise and resolve governance questions before production begins.
To address this, REFRAME was developed: a three-layer governance process centred on the Project Manager as Boundary Spanner. The first layer, a Theoretical Framework, maps four governance domains: Client x Social, Studio x Social, Studio x Technical and Client x Technical, intended to identify gaps before a production project starts. The second layer, an interactive Governance Tool, translates this map into a facilitation canvas for the governance conversations themselves. The third layer, a Project Governance document, was proposed as a future direction: a record of what was agreed that could be referenced throughout production. REFRAME was validated with Studio Nova's intended primary users against the five strategic pillars established during field research.
This thesis contributes REFRAME, a validated three-layer governance process for AI-native creative studios, and demonstrates how Sociotechnical Systems theory and boundary-spanning roles can be operationalised into a practical tool, extending governance literature beyond technical system boundaries into the organisational and creative dimensions of AI adoption.