BLUP MEETS SAM MENSAH
Designing the Future with AI, Humanity and Vision
Some creatives stay in their lane. Sam Mensah built the highway.
With two decades in the game and a portfolio that stretches from Nike and Chelsea FC to Microsoft, he is a designer who refuses to be boxed in. From apps to branding, video to photography, his work moves where culture moves.
Now, at Microsoft, Sam is shaping the future of AI, not as a threat to creativity, but as the most powerful tool of our generation. BLUP sat down with him to talk vision, humanity and why style will always outlast software.
// Dines: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Sam: I am a creative, simple as that. Over the past 15 to 20 years I have done it all: design, branding, apps, video, photography. I even made music back in the day. I have been lucky to work with AKQA, Nike, Microsoft, McKinsey, Chelsea FC, Virgin…the list keeps going.
The Microsoft chapter started during the pandemic. My old boss reached out on LinkedIn with an opportunity. At first I was not sure. I was freelancing, making good money, and I did not want to go back to the nine to five unless it felt right. But when I found out it was about building education platforms, it clicked. Education has always been big for me, mentoring, passing on knowledge, giving the next generation tools. Four and a half years later, I am still here, still learning, still building.
What I have learned is that your career path does not need to be straight. Stay open to unexpected opportunities. Sometimes the right project, not the title or paycheck, is what unlocks long term purpose.
// Dines: What is the most exciting part about designing for AI right now?
Sam: AI is not magic. It is a tool, just like Photoshop was when it landed 20 years ago. The difference is scale. Photoshop let you cut, edit, remix images. AI does that, and it also handles research, notes, data, insights, all the boring groundwork, in seconds.
That means creatives get time back. Time to think bigger. To push ideas further. To focus on impact, not admin. The way I see it, AI does not replace creativity, it unlocks it. Think of AI as a collaborator, not a competitor. Use it to remove the grind and free up space for imagination.
// Dines: What’s one thing every creative should understand about working with tech?
Sam: I used to think everything had to be digital. Never picked up a pen, never sketched. But tech without humanity is empty. Every app, every platform, every device is built around human needs, how we connect, what we desire, how we live.
If you are a creative working in tech, never forget that. The human layer is the heart. Tech is just the engine. The best ideas are not about features, they are about feelings. Always design with people in mind, not just the technology.
// Dines: How do you turn complex problems into simple, user-friendly design?
Sam: Good design is about clarity. I always write and design like I am making it for someone’s nan. Could a kid in North London and a Silicon Valley engineer both get it. If not, it is too complicated.
The hardest problems are solved by stripping them down, making them useful, accessible, beautiful. I test everything by asking: would this actually make my life, or my kids’ lives, easier.
If your idea cannot be explained simply, it will not land. Great design is universal. It should be understood by everyone, regardless of background or ability.
// Dines: Biggest takeaway from working at Microsoft AI?
Sam: At first, I will admit it, I was scared of AI. I thought: this is going to take our jobs. But being on the inside, designing these tools, shifted my perspective. AI is like fire. Yes, it can be dangerous. But fire also cooks food, keeps us warm, powers cities.
AI is the most important tool of our generation. It is here to help us make, not to replace us. Creatives who thrive will be the ones who go bigger, who bring something human, something the tool cannot replicate.
What I have realised is that you cannot fear new tools and still hope to shape them. The creatives who embrace change will be the ones building the future.
Dines: What’s one way young designers can future-proof their creativity?
Sam: Today’s young designers have more at their fingertips than we ever dreamed of. Back then it was dial up internet, early Photoshop, Dreamweaver. Now you can build a whole site in minutes.
My advice is to go all in. Rinse every tool, use AI like it is your new sketchbook. Remix, prototype, experiment. But do not let the tech define you. Your style, your perspective, your worldview, that is the real currency.
Tech will always change. Your taste and vision are what set you apart. Build those, then let the tools scale them.
Closing Note
Tools come and go. Vision stays. For Sam Mensah, the future of creativity is not about competing with AI, it is about using it to dream louder, design smarter and keep humanity at the centre of it all.
