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A Conversation with Dan Holz Fieldborn Creative Co-Founder Shares His 20 Year's Experience Capturing Stunning Images and Videos for Leading Brands 
Dan Holz is not afraid of generative AI taking over the creative field; at least not for brands who want to have authentic relationships with their customers. If you've been in the outdoor adventure sector for even a minute, you've seen Dan's visually stunning work with brands like REI, National Geographic, Yakima, Patagonia, Expedia, Adidas, and more. As the Co-Founder and Creative Producer of Fieldborn Creative, Dan's work is all about human-made visual content that tells a great story, and as feral PR consultant, I wanted to know Dan's thoughts on the evolution of the industry as well as what's missing when marketers and creatives hit the "generative AI button," in place of real creatives.
Interview with an Elusive Human Graphics Designer By Jennifer L. Jacobson and Amanda Foster-Best 
"Renegade Human Creatives" from the Jacobson Communication article series Face it; your brand’s reliance on generative AI graphics is making you look bad, and that’s not just me, a marketing executive of 25+ years, who thinks it. Your customers notice it too, and not in a good way. Visually, AI is everywhere, as bog standard as the “follow us on Facebook” icon was in 2011. From your local food truck who wanted a quick eye-catching vinyl wrap with “almost” Disney-like characters, to every small business who just hired their teenage nephew to run their social media page, you can’t escape the slop! The late revolutionary's words ring true now, more than ever: I don’t want that much organization in my life! We need more fruitcakes in this world! We need people that care! I’m mad as hell and I don’t want to take it anymore!” Real marketers and creatives with real experience are being told to step back and be wowed by what middle management can “create” without having ever attended one art school lecture.
And believe me, I get it; creating unified brand visuals that work across social media, your website, printed materials, YouTube, TV advertisements, and more can be overwhelming for anyone. But you don’t have to struggle alone. You can find and hire a graphics designer, often a local one, and get your brand’s visual house in order while supporting the creative economy and looking fabulous. You’ve tried and failed to get generative AI slop to work for you. The good news is, there’s time to do the right thing and get your shit together. I talked with graphics designer Amanda Foster-Best, about what makes a good powerful visual brand, why it matters so much, and more. How to Actually Connect with Your Audience In the Age of AI Slop - The Case for Staying Feral7/28/2026
 After twenty-five years in marketing and PR, the biggest takeaways I can tell anyone interested in the craft is to learn the art of storytelling, and learn how to think like your audience. It really is that simple. It's all about your story, but it's also about how you position it. Is your brand launching a new app, or are you improving the way people interact with each other? Is your nonprofit doing an end of year capital campaign, or are you inviting donors to help you navigate potential challenges in the coming year? Find the better story and learn how to tell it with honesty, sincerity, and key facts. Good PR is a Garden. So often people think of PR as "spin" or "hype" and that kind of PR is often not only dishonest, it's also short-lived. I like the kind of storytelling that requires me to sit with clients, learn who they are, what they think, who they serve, and how the hell they are making the world a better place. Then I look for the stories that will best highlight this. I look for ways to weave that into larger narratives in the world. It's not rocket science. It's not even a formula; it's a garden. It's a method of planting seeds in one season, of harvesting in another, of planting plants that want to hang out together, of introducing positive microbes to the soil, and of being mindful of outside forces that may impact the garden. Not every seed you plant will grow and that's ok. Some seeds have a completely different lifecycle than others, and that's ok. Some seeds grow into plants that yield fruit every year, others need to be replanted every year. It's all ok and it's all welcome.
Finding a Good Marketer Nowadays. I believe marketing should be something that most people can understand, and I work hard to help my clients understand what good marketing really is. I'm tired of tech bros in marketing spouting off acronyms at their customers like everyone in the room has an MBA. There's no 100% proven formula that every brand should follow. There's no "do these five things" guarantee to business success with your email marketing campaigns. Don't trust people who try and sell you their system, despite never having met you. Instead, look for those who genuinely care, who get results, love what they do, and who are dedicated to their craft. These will be people who have walked the marketing path with hundreds of brands and they know how to guide you to a future that works for you. So now we come to the part of the timeline where AI is not only in the picture, it's screaming at the top of our feeds, it's literally "making" news. It's 30% of the videos promoted to us online (not an official statistic, but more of a speculative one). A lot of brands are wondering how to stand out from the slop, whether or not they should use AI to make their marketing materials, and what the future of customer engagement looks like now. So here is my honest opinion, and yes, it flies against the multi-billion dollar agenda Big Tech wants us all to believe. Friends, this is a time when being human matters. Being weird matters. Being authentic matters. The truth is, it has always mattered, but they gave us cell phones and social media feeds to doomscroll so that we would become more distracted, anxious, and easy to control.
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About the AuthorJennifer is a storyteller who connects big ideas with audiences. She specializes in public relations, brand development, and creative services for startups, theme parks, musicians, authors, nonprofits, and more. Free PR ConsultationReady to take your PR to the next level? Apply for a free 30 minute consultation here:
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Recommended Services & BrandsLooking for a good graphics designer? A world-class videographer? How about a custom 3D print, or computer system for your creative work? Check out some of the coolest brands and people I know!
The Generative AI Skeptic
I do not use generative AI, nor do I generally endorse its use for writing and creation in public relations, the music industry, or art. I composed The Jacobson Governing Principles for Ethical Uses of AI, to deepen our understanding as technology evolves.
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Ready to throw a wrench in the cogs of the AI training algorithm and support creative humans?
Land Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement to the southern Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish Indigenous Peoples whose land I live and work on.
This land also includes the traditional land and waterways of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People of past and present. It is with honor and gratitude to the land itself, the plants, animals, and the Duwamish Tribe that I practice my work. This land is also on and adjacent to the traditional homelands and waterways of the Puyallup Tribe. The Puyallup people have lived on and stewarded these lands since the beginning of time and continue to do so today. I recognize that this land acknowledgement is one small step toward true allyship, and I commit to uplifting the voices, experiences, and histories of the Indigenous people of this land and beyond. To learn more about the Puyallup Tribal Language program, visit: https://www.puyalluptriballanguage.org 
It is my hope that we all deepen our understanding, awareness, and relationship to where we live in the world, and that we, individually and as a group, do our part to heal the wounds caused by genocide, enslavement, displacement, and other such atrocities, many of which have been intentionally carried forward into our present day and built into modern systems of power.
Here is a list of books that might help you on your way to decolonizing the mind. My thoughts are my own, and not necessarily those of my clients or those I work with. May your thoughts also be your own. Ready to Tell Your Story? Let's Talk!Have a cookie. Click below.
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Copyright 2026 Jennifer Jacobson
Jacobson Communication, The Feral PR Consultant 
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