Design × AI Masterclass · Skill 1 Of 5

The AI-Human Task Audit

Task Decomposition — Worksheet 1 Of 5

Most designers think about projects as blobs — "design the brand," "build the landing page." But if you're going to integrate AI into your workflow you need to transfer the lived experience you have to the machine and then delgate tasks that are uniquely positioned to be done by a machine. Otherwise you're just offloading your cognitive muscle and possibly wasting your time, energy and tokens wrestling with the machine to give you the outcome you're looking to achieve. The Task Workflow breaks that habit by forcing you to name every discrete action in a project, then honestly assess which ones actually required your specific judgment. This is the foundational skill for working well with AI. You can't make smart delegation decisions until you can see what you're delegating. Practice this skill and over time you'll do it automatically.

1

Name Your Project

Pick a recent project you completed without AI. It should have at least 5–6 distinct stages — a brand identity, a campaign, a product UI, a presentation. Anything with real texture.

2

List Every Task

Write out every task you performed, as granularly as you can. Not "designed the logo" — but "looked at references," "sketched thumbnails," "chose a typeface," "presented 3 directions." Aim for 10–15 tasks minimum, then mark each one H, C, or A.

H — Human-LedRequired my specific judgment, values, or experience
C — CollaborativeCould have been done with AI in the loop
A — AI-LedAI could have led this with light review from me
The Delegation Ledger

Not sure how to mark a task? Find the closest match below — if a task looks like one of these, that's your column.

Human-Led
Values + IntentWhat is this work for?
Concept DirectionThe core idea is yours
Curation + JudgmentWhat stays, what goes
Ethical ReasoningConsent, impact, power
Collaborative
Brief ExpansionStretch the frame
Variation + IterationExplore divergent paths
Draft + RefineYou shape, AI polishes
Critique + Pressure TestFind the holes
AI-Led
Research + GatherSource, scan, surface
Production TasksFormat, resize, spec
Boilerplate CopyDescriptions, labels
Organize + DocumentStructure, summarize
#Task (Be Specific) HCA Notes
3

Tally And Reflect

Your tally updates automatically as you mark each task. Sit with what it means.

0H — Human-Led Tasks
0C — Collaborative Tasks
0A — AI-Led Tasks
4

Reflection Questions

Answer these honestly. There are no right answers — the value is in the specificity of your response.

For Group Discussion

"Which tasks did you mark H out of habit rather than genuine necessity? What would you need to trust to move those to C?"
  • Share one task you marked H that surprised you.
  • Where did most people cluster — more H, more A, or balanced?
  • What does the tally tell you about how you currently allocate creative energy?
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Design × AI Masterclass — Task Decomposition — Worksheet 1 Of 5