The new rules of creativity — Magnific × AREA 17

Most creative platforms evolve incrementally. Magnific didn't.

AREA 17 partnered with Freepik on their transformation into Magnific working on the brand strategy and identity behind one of the boldest moves in the AI creativity space right now. 

The harder question is what drives a platform trusted by millions to walk away from a name that worked and replace it with something that means more.

In this conversation, we sat down with the people who made that call. We explore the strategic thinking behind the transformation, the creative process that shaped the new identity, and the conviction that led a team to bet on a vision before the industry had fully caught up with it.

But the story doesn't stop at the rebrand. The transformation of Freepik into Magnific opens up a much larger conversation one that every brand, creative, and organization is navigating right now:

What does creativity mean in the age of AI? What skills still matter? And how do you build something that lasts when the rules are still being written?

Watch the recording to learn more.

Insights from the conversation

• AI is only as good as the vision behind it. The technology can generate, iterate, and execute at a speed that wasn't possible before. But the judgment, the taste, and the creative instinct that make work resonate those remain entirely human. If anything, AI raises the stakes for bringing a strong point of view to every project.

• The barriers between idea and execution are collapsing. For the first time, the distance between having a vision and bringing it to life is shrinking fast. Processes are no longer linear, and creative work is becoming accessible at a scale that simply wasn't possible before. The question is no longer about access, it's about what you do with it.

• Taste has always mattered. Now it defines everything. As execution becomes faster and more accessible, the ability to know what's good and why becomes the real differentiator. Not just aesthetically, but strategically. It shapes the decisions that separate work that endures from work that disappears.

• Taste is the new competitive advantage. As AI makes execution faster and easier, the ability to judge quality to know what's good, what's intentional, and what's meaningful becomes the differentiator. Taste isn't just aesthetic preference. It's a mindset, a set of values, and a commitment to pushing beyond the obvious.

• Curiosity is what connects the best creative minds to AI. Across the conversation, one thread kept surfacing: the people who are most energized by AI are the ones who have always wanted to do more, explore more, and push further. AI didn't create that impulse. It just gave it more room to run.

Panelists

• Jassica Bouvier — (Moderator) Strategy Director, AREA 17, Jassica works with brands in moments of transformation to write their new story. With a background spanning brand, product, and business strategy, she focuses on how brands show up in behavior and experience — not just visually. She has led partnerships with OpenAI, The New York Times, The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and Forbes.

• Thomas Squire, Group Design Director, AREA 17 Thomas works at the intersection of brand, experience, and technology, helping organizations define how their brands show up in an increasingly fast-paced world. Grounded in close collaboration and a curiosity for new ways of working, he has guided brands including ElevenLabs, Latent Labs, Plaud AI, and the International Energy Agency through moments of transformation.

• Martin Leblanc, CXO, Magnific Martin is the founder of Iconfinder, the icon marketplace built at the intersection of design and technology, acquired by Magnific in 2022. With a background spanning computer science, business, and design, he has spent his career building products where creativity and technology meet and brings that same founder's lens to one of the most ambitious transformations in the creative tools industry.

• David Galar, Founder, THRU Studio David is a visual designer, motion director, and founder of THRU, a Barcelona-based motion design studio. His work explores how movement shapes the way brands communicate and build narrative across digital environments. With over 100 projects across music, culture, technology, and global brands including Netflix, Nike, Meta, and Visa. He brings a multidisciplinary approach to identity systems and motion as a strategic tool.