At its core, medical communications (medcomms) is about connection: bridging complex science with the people it can help. Yet too often, the story of that science gets lost in translation. Between tight timelines, layered review cycles, and the sheer volume of information we manage, the how of communication can overshadow the why.
At JB Ashtin, we’re driven to unite structure and soul, transforming complex data into something not only accurate but also accessible and inspiring.
When I attended Adobe MAX 2025 (aka MAX), I was seeking inspiration. What I found was something even better: a glimpse of how creativity, technology, and empathy can coexist to reshape the way we communicate science—not by replacing the human touch, but by amplifying it.
Creativity and Compliance Don’t Have to Compete
For years, many in our field have viewed creativity and compliance as opposing forces: one pushing boundaries, the other holding them firm. But new tools, like Adobe Firefly and other ethically trained AI models, are reframing that relationship.
Now, we can design within smart guardrails: systems that keep brand, legal, and scientific standards intact while giving creative teams the freedom to explore new visual directions. Templates can self-adjust to maintain hierarchy and layout rules. Brand assets can stay consistent across audiences. The new features that Adobe Firefly provides will help us create brand assets with confidence, knowing that our compliance guidelines are addressed in templates. Ideally, this will accelerate content alignment, maintain scientific quality, and reduce review time for client stakeholders.
Turning Data Into Story
Using AI tools isn’t about automating the creative process; it’s about elevating it. By shifting routine production to technology (ie, not having to re-enter design elements for each new asset), we can reallocate time and thought toward interpretation, storytelling, and strategy.
This shift came to life in one of the most powerful sessions I attended at MAX: Learning to Speak Data. “Speaking data” is a principle that resonates deeply in medcomms, where information is abundant, but the attention of busy healthcare providers (HCPs) can be limited. That’s where design steps in. Thoughtful visualization turns information into insight and helps people see meaning beyond just numbers. Our goal as creatives in medcomms is to make data stand out enough to capture attention, so every figure, table, and chart is impactful. After all, these visuals represent an extraordinary amount of research, collaboration, and care.
When we design with purpose (ie, choosing the right visual hierarchy, guiding the reader’s eye, and shaping each visual around a clear “so what”), we move beyond reporting results. We begin to design understanding.
That understanding creates impact:
- An HCP can instantly grasp the clinical relevance of an endpoint
- A patient can see hope through visualized progress
- A global medical team can align around what the data truly show
In short, good data design can transform raw results into shared comprehension, turning science into something felt as much as understood.
Ethical Innovation Matters
Of course, creativity and clarity mean little without integrity. One of the things that stood out at MAX was Adobe’s commitment to ethical AI. For example, Firefly’s models are trained only on licensed and rights-held content, with clear content credentials embedded in every output.
That commitment to ethical, rights-based AI is especially vital in a regulated industry like ours. It ensures creative teams can explore new possibilities confidently, knowing every pixel upholds the same standards of accuracy and transparency that we apply to every word of scientific content. In an era where innovation often outpaces policy, ethics becomes our compass, and Adobe’s approach offers a model for how technology can evolve responsibly.
What Does This Mean for You?
For our clients, the takeaway is simple:
When creativity, compliance, and technology work in sync, your scientific story moves faster—and lands stronger.
By shifting routine production to smart, ethically trained tools, we free our team to focus on interpretation, clarity, and strategic storytelling. This means your materials are not only visually compelling and scientifically accurate, but they also reach alignment sooner, with fewer revisions and shorter timelines.
Science in Sync. Story With Heart.
What I brought home from MAX wasn’t a list of new tools or techniques, but a renewed mindset:
- Creativity isn’t the opposite of compliance; it’s the bridge to better understanding
- Technology isn’t the enemy of artistry; it’s the infrastructure that allows it to thrive
If you’re exploring new ways to visualize complex data or streamline creative review, let’s connect.