Graham Paulsen @gwpaulsen

Independent creative / Burlington, Canada

HEAD IN THEPOSSIBLE.FEET ON THEGROUND.

HUMAN CURIOSITY × NEW POSSIBILITIES
Graham Paulsen

I’m Graham Paulsen, a creative director, media producer, and hands-on maker. I bring storytelling, design, and practical AI together to turn a good question into something people can watch, learn from, or use.

Explore my work Let’s talk
THE GREAT FUSIONA perspective. A PRACTICE Scroll to explore
02 / SELECTED PROJECTSIDEAS, PUT TO WORK

FOLLOW CURIOSITY.


Potlight StudioPotlight StudioInteractive lighting designOnline toolNewToday Courses CreatorCourses CreatorLearning experienceOpenAi PluginBob’s YardMachinery EnhanceCodex & Raspberry Pi researchOpenAi CollabWake Surf SimDynamic Flow SimInteractive learning toolCurrentNewton IntercomNewtonConnected home assistantPrototypeGraphic
NovelAnimationVisual storytellingDocumentary
01 / DESIGN TOOLWEB APPLICATION
Potlight.Studio

A better way to plan the light.

SPACE / LIGHT / INTERACTION

CURRENT / INTERACTIVE TOOL

PRACTICAL AI + SPATIAL DESIGN

Before the first hole
in the ceiling.

A lighting placement planner born from a real renovation question. Room dimensions, light layouts, and photo overlays bring the decisions into view.

Behind the project +

The question
Can I explore a lighting layout before committing to installation?

My contribution
Concept, spatial thinking, interface direction, and iterative development with AI.

The exploration
Bringing a physical design problem into an approachable digital tool.

Visit Potlight Studio
02 / LEARNING EXPERIENCEWEB + AI
I want to
learn aboutphotography.
NEWTODAY.AI / FOLLOW A QUESTION

CURRENT / LEARNING PROJECT

EDUCATION + CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY

Learn anything: 
Course Generator.

NewToday.Ai explores how a simple question can become a structured learning experience, with lessons, quizzes, and material to return to.

Behind the project +

The question
What if learning could be completely accessible and customizable ?

My contribution
Learning concept, brand, experience design, and AI-assisted development.

The exploration
Connecting open-ended curiosity with a useful path through a subject.

Explore NewToday.Ai
03 / RESEARCH PROJECTAI + MACHINES
BOB’S
WORLD.
SMART-BOBCAT RESEARCH / PRACTICAL AI

CURRENT / RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

AI + PHYSICAL COMPUTING

Meet Bob: Intelligence in the yard.

Bob’s Yard explores how AI can connect with the physical world, using Codex and Raspberry Pi to develop an intelligent companion for my Bobcat T66. Following an invitation from OpenAI and the Codex development team, I’m participating in a research cohort exploring practical, hands-on applications.

Behind the project +

The question
What if a working machine could help us understand what it’s sensing?

My contribution
Project concept, hands-on equipment experience, and AI-assisted prototyping with Codex and Raspberry Pi.

The exploration
Connecting sensor data, machine movement, and conversation to explore how AI could support real-world work.

Explore Bob’s Yard
CURRENT / LEARNING PROTOTYPEWATER SPORTS + INTERACTIVE DESIGN
Shape the wake:
See the difference.
WAKE.EMPIRE / 3D LEARNING TOOL

CURRENT / LEARNING PROTOTYPE

WATER SPORTS + INTERACTIVE DESIGN

Wakesurfers
dream this stuff up.

Wake.empire is an interactive 3D learning tool exploring how hull shape, ballast placement, and surf tabs influence a wakesurfing wave. Adjustable settings and close-up views make the relationships between boat design, loading, and wave shape easier to understand.

Behind the project +

The question
What makes a wave worth riding, beyond its height?

My contribution
Developing an interactive learning experience that makes wake-shaping concepts visible and explorable.

The exploration
Changing one variable at a time to explore wave shape, steepness, and balance through an illustrative model.

Future
OpenFOAM integration could support comparisons with calculated and measured water behaviour.

Explore Wake.empire
Newton retro home intercom prototype
 PROTOTYPERETRO HARDWARE + HOME AI
A modernized 
home intercom
NEWTON / CONNECTED HOME ASSISTANT

CURRENT / INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE

RETRO HARDWARE + HOME AI

A familiar voice.
A new intelligence.

A 1990s home intercom reimagined as Newton, a connected house assistant. A vintage-inspired simulator explores room-to-room calls, voice requests, and the technology behind the original buttons.

Behind the project +

The question
Can an old intercom become the voice of a smart home while keeping its familiar character?

My contribution
Concept, retrofit planning, visual identity, interface direction, and iterative development with AI.

The exploration
Connecting physical controls with modern intelligence, using an interactive prototype to test ideas before rebuilding the hardware.

Explore Newton
Overcoming Abuse visual story
CURRENT / GRAPHIC NOVEL + ANIMATED DOCUMENTARYVISUAL STORYTELLING + AI
A story retold.
A voice carried further.
OVERCOMING ABUSE / VISUAL STORYTELLING

CURRENT / GRAPHIC NOVEL + ANIMATED DOCUMENTARY

VISUAL STORYTELLING + AI

A story retold.
A voice carried further.

A personal story of overcoming abuse, reimagined first as a graphic novel, then as an animated documentary. Graphic design and AI-assisted production bring the narrative into a short film through illustration and motion.

Behind the project +

The question
How can visual storytelling bring a deeply personal experience to life while preserving its voice?

My contribution
Graphic design, visual adaptation, art direction, and AI-assisted imagery and animation.

The exploration
Translating a story across formats, from written narrative to illustrated panels to an animated documentary.

Explore Overcoming Abuse
MEET GRAHAMTHE PERSON BEHIND THE WORK

A CURIOUS MIND.
A MAKER’S INSTINCT.

I’ve spent approximately 15 years in media and communications, helping people shape ideas into stories others can understand and connect with.

My background in biology and psychology keeps me interested in how people think, learn, and respond. Filming and editing have taught me to pay attention to the story. Design and building keep me close to materials, spaces, and the practical decisions that make an idea work.

These interests meet in The Great Fusion. Sometimes the result is a film. Sometimes it’s a learning experience, an interactive tool, or a question I can only answer by making something and trying it.

01 / THE THINKING

THE GREAT
FUSION.

The 3-PART MANIFESTO.   An ongoing exploration of human creativity in the age of AI.
By Graham Paulsen

What becomes possible if human creativity and AI unite?

Read the full manifesto +
I.

Creativity begins with connection.

I believe creativity is the ability to connect things that don’t ordinarily belong together. An idea from one discipline becomes the answer to a question in another. Curiosity helps us see the relationship. Imagination helps us explore it.

This is the thread running through my life and work: making connections between ideas, people, materials, and possibilities. Whether I’m telling a story, designing a space, or learning something new, I’m looking for what those connections could become.

II.

We are entering a new era of possibility.

I believe we’re moving beyond an age defined by access to information into one where more people have the ability to act on it. AI can help us understand unfamiliar subjects, explore ideas, and bring work to life that once felt beyond our reach.

What excites me is the human potential this opens up. More people can participate. More curiosity can become understanding. More imagination can become something we actually make, test, and share.

III.

The Great Fusion is where these powers meet.

Human creativity, ingenuity, and drive bring intention to the work. AI brings capabilities that can extend our thinking, accelerate our learning, and help us carry ideas further. The power emerges through the relationship between them, shaped by our judgment and what we care about.

My commitment is to explore that relationship with curiosity and purpose, and help others do the same. To keep imagining boldly, learning deeply, and making things that matter. Head in the possible. Feet on the ground.

Industrial interior with black steel windows, weathered wood, and warm hanging lights
MATERIAL REFERENCE / LIGHT, STRUCTURE, TEXTURE
The Great Fusion is where human creativity & AI unite to bring more of what we imagine to life.
WHAT’S NEXTDEVELOPING IDEAS / FUTURE SPACES

STILL
EXPLORING.

IN DEVELOPMENT

Truth & Triumph

A digital adaptation of the Bible trivia board game created by my father and uncle. Preserving its character while exploring what an interactive version can become.

My contribution
Creative direction, digitization planning, gameplay design, and AI-assisted prototyping.

STILL IN DEVELOPMENT

HYDROFOIL TECHNOLOGY + MARINE DESIGN

Rethinking the ride.

An exploration of how hydrofoil technology and bold design could reshape recreational boating. This early-stage research asks what becomes possible when we rethink the hull, the ride, and the experience on board, with the ambition of creating boats that move more efficiently and feel extraordinary on the water.

03 / WORK TOGETHERCREATIVE AMBITION. PRACTICAL FOLLOW-THROUGH.

AN OPEN MIND.
A STEADY
PAIR OF HANDS.

Have something worth making?
Let’s work on it together.

I’m a creative director, media producer, designer, and hands-on maker based in Burlington, Ontario. My background in biology and psychology feeds a lasting interest in how people learn, think, and respond to new ideas.

I bring curiosity to the possibilities and experience to the decisions. I’m interested in useful work, thoughtful people, and collaborations that move from conversation to creation.

  • Video production & post-production
  • Creative direction & storytelling
  • Practical AI projects & prototypes
  • Learning experiences & workshops
  • Design & collaborative problem-solving
Let’s talk on Instagram @gwpaulsen

Tell me what you’re working on, what you need, and where you’d like to take it.