How Kai McPhee uplevels his content creation with Gen AI

Kai McPhee is a 21-year-old content creator from Baltimore, Maryland, who at 19 moved to New York City to pursue his dream of becoming part of the fashion industry. Kai discovered through social media, and his TikTok profile @knawtkai, he was able to express himself, create, and share his passions with an audience. What started as a corner of the internet for Kai to post videos of his outfits quickly grew to feature his fashion designs, trends, and lifestyle. His first viral video (1M+!) was Kai sharing clips of different outfits he had put together. His TikTok profile now has 360 thousand followers and over 18 million likes.

Living in a creative place — and space

“When I lived in Baltimore, there weren’t as many people at the time experimenting with fashion. In NYC, I’m surrounded by so much more dimension and expression. New York is like seeing everything through an artistic lens. Even the graffiti on the walls, people walking by — it’s really inspired me to try different things and experiment. I like using unconventional combinations of layers, textures and colors — and lately I’ve been designing, sewing and upcycling existing clothing versus merely styling them.”

The tools and tech to create

“I think it’s an amazing thing when you have an idea, and technology like Adobe Express can just make it come to life. I see these types of tools as a support system that allows me to be creative and tell an authentic story with my content. I love that I can use all the Adobe tools in one place, rather than bouncing around to different apps to get what I want. It makes it way easier.”

The TikTok Creative Assistant integration in Adobe Express has been awesome for me — I can ideate on content based on the latest trends on the platform, and it helps me learn about insights and what’s resonating best with audiences so that I can reach mine in the most authentic and effective way possible. I can literally just ask it to, “Give me some tips on high performing content” — and it will. So I’m learning and creating all at once.

Creating authentic stories

“Storytelling plays a huge role in my content, and it’s important to me to be genuine so I can engage with the real people behind the screens. I like having these intimate connections with my audience whether it’s a daily outfit post, or something that has more depth to it.”

“I want to make sure that I'm the first one to give my opinion about myself or what I actually think about something, because I don't want to be swayed by a fashion trend to another person online doing something else. I want to make sure that all of my ideas and all of my opinions are coming straight from the horse’s mouth.”

Looking ahead

“There’s so much importance of working in the moment — content creation is about being in the here and now. The longer that you put off with things, the longer you, as a content creator, won't really exist. Creating content is a way to share what is going on in my life, but my true passion lies in becoming a designer and leaving an impact on the fashion industry. I’d love to collaborate with brands like Telfar, Uggs, and Clarks, infusing my unique style and perspective to their products.”

TikTok Creative Assistant for Adobe Express add-on

Adobe Express enables a  first-of-its-kind integration with TikTok’s Creative Assistant to make ideating, creating and optimizing stand-out video content for the platform quicker, easier and more effective. TikTok’s Creative Assistant is now available as an add-on in Adobe Express, enabling brands, marketers and businesses of all sizes to brainstorm, create and even generate TikTok content all within one platform.