How Nosheen Ahmed Lost Her Side Business To Ai And Bet Her Whole Career On The Human Hand

Creative Boom: Insight Illustration How Nosheen Ahmed lost her side business to AI, and bet her whole career on the 'human hand' She worked as a dentist for more than two decades before she found the courage to call herself an illustrator too. Now, with AI flooding publishing, Nosheen Ahmed makes the case for the human hand – and the belief that no experience is ever wasted. Written By: Katy Cowan 11 August 2026 I first met Nosheen Ahmed at a Creative Boom IRL event in Manchester.

It had been a while since I'd hosted anything like that, stepping in for the brilliant Pip Rustage and John Cooper to bring local creatives together, so I was feeling a little rusty. I needn't have worried. The people of Manchester are always warm and welcoming, and Nosheen most of all. She was like a radiator, all smiles and mischievous giggles, and, most encouragingly, full of optimism about the industry's future. She told me she didn't fear AI one bit.

To understand why a friendly book-cover illustrator feels so calm about the technology unsettling everyone else, you have to go back more than 20 years, to a dentist's chair, and to something Nosheen was too frightened to confront. "I've always been creative. I've been drawing in one form or another for as long as I can remember, and even while working as a dentist I was always looking for ways to bring creativity into my life," she says. "For years, though, I was too frightened to say out loud that I wanted to be a professional illustrator.

I think when you suppress something that is such a fundamental part of who you are, eventually it becomes impossible to ignore. My creativity felt like energy building up inside me. I reached a point where I knew that if I didn't acknowledge it, I would feel as though I was denying an essential part of myself." "It was a gradual evolution towards owning an identity that had always been there," she continues. "Saying 'I'm an illustrator' for the first time felt terrifying, but also incredibly liberating." And here's the best bit: she didn't trade one part of herself for another.

"I still work as a dentist, but I'm much more comfortable embracing both sides of myself now. I'm analytical and creative. I'm a dentist and an illustrator. For a long time I thought I had to choose. Now I realise I don't." Part of why it took so long is tied to where she started. "I grew up in an immigrant family where certain careers were seen as safer, more respectable and more secure. Doctor, dentist, lawyer, and engineer were the professions you were encouraged to pursue. Creativity felt much more uncertain." Time has softened how she sees that. "I used to feel frustrated about that.

As I've got older, though, I've become much more compassionate towards my parents. They weren't trying to stop me from being creative; they were trying to protect me. Their own parents were farmers, and they had lived with a very different understanding of what security and success looked like. They wanted their daughter to have a profession, financial independence and a safety net." "There is also a particular sense of pride attached to professional careers within many immigrant communities," Nosheen adds. "When your daughter becomes a doctor or dentist, it can feel like proof that the family has 'made it'. I understand that better now.

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The article discusses a significant shift in career focus due to AI, which is impactful for brand strategy, while also presenting a fresh perspective on human creativity in branding, making it relevant for professionals in the field.