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Today I want to talk about Chat GPT. Ever since I heard of Chat GPT and Artificial intelligence (A.I.) I was very interested and curious about how I could use Chat GPT in my design business. Anything to work smarter, not harder, right? Especially when we start our businesses we are everything from the copyrighter, marketer, photographer, graphic designer, customer support and everything in between. If there's a technology that can help me streamline my business or automate something then I'm gonna use it.
One of the longest processes about designing is brainstorming and what I love about using Chat GPT for Graphic Design is that it cuts down the brainstorming portion to almost a third of the time that it normally takes me. It also comes up with ideas that I never would have thought of, it's like you're collaborating with someone else, it's really fun.
So if you want to know how I implement ChatGPT in my process, then keep listening, let's dive in.
First things first, what is Chat GPT?
If you're wondering what ChatGPT is, it's an artificial intelligence website where you can ask questions, and it will spit out answers for you. Chat.openai.com is the website if you want to try it yourself. It's a great tool that you can basically use as a virtual assistant.
1. Creative Brainstorming
I love using ChatGPT to help me brainstorm and come up with new ideas. If I am creating a logo and I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to take my ideas and create them into a visual. Then I can type a prompt like, "Give me logo ideas for a Hair Salon, the brand vibe is high-end, editorial, and luxurious, the color palette is dark neutral and the use of scissors and other hair tools should be avoided." Here are 3 of my favorite answers that ChatGPT came up with:
1. Flowing Elegance: Craft a logo with a fluid, elegant line art design of a woman with beautifully flowing hair. Use negative space creatively and a dark neutral background to achieve a chic look.
2. Luxe Emblem: Develop an emblem-style logo with an intricate, ornate border and the salon's name in a regal font. Incorporate dark neutral colors like deep grays and blacks for a lavish touch.
3. Sophisticated Signature: Opt for a handwritten signature-style logo with the salon's name in a cursive font. Use dark neutral colors and possibly a subtle touch of gold for added refinement.
How cool is that? From there I choose my favorite ideas, mix and match them, and make them my own. It's a great way to expand my creativity by having extra brain power. Combining these ideas with mine and my client's creates a really unique one-of-a-kind logo.
2. Ideas for Finding Icons or Stock Images
When I design a website I occasionally need a simple icon and I want to make sure that the icon makes sense with the webcopy so I'll ask Chat GPT. "What kind of web icon can I use for sustainability?" and comes up with: 'For a sustainability-focused website, you could consider using a "green leaf" icon. A simple and universally recognized symbol, the green leaf represents nature, growth, and environmental consciousness. It can effectively convey the idea of sustainability to your website visitors. Additionally, you could explore icons representing renewable energy sources like wind turbines or solar panels, recycling symbols, or icons that depict a globe or earth to emphasize the global impact of sustainability efforts. Just ensure that the chosen icon is visually clear and easily recognizable to users.'
Now that I have all those options to choose from I don't have to waste 30 minutes trying to figure out what kind of icon would make sense. Now I have a starting point and a plan for what I'm looking for when I'm looking through a graphics gallery.
If possible I like to use images in my designs. I think it's a great way to create an impact and humanize a design, especially if there are humans in the imagery. Images are also a great way to convey an emotion and really tie in the stylistic portion of the design.
If I'm feeling uninspired I would ask ChatGPT something like, "What kind of images can I use for a yoga poster advertising advanced yoga classes for women." It was hard to choose so here are 6 of my favorite answers...
1. Advanced Yoga Poses: Showcase women performing challenging yoga poses like inversions, arm balances, or advanced backbends to highlight the class's advanced nature.
2. Group of Women Practicing Yoga: A group image of women practicing yoga together can emphasize community and support, which is important in advanced classes.
3. Nature Background: Place your yogis in a serene natural setting like a lush forest, tranquil beach, or serene mountaintop to emphasize the connection between yoga and nature.
4. Silhouette Poses: Use silhouettes of women in advanced yoga poses against a colorful sunset or sunrise background to create a visually stunning and inspiring image.
5. Meditation and Mindfulness: Images of women in meditation or deep relaxation poses can emphasize the mental and spiritual aspects of advanced yoga.
6. Yoga Symbols: Incorporate yoga symbols like the lotus flower, OM symbol, or chakras to connect with the spiritual side of yoga.
Those are some great ideas that I never even thought to use. In my head, I was thinking of generic stock images but now with all of these new ideas I can design text on top of a nature background image. Or I can make a really moody poster, if it's on brand, with silhouette yoga poses on a sunset background. I can even use yoga symbols if I need an extra graphic somewhere to balance out the image.
3. Help me with Design Inspiration
On the days when I am not feeling super creative Chat GPT is a great way to bring inspiration without having to search on Google or waiting for inspiration to come. I think ChatGPT is a great way to open more of your creative doors so that when you do look for visual inspiration you have more of an idea of how you want it to look rather than just aimlessly scrolling on Google or Pinterest.
I was asked to design an Alaskan political yard sign the other day and I asked Chat GPT this: "Give me design inspiration for an Alaskan yard sign that will be used for a political campaign."
Here are my top 3 favorite answers:
1. Mountain Landscape: Feature a majestic Alaskan mountain range as the backdrop, symbolizing strength and resilience. Include a patriotic color palette with blues and whites.
2. Northern Lights: Illustrate the mesmerizing northern lights in the night sky, representing hope and a bright future. Combine deep blues and vibrant purples to capture this stunning natural phenomenon.
3. Wildlife Silhouettes: Showcase iconic Alaskan wildlife like bears, moose, eagles, or salmon in silhouette form, reflecting the candidate's commitment to preserving and protecting the state's natural beauty.
Recap
As always here are the 3 ways I use ChatGPT to elevate my designs. 1. Creative Brainstorming
2. Ideas for Finding Icons or Stock Images
3. Help me with Design Inspiration
Basically what I use Chat GPT for in design is a personal design assistant. Someone to collaborate and share ideas with.
ChatGPT works really well if you have well written prompts but I haven't really tried too hard to play around with what kind of prompts bring out the best answers. But everything I put in so far has been great so I don't have too many complaints about the outputs it spits out.
I also use Chat GPT for other aspects of my business which I will talk about in next 2 episodes. I'll talk about how I use Chat GPT for website design which is a major time saver and how I use it for my business in general, so stay tuned for the next 2 episodes.
I think there's a lot of talk about how detrimental A.I. but if you use it as a tool, there's so much magic in it. We might as well embrace this future that we're moving into and use it to our advantage.
I don't think A.I. can fully replace a human since it is obvious that the answers that come out sounding robotic but again it is a great tool that you should implement into your business to steamline your workflows.
That's all I have for you today, talk to you next time and happy designing.
Z Squared Studio is a Brand and Web Design Studio based in Juneau, Alaska. Check out www.zsquaredstudio.com for custom brand design, logo design, or web design.