The tools we explored
- Midjourney, a a generative AI program that generates artwork through text prompts
- Spatial, to build 3D experiences in the metaverse
Big picture
Every year, c|change picks a word of the year that culminates in a year-end project for our clients. In 2022, our word was “possibilities.” What possibilities could we see in our work, in our team, and in the things that inspire us?
As our team began brainstorming how to bring possibilities to life, Senior Design Lead Rob Kerr shared pieces he generated with Midjourney, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) program that creates images from textual descriptions. It was clear that this tool could have a huge impact on not only our industry, but creative expression in general. The quality and variety of the art created particularly impressed our team.
We were curious to explore the possibilities of Midjourney, and to begin to understand the role generative AI could have in our own creativity.
Putting the pieces together
Everyone on our team—designers, account managers, office managers, developers, copywriters, video editors—was guided through Midjourney to create their own piece of art. Each person chose prompts based on the question: “What inspired you in 2022?” These prompts were fed into Midjourney.
From there, Midjourney gave several outputs to be refined further, or to choose new prompts. Each person’s journey was different: some used many prompts and continued to refine over multiple iterations; others chose one of the first outputs generated. Regardless, everyone got to be an artist.
Going through this process with our entire team led to a greater understanding of what prompts generated certain effects. For instance, adding an artistic style or the name of an artist—such as “gothic” or “Lichtenstein”—had a major impact on the outputs generated by transforming a piece into something in the ballpark of that particular style.
Our artwork also needed a place to live. Our digital team built a virtual Gallery of Inspiration using Spatial. All 26 pieces of art were placed in a 3D space in the metaverse that could be visited on a desktop or experienced in virtual reality using an Oculus headset.
A new world for c|change
We printed postcards of our artwork to bring our virtual Gallery of Inspiration into the physical world and shared them with our clients during the holiday season. These mailers were hand-picked and hand-assembled by our team, adding a human touch to the process. We also included postage so recipients could send the postcards to acquaintances—encouraging a handwritten note and connection that AI cannot create.
This experience added generative AI to our agency’s toolbox. Our team sees the possibilities of using Midjourney to brainstorm for creative concepts, sketch out rough ideas, and jumpstart discussions about style or composition.
Going forward, we’ll continue to explore the possibilities of generative AI and other emerging technologies to enhance our creative expression, and indulge in our own curiosities to continue expanding our vision of what’s possible.
