Midjourney Training Classes are Here & 7 AI Implementation Case Studies - AIxC: 11

AI x Creative #11

Jul 20, 2023

The type of work that comes out of a Father-Daughter Midjourney training session

Welcome to the 11th edition of the AIxC newsletter. In this issue, we focus on tactical applications of AI tools and the introduction of AIxCreative for Professionals, our first Midjourney training program!

Here's what we've prepared for you today:

Strategy: Seven AI Implementation Case Studies from My Workflow
Tips: Power Words
Community: Launch of Midjourney Foundation Training

01 / STRATEGY

Seven AI Implementation Case Studies from My Workflow

I learned to play guitar back in 2015. I can still remember it was a grind, with basic strumming and aching fingers being the norm. But with time, the discomfort lessened, providing room for me to explore the fretboard, make music and have fun.

My experience with AI tools has followed a similar path. Once the initial excitement faded and professional use cases came up, I was left with the task of navigating these new platforms and tools, a process slower, more challenging and uncomfortable than the design programs I was accustomed to.

Just how I forced myself to pick up my musical instrument back in the day, I had to continue logging into these AI tools day in and day out.

The more fluent I became with AI tools, the more I could explore its full potential. I began seeing more and more areas I could integrate these tools. I began exploring and testing how to streamline many aspects of my creative and business workflows.

Today, I thought I’d share seven examples of different aspects of my workflow I currently supercharge with AI.

1. Proportion Studies

Bicycle frame aesthetics largely depend on proportions. Nine frameset elements, along with various components, collectively contribute to a bike's "stance" or "feel".

Visualizing different tube profiles can be challenging, as nuances are difficult to discern in black and white.

However, with my Dig for Gold approach and the Subtle V-Roll feature in Midjourney, I can examine hundreds of subtle variations. This gives me a solid understanding of how tube sizing will influence the design's "stance" before I start digging in deep.

2. Surfacing Studies

Surfacing largely involves the interaction between different surfaces, with the head tube junction of a bicycle being a prime example. This area exhibits numerous surfaces intersecting in various directions.

Using my Dig for Gold approach and the Subtle V-Roll feature in Midjourney, I can explore countless potential solutions for the surface intersections. Crucially, I can visualize it with a relatively accurate interpretation of light and shadow, saving significant time.

3. Hyper Mood Boards

Exploring and defining visual languages for a product is a critical exercise in the design process. The traditional approach involves creating visual mood boards, seeking stakeholder buy-in on a direction, and then developing concepts around the chosen visual language.

Using my Hyper Brainstorming approach, I could visualize different visual languages within the actual product context - a Hyper Mood Board. All stakeholders (especially those that have a harder time visualizing) can see how each visual language works in practice, eliminating the need to connect the dots from mood board to product.

This is facilitated by the speed offered by AI tools. Without them, this approach would be near financially unfeasible.

It's an extraordinarily effective tool for gaining alignment on a visual direction.

4. Social Media Assets

Social media is a visual arena, where standout product images or storytelling can significantly enhance engagement.

Here’s an example of Lumiere & Co’s handlebar bag presented with extra visual flair.

I employed Midjourney and my IMAGE-LCP Prompt Strategy to create a flat-lay visual, then composited the product photography using Photoshop.

Oh and if you're shopping for a quality handlebar bag, check out Lumiere & Co!

5. Color, Material & Finish Studies

CMF (Color, Material, Finish) can significantly influence product design. I've been using Midjourney to explore various CMF options. I’m able to see different colors on different materials and on varying surface treatments with relative ease. This approach can quickly inform design decisions at an earlier stage than with my traditional process.

A bonus is that, like with Hyper Mood Boards, I can employ CMF visuals to create CMF studies in my chosen product format. For instance, if I want to visualize a structural packaging concept with a brushed aluminum look, I can feed it an image like the one above, resulting in Hyper CMF Studies!

6. Hyper Underlays

Not everyone excels at perspective, but Midjourney seems quite adept at getting it right.

I've been using its outputs as underlays for new concepts that leverage the perspective rendering. Additionally, I've used them as Hyper Underlays, where I utilize the concept as a starting point for concept development, as demonstrated with the above stroller concept.

Since the Midjourney output is already rendered, my sketch and Photoshop iterations achieve a higher fidelity than I could reasonably accomplish with my conventional process.

7. Tailored New Biz Dev Assets

Demonstrating your comprehension of a potential client's brand has become more accessible than ever, thanks to the capability to create targeted assets cost-effectively.

Not only can you generate aesthetically pleasing images, but these can be custom-tailored to reflect the client's brand identity, style, and values. This not only showcases your understanding of their brand but also your ability to align with their vision.

In the world of business, such “pretty pictures” can serve as compelling visual introductions that spark interest and facilitate initial conversations.

02 / TIPS

Power Words

This is a good example of utilizing Power Words in prompts. There are certain words that just carry more weight in a prompt. Words that clearly show up in the visual output. In this case that word is “knurled”.

<image> gravel bicycle frame, head tube close-up, Knurled aesthetic, premium paint job, Nikon D850 DSLR 4k --iw 1 --c 50 --s 500 --ar 4:3

Here is the reference image, which I also created in Midjourney:

Whenever you run into one of those Power Words, save them as they’ll be useful down the road. I have a database of Power Words that I’m building, which I touch on in my training program. Speaking of which…

03 / COMMUNITY

Introducing AIxCreative for Professionals

As a subscriber to this newsletter, you’re hearing about this here first, pre-web launch!

I've combined my 22 years of product and brand experience with nearly a year of concentrated AI work to formulate a proven, simple, and effective method to leverage AI's power and enhance your creative abilities.

It’s called AIxCreative for Professionals and it’s designed to future-proof you and your creative team in the age of AI.

My overarching goal is for you and your team to:

Gain clarity on AI's role in your business.
Minimize disruptions to your operations during implementation.
Scale your AI needs with flexible tiered pricing and customizable options to suit your investment needs.
Stay up-to-date through continual learning opportunities, allowing us to handle the research and vetting while you focus on your core business.
Establish a solid and early foundation in AI to build upon as AI tools become more prevalent and ultimately, essential.

Over time, I’ll be looking to build out programs for every gate in the creative workflow, from research and product design to branding and advertising. Today though, I’m starting with the basics and doing it through the filter of product design.

Midjourney Foundation

The first available program is Midjourney Foundation. This program consists of three virtual classes, all featuring live demos, designed to transform you and your team from complete beginners to creators of work akin to the examples you see above, and to do it as quickly as possible.

I have been running this program with a few organizations and individuals already and I’m finally ready to make it available here to subscribers (no website yet).

Here is an overview of the three Foundation classes:

The Early Mover Promo (Next 30 days):

+ Get access to the initial database of Reference Imagery and Power Words.

+ Save 5% when you sign up to one class.

+ Save 10% when you sign up to all three available classes.

Some additional things to note:

While I recommend taking all three classes in order for a comprehensive understanding, individual classes can be taken separately a la carte.
I recommend taking the three sessions over a time span of 3 weeks to get hours in the saddle in between each class.
Tiered plan discounts are available for teams of 2 or more. Max class size is 10.
If you’re currently an enrolled college student I’m offering 50% off all programs.

If you have any questions about the programs you can message me here. I’m around to chat!

I've experienced firsthand how my investment in AI has enhanced the quality of my work, significantly boosted my efficiency, and allowed me to flex my creative muscle in new mediums.

The adoption of AI tools has led to the most significant evolution in my work and career to date. I'm excited to see how it will supercharge your work and business!

Cheers,
Hector

This post is public so feel free to share it with friends and colleagues.

Hi, I'm Hector, a seasoned industrial designer, brand builder, and entrepreneur, with 22+ years of diverse experience. I have worked in hard goods, soft goods, bicycles & micro-mobility, structural packaging, proactive innovation and even running my own consumer goods business.
My superpower aside from AI? Leveraging my dual-edged expertise in design and business to supercharge organizations. If you have exciting projects on the horizon, don't hesitate to drop me a message or catch me on LinkedIn and Instagram. Oh, and I’m on Threads now.