Until now, my experiments with AI generators have primarily revolved around intentionally creating intense, unsettling, or “Uncanny Valley” imagery, because my first impression of the 4th Industrial Revolution fit that description.
Using the new generative AI features included in Adobe software to create images that are fun, inviting, and whimsical is a whole other experience!
I originally approached this design thinking I would use vectors or photos that were already in the Southeast Tech Marketing Department’s server or use images from Adobe’s stock page. Then I noticed that a lot of Adobe Stock images are AI-generated and thought, “if there’s so much of that anyways, why not try to customize it a bit and create my own AI images?”
I had a lot of fun experimenting with making Illustrator draw various fall snack foods, then played around with layering and re-sizing them to come up with this composition.
The biggest challenge with this is that it’s a little hard to control the precise outcomes and have them look visually consistent. For example, the pretzels came out looking more cartoonish than the cheese and crackers. It was easy to get the software to create separate pistachios, cashews, and almonds, but challenging to get individual cranberries instead of clumps of them.
There’s certainly a learning curve with finding descriptions to guide the generative AI features through creating quick graphics, but it’s an entertaining process!
I don’t think this style will ever be considered as desirable as real photography and traditional art, but it certainly is taking on its own aesthetic and will probably be a defining style of the 2020s just because of the novelty. It reminds me a bit of the fun of playing around with flash games and videos when they were first introduced or doodling in Microsoft Paint on Windows 95 — stylistically, it’s not a step forward from what was being done in designs before the technology was invented, and it’s very kitsch. However, I think it works very well for situations where cartoonish, casual, cute looks are appropriate anyways!