As a former graphic designer the first thing I thought when I started to learn about generative AI was that the design world was f**ked.
I built my career around graphic design because the idea of being able to express yourself creatively AND digitally was so cool to me. If only it had been this easy to make masterpieces when I started out. Instead there were layers upon layers of technical skills I needed to master in order to achieve anything remotely near what I envisioned. The pen tool, layer masks, the refined edge tool and many more - I spent hours frustratingly trying to get grips with them - Youtube videos galore - but when it finally started to click it was magic!
Going onto Midjourney however I found that this magic was able to be created in a matter of minutes - MINUTES! It was crushing. All those hours of learning were redundant. It’s still good to have the basic understanding of the Adobe Suite was the rhetoric I carried for a bit - much like that of learning to drive a manual car when the whole world knows it will soon be automatic.
When I first started using it there was some solace however in that the images that were coming out were really ugly. There was definitely a Midjourney/Image generation ‘look’ that one would try to avoid - hard to say if that’s still the case now given how fast things are moving. It gave me comfort though, as it was clear that in order to create nice, tasteful images or just the images that I wanted, you did still need some design understanding.
So learning how to use the pen tool might be redundant but at least like all pretentious graphic designers I could rest on the laurels of taste. AI can’t create taste on its own, it needs us. Aaaand that is where the inspiration for the Midjourney workshop came in. You know that slightly cliche saying that has been doing the rounds ‘Ai won’t steal your job but someone who knows how to use Ai will’ - well there is some truth in that.
We wanted to show you where using Midjourney could actually be advantageous to your career - may as well ride the wave whilst you can. We teamed up with the fabulous GirlsWhoML to create our very own intimate Midjourney workshop. This involved two very talented designers - Megan and Tess who shared their hot tips on how to use it and incorporate it into your day to day.
First they laid out where it can be used as a very effect time saving tool in their workflow:
Using real life examples from brands that were using it for launch of campaigns. We then went to the live demo where we covered the basics of setting up, and the importance of getting the settings right before you start to make.
Then we covered the art of prompts. Arguably one of the most important steps in the process. There’s a difference between prompting ‘a beautiful women’ vs ‘an editorial style photograph of a brunette woman on a white studio background. High flash, studio lighting. Photography in the style of Mario Testino.’ - it’s fair to say you will get different results.
So we focussed on the 4 main things to remember when prompting:
Once we'd covered this, it was time for everyone to put their skills to the test. So we spent the last 20 minutes of the session trying to generate our own images and practice refining and interating until everyone could become a magician themselves!
