#ai #design #branding #2024/ ##### This article was written as a conclusion to a project about the dichotomy of the Human design approach and AI design approach during my collaboration [with company](https://with-company.com/) . ---------------- artificial intelligence (ai) has become a buzzword, and the world of design, rooted in human intuition and expression, now shares the stage with ai tools that promise unmatched speed and innovation, opening new ways for exploration. this rapid technological growth makes us feel that this could potentially replace us. in this atmosphere of uncertainty and hope, what happen when we embark on parallel journeys, one relying on traditional human processes, while the other leverages the latest ai technologies. what happens when we immerse ourselves in a complex process that has make us question both the possibilities and the dangers of this new revolution? ##### human creative journey the habitual process of designing a brand unfolds like an artistic journey in which the designers delve deep into the essence of the brand through practical exploration and creative experimentation. the human journey began with an immersive investigation to the cultural of the context. this exposure to external elements - like human artistic representation - play a crucial role in shaping concepts. the striking influence of the human's work, whose integration elements daily life could inspired the design approaches. this conceptual definition laid the foundations for a visual identity full of authenticity and a rich, profound narrative. the human process norlmaly is exposed to an ecosystem of constant interaction and feedback. these debates led to a strong desire to tell a compelling story through every element. identity design began to become a means of converging stories, with logos and images initiating narratives that reflected the unique spirit of human interaction. following the concept of fluidity, shapes began to be drawn by hand, papers painted and the fluidity of water used to mold the brand identity. the final concept was quickly finalized, resulting in a mirror that would reflect some of the essence of what it means to be human. later, more technical issues began to be involved and some interactive features on the labels added a layer of engagement, while the rebellious, bold and accessible colours defined the overall aesthetic. the flexibility of the human process allowed for the creation of a brand that was genuine, relatable and deeply connected to its intended audience. however, the team had to find a balance that, given the tight deadlines, added intensity to the process. the name and some of the final details were only finalized close to delivery. even so, the process embraced uncertainty and imperfection and celebrated the subtle variations that make each design unique. the human touch was transported to this project in a way that ai processes alone could not have  - we hope. ![[CAP20241115_10.jpg]] ##### ai creative journey the AI approach is limited to using only artificial intelligence technologies as its main design force, was faced with a totally different design context. the success of the project depended on an essential first step: developing a solid methodology for brand creation. interestingly, the results demonstrated the adaptability of ai based on user experience. when ana, with extensive experience in brand creation, asked the ai for a methodology, it responded with a highly refined and structured approach. in contrast, joão, with less knowledge of the sector and less patience for conversations with the third member of the team, received a more generic result. this highlight led us to a fundamental realisation: ai tools can adapt their results according to the context of the user's knowledge, demonstrating the powerful intersection between human perception and machine intelligence. the next stage began with the research and synthesis phase, when we used turboscribe. and well, it was fast. within a minute, we had transformed the recordings of the kick-off meeting into detailed transcripts, capturing nuanced expressions and important technical details with impressive precision. the level of accuracy surprised us, the machine was able to detect even the least perceptible words. we then tried to synthesise more than an hour of recordings, using miro's ai tool. in the blink of an eye, we skilfully synthesised the transcript into digestible information, creating mind maps and the main points that emerged from the discussions. from here, we were able to begin to better understand the company's overall vision. even so, and in an attempt to have all the steps defined by the third team member, we began to create different brand concepts based on the information we had using chatgpt. the ai proposed very different brand identities that perfectly framed the product in the context of sustainability and community impact. once the concept had been generated, we had to create a name and a slogan that would capture the brand's identity. we quickly came up with the name. it was an interesting name whose meaning increased when we made use of its phonetics and sonority to give it added value.  but this was also where a problem emerged. ai is not yet able to replicate the juggling act that humans perform with language. it wasn’t until we provided the platform with a broader context that magic happened. from this point, slogans were generated keeping the impactful sound of the name. of all the concepts created, we had to select one to move forward with. obviously, we asked ai to do it again... and it did it! ![[CAP20241112_8.jpg]] however, the process was not without its challenges. as we began to generate personas in different tools such as dall-e, firefly and canva ai, these produced different visual representations that sometimes reflected more inconsistencies and platform biases than the real essence of the brand. this became even clearer when we started generating options for the packaging. whenever we used an adjective to give it a differentiating factor, the tool created content that left us speechless. the most shocking example was when we were looking to generate new bottle options and decided to type the word ‘sexy’ into the prompt. from this moment on, it became clear that although ai technologies have enormous power to improve creative processes, they also reflect the inherent biases of human thinking. in other words, *‘if humans are biased, so are we’.* despite these conclusions and after 1690 generated images, we arrived at the final result of the packaging. naturally, possible unseen problems with this rapid generation came to mind: *how much energy was used? what was the energy mix? how much water was used to cool the machine? who owns the machine and who have we been feeding data to all this time?* these were just some of the questions that we asked and that we should ask because the tangibility of the human process is much greater than that of an ai process. ##### conclusion our experience has shown that when designers treat ai as a creative partner, it opens up new and exciting possibilities. the ai team's rapid conceptualisation skills complemented the human team's deep emotional understanding, resulting in more complex and nuanced branding solutions. however, this parallel experiment wasn't just about comparing results - it was more about understanding the essence of the transformations we have in our hands.  *can ai capture the subtle narrative and cultural identity that is part of the success of brands? does human intuition still have irreplaceable value in design? can we really talk about ai creativity?* what has become clear is that generative ai is a way of organising and disseminating knowledge. it doesn't create anything new, but it changes the way we order and value things. so, as we saw above, we run the risk of maintaining total supremacy over anything new that might emerge as a result. this is all too understandable when generative ai is dominated by some of the richest companies in the world, run by some of the richest men in the world, who are constantly fighting to maintain the status quo.  still, these are not statements that make us lose faith in ai, they are just initiatives that make us question what is the real revolution we want to be part of. it's worth asking ourselves: *by using these tools, should we help maintain this state of reproducing dominant patterns or should we create new ways of utilising and reframing ai?*