How viable is AI artwork as a creative springboard? Can it deliver an output nuanced enough to make real magic with, and if so, what kind of prompt would you need to give? Generative AI experts at creative agency Seedily recently collaborated with us on an AI-based project to see if we could get an output capable of inspiring an entire year’s worth of seasonal label designs.

The collab was part of our Tailored Creatives project, set up to challenge the realms of what's creatively possible in the world of apparel labeling. So, we gathered our collaborators to give you the inside scoop, plus tips on using AI to boost your creativity.

 

Why AI?

“The motivation behind commissioning AI-generated art was partly driven by how transformational AI has become, but we also felt it'd be an interesting shift away from the work we've done previously with Tailored Creatives,” says Simon Dickinson, senior marketing manager at Checkpoint ALS.

“Our customers are using AI tools for the work they do the same way that everyone is. It's been a huge explosion in interest and the creativity it generates. And obviously, at Checkpoint, we're no different. We need to be keeping up with our customers and what they're doing, as well as being able to advise them on the best way to use their tools. That's why they come to us for our expertise. So, our expertise now needs to extend past our traditional realm into these new tools,” he says.

"We are utilizing it alongside the skills, the talents, and the artists that we have in the company to benefit it, to highlight, and to strengthen what we already have. We're just using it as an extra tool," says Checkpoint Systems content marketing manager, Jenna Sutcliffe.

So, once we knew that we wanted to use AI as the foundation of our project, we reached out to the creative agency Seedily. The agency is experienced in using generative AI to create tailored outputs from super-specific prompts.

We asked them to make us one piece of original AI-generated artwork that our creative teams could use to generate label collections suitable for S/S and A/W. Although the brief was fairly open, we did have three guidelines to help them write prompts:

  • We wanted both cool and warm tones so we could use the artwork as inspiration for all four seasons.
  • The artwork had to work as a series of individual elements and as one large piece.
  • We wanted a variety of shapes, textures, and layers to dip into.

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The art of the perfect prompt

The first thing to note is that Chris and his team never rely on AI alone to generate their work. The technology isn't quite there yet (besides, why let the robots have all the fun?).

“I'm a big advocate of augmentation,” says Chris. “I don't think AI should take any part of the creative process solo. I always work in tandem with AI. I use it almost as a mirrored version of myself.”

The augmented approach relies on an artist understanding the technology, its limitations, how it generates its outputs, and how to give the perfect prompt to help the tech create what you’re looking for.

“One of the big misconceptions about AI is the fact that you don't need to be creative to use it. Actually, in my experience, I find the more creative you are, the better the output. AI didn't make it solo, and if you didn't have the creative background to know the keywords, you couldn't have got that output,” says Chris.

“Another big misconception is that the tool itself is not creative. Obviously, it depends on who's using it, but at the same time, AI is incredibly creative, making novel things that never existed before,” he says.

“The first word you say to AI is the most important to it, and the last word you say the least important. So, if you're really struggling to get the output you want, try rearranging your sentence. As simple as that! I would also say to use AI to help with AI, especially with vocabulary. Just say, ‘I'm trying to think of a better word than ‘amazing’. Please give me 10 examples of this to copy and paste into another AI.’

“Practicing describing exactly what you want to an AI—and a human being—is a very beneficial skill for designers in the future. Describing very accurately, exactly what you want to see, as though you were doing it to another human working alongside you as a graphic designer,” he says.

 

The final result: Textural Symphony

"The final artwork, above, that Seedily produced for us hit every point of our brief," says Simon. For him, the diverse mix of creative elements has so much mileage that they could easily be used to inspire label collections for years. The Textural Symphony piece works as a cohesive design but can be pulled apart into different color stories, textures, shapes, and patterns.

We handed Seedily’s AI art to our own teams, who totally ran with it, creating a collection of fifteen different Labels as part of several seasonal stories. In fact, we got so much out of the designs that when our Brazilian team Technoblu was done with it, our Spanish team Uniter also took a pop at the challenge!

And what did Seedily think of the final labels? “I absolutely love them, and I was so happy to get the project in the first place. Actually, it was out of the blue, and it's nothing like we've ever answered as a brief before, and that genuinely excites me,” says Chris.

Regarding creative output, AI is an excellent tool for surpassing the boundaries of what's possible. Textural Symphony and its label collection are fantastic proof of this. “I'm very excited to see how AI learns, how it grows, and how we can learn and grow with it,” says Jenna.

“It's very hard to predict how we're going to use AI or automation in our future processes. But the fact that we're so open to it and we're exploring all of these avenues to make our work internally better for our customers can only be a positive,” says Simon.

Want full details on Seedily’s process and artwork? Curious to see the full collection of label designs? Head to Tailored Creatives and explore the project in full — there’s way more to see.

Have you been tempted to challenge us with your own creative brief? Maybe you’re curious to see how we’d use AI tools to help realize the creative vision for your labeling project? Contact us today — whether you want to collab for fun or get down to serious business, we’re always up for a challenge.