As I take on this creative process, I am figuratively jumping in mid-stream. I want to walk you through the process of how you can engage generative AI into your workflows – without you having to sit through hours of conversation with a client to look over my shoulder.
Logo Design / Brand Identity
Years ago a friend of mine was toying around with the idea of developing a side passion-project that had a lot of meaning to him personally. It was to be a handmade soap and candle line he would call ‘Keep Trucking’ and was born out of a place of personal hardships experienced in a very challenging childhood. It was to be both a source of encouragement to other people in similar difficult situations. For every bar of soap sold, one bar would be given to homeless shelters and local charities. For other products sold, 10% would be given to charity.
The name – ‘Keep Trucking’ – while it sounds a bit kitsch (something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality), the idea and emphasis is quite different. He recalled seeing the old trucker hats worn by old-timer Christians with motivational sayings as a kid, and anchored his life onto those ideas of trusting in God to help him to just ‘keep on truckin…’ – so the name was born from his personal experience and a personal faith journey.
::: Keep Trucking :::
Purpose – To inspire many with sensory & moral motivations to hang in there and enjoy their journey.
I like Chris Do and Anneli Hansson’s CORE Workbook structure for collecting Brand Attributes, so let’s use that. It has 6 categories:
- Culture – How would your customers & employees DESCRIBE your company?
- Customer – How would you describe your IDEAL customer?
- Voice – How you SOUND to others…
- Feel – How a customer FEELS when using your product / service…
- Impact – What you tangibly DELIVER…
- X-Factor – What makes you SPECIAL…
My recording with my friend has been a resource I have used with student Interns, that I have them listen to, and fill in the blanks for the Brand Attributes. After listening to an extensive conversation between myself and the founder of Keep Trucking, a list with several words for each category is devised. Here is the list compiled by my college student Intern Mica Dies:
Now, from this list – we choose 3 Brand Attributes – and from those, we select 3 Direction Attributes (the things written down from the conversation gleaning) – and we do it 3 times (for 3 different styles to represent the brand).
Now, we can do this in an eenie, meenie, mienie moe fashion… that works. But what if we want to utilize Chat-GPT and generative AI in the way it does BEST?
For instance… I am going to feed this information into Chat-GPT. In order to get the MOST from the tool, we need to give it a basis of understanding what we are doing and why we are doing it. Here is how I start my conversation.
After providing the Attributes, Chat-GPT provided the following:
Thank you for providing the Direction Attributes for each Brand Attribute. Here’s how I interpret them for “Keep Trucking”:
1. Culture: “Keep Trucking” fosters a culture that is encouraging, homey, motivating, and fun. It is a brand that keeps the spirit of joy and motivation alive, creating an atmosphere that feels like home and encourages both customers and employees.
2. Customer: The brand targets customers who are primarily gift givers in search of a unique or humorous gift. These are often online shoppers who appreciate convenience and are always on the lookout for something special and different.
3. Voice: “Keep Trucking” communicates in a manner that is funny, inspiring, and thought-provoking. Its voice stands out in the crowd, attracting attention with humor while also inspiring and encouraging thoughtfulness.
4. Feel: Customers are left feeling motivated and refreshed when using “Keep Trucking” products. The brand’s products move them to action, leaving them feeling happy and uplifted. The customer experience focuses on fostering positive emotions and inspiring actions.
5. Impact: “Keep Trucking” delivers high-quality soaps and candles that tell a heartfelt story and provide encouragement. Its products are crafted to offer a sense of luxury and to uplift the spirit, thus having a positive impact on the customers’ mood and environment.
6. X-Factor: What sets “Keep Trucking” apart is its high-quality, funny, and goofy products that provide long-lasting value beyond just soaps and candles. Its unique approach to product creation fosters positive relationships with customers, creating lasting memories and making the brand a favorite for gifting.
I then want to put Chat-GPT to work…
From the information I supplied to you, I need to choose a set of 3 Brand Attributes with 1 Direction Attributes for each Brand Attribute (from those supplied) that go together in a unique and unexpected way. Select from the 6 Brand Attributes and Direction Attributes, a set of 3 words or phrases that can be used to set the tone for a Brand Identity. The 3 will be the Direction Focus of the brand. Does this request make sense?
Chat-GPT responded:
Absolutely, it makes sense. You’re asking for three key direction attributes (one from each of three different Brand Attributes categories) that will serve as the primary focus for the “Keep Trucking” brand, setting a unique and distinctive tone for its identity. Here are my selections:
- From Culture: “Fun!”
- From Voice: “Funny”
- From X-Factor: “Fosters positive relationships”
These three direction attributes come together to paint a picture of a brand that doesn’t take itself too seriously (hence “Fun!” and “Funny”), but deeply values the connections it builds with its customers (“Fosters positive relationships”). This could be a unique and engaging identity, setting “Keep Trucking” apart as a brand that delivers joy and positivity through its products and interactions.
Okay, this is great. It understands what I am looking for, so I pushed it to give me 2 more sets.
Here are two more sets of direction attributes that could create a unique tone for the “Keep Trucking” brand:
Set 1:
- From Customer: “Gift givers looking for a niche / funny gift”
- From Impact: “High quality soaps and candles”
- From X-Factor: “Funny / goofy”
This set emphasizes the brand as a go-to place for high-quality, humorous gifts that are perfect for those looking to give something distinctive and fun.
Set 2:
- From Culture: “Motivating”
- From Feel: “Moved to Action”
- From Impact: “A heartfelt story”
This set underscores the brand’s motivational culture that inspires action, through products that carry heartfelt stories, making the brand resonate emotionally with customers.
We are just getting started… but do you follow HOW you can leverage generative-AI so far in the creative process? More tomorrow as we move towards curating samples and developing a MoodBoard.
Brian Sykes