As long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in human progress and the innovations in service of the betterment of the human condition. The current topical question; “Is AI going to replace us and lead to the demise of human civilization?” seems to me fundamentally short-sighted and pessimistic. It’s easy to imagine similar things being said by equine workers about the invention of cars, or radio hosts as television gained popularity. Its true that some jobs will lose relevance, but I believe the best way to manage technological progress is not to halt it, its to direct it. In this spirit, I have attempted to learn and experiment as frequently as possible with AI. Below are some examples of how I’ve integrated AI (primarily ChatGPT with DALL-E integration) into my daily workflow. Afterall, its better to be in the driver’s seat than a passenger.

Graphic Concept Development

These were done in a pinch to generate a limited edition patch for an upcoming Carryology X Matador collaboration. There was significant work to be done after we found a concept we liked, but the silliness of some AI generated results actually informed the final patch design - it was a great reminder not to take ourselves so seriously.

Find the link to my LinkedIn post here.

Matador 10 Year Anniversary Gift

I was tasked with creating surprise gift for our founders at the 10 year anniversary party. It was a beautiful opportunity to combine my personal passion for woodworking, and mess around with AI generation at the same time. Should out to our graphic designer for the assist on the final artwork lock-up!

Raw image from ChatGPT

Initial graphic concept

Final artwork

Switching from landscape to portrait orientation and reducing the amount of text was the key to unlocking something genuine and timeless for this piece.

Laser engraving process

Finished engraving.

This is done on specifically sourced piece of 11" wide maple.

Finished piece, displayed in Matador HQ

Shou Sugi Ban burnt wood frame detail.

Form Inspiration

I’ll frequently ask ChatGPT for its initial take on our design prompt. Often the results are strange and not too helpful, but occasionally there’s a concept or visual element that gets scooped up.

Sistine Cigs

Playing with classic motifs and inserting modern subject matter is an irresistible temptation.

Prompt: 16x9 high resolution image, rendered in a Renaissance painting style. The image shows a muscular figure with a white beard reaching out and nearly touching a similarly muscle bound man, who is holding a cigarette in his fingers. The first man is using a lighter to light the cigarette. They are surrounded by onlookers, set in an airy and ethereal Greek temple building. Color palette is light pinks and blues, and smooth color transition.

(Note: this one required a bit of Photoshop after the fact, it originally rendered a tiny umbrella looking thing in the figure on the rights hand.