Sample Project:
Using AI for Planetarium branding
Positioning
Website Content and Design
Social Media Content
Email Campaigns
Paid Media Campaigns
Print and Environmental
Investor Materials
Building Creative Department
Future Planning
Agency Relationships
Personal project to test the value of using AI for every stage of brand building to improve efficiency and potentially achieve more creative solutions.
What is the value of humans in the branding world? I ask myself this as I work with AI technology day after day and wonder if I will one day be disposable. So while I don't know or have access to all AI software, I decided to test each step of the process with the AI tools I use daily and see how it does.
What I learned right away is that it can't do it without me. Without careful prompts, gathering from multiple sources, and interpreting the output through an experiential and emotional lense, I wasn't able to produce a new brand from start to finish without a human's touch. This is reassuring, but I don't doubt we're too far from it.
That said, there are already a ton of great reasons to work with AI tools including efficiency, quick iterations, gathering data, summarizing, creating content from scratch, and more, but all require a human to guide the process and decide what resonates with other humans.
Note: Key steps or content AI left out that I have grown to appreciate from experience have been added in red.
First, I asked AI to define the process of creating a brand
AI software used: ChatGPT and Google search summary
Prompt: "stages of creating a brand for a new planetarium"
Take away: AI tools were able to outline the basic steps to build a brand, but left out some key steps that I have grown to appreciate from experience which I have added in red. I also organized and simplified a long list from various sources into 3 sections.
Discovery
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Competitive and Industry research
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Industry Research
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Local competitive research
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best/worst practices
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future forecast and considerations
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Customer research
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Reference any available data analytics
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ID target audiences and create personas
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Persona journey mapping
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Opportunity Summary
Brand Identity (style guide)
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Brand Strategy
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Brand positioning
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Mission/vision statements
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Brand Identity
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Naming, Logo, Color Palette, Typography, Iconography & Graphics
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Brand Voice & messaging
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Experience Design & Brand Applications
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Environmental Branding
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Digital Experience
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Merchandise & Collateral
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Launch & Engagement Strategy
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Marketing & Partnerships
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Channel strategies and sample assets
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Collaboration ideas
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Events & Social Media Campaigns
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Community Involvement
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Data collection and analytics
1. Competitive Audit
AI software used: ChatGPT
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more. Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Pros of AI
• It's much faster than not using AI. • I enjoyed the interface • I wish I had this earlier. • If only it were implanted into my brain. If this was longer how would it look? • How about another row?
Cons of AI
• It's much faster than not using AI. • I enjoyed the interface • I wish I had this earlier. • If only it were implanted into my brain. If this was longer how would it look? • How about another row?
Time saved using AI? Yes, about 50%
2. Data Analysis
AI software used: ChatGPT, XXXX
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more. Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Pros of AI
• It's much faster than not using AI. • I enjoyed the interface • I wish I had this earlier. • If only it were implanted into my brain. If this was longer how would it look? • How about another row?
Cons of AI
• It's much faster than not using AI. • I enjoyed the interface • I wish I had this earlier. • If only it were implanted into my brain. If this was longer how would it look? • How about another row?
Time saved using AI? Yes, about 50%
"Rentail" Website Design
Mapped, redesigned UI, and led creative with developers for The Shed's rental marketplace website. Mobile first design targeting a wide variety of customer demographics from young urban apartment dwellers and families to retired down-sizers. (FIGMA)
Integrated Marketing
Responsible for designing/creating content for The Shed's integrated marketing campaigns - email, environmental, event, paid and organic social media for Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Included storyboarding, coordinating and editing raw footage coming in from local Shed locations. Created a series called, "Rent it with Ronnie" which connected with local customers. (Work in Adobe Premiere Pro for advanced editing.)
Store Design
Worked with Engin Creative to design The Shed's experiential rental marketplace flagship stores. Goal is to give the customer an interactive, memorable experience that makes them want to return including surprise and delight elements and warehouse representative brand persona training. Includes rotating displays, meeting and demo space, with customer focus on expansive inventory in rear warehouse space.
Expanded to 4 states in 2022 with a flexible floor plan that works in most retail storefronts. Seasonal and monthly display changes with minimal cost or manpower.
Loyalty Programs
Helped plan and design several loyalty programs for The Shed including gift cards, ShedHeads (Insiders Club) and rental membership programs. (ShedHead logo was designed by Rob Hurst.)
Opportunity and Macro/Micro Experience Mapping
Mapped customer journeys to discover brand building touchpoint opportunities as well as macro and micro interactions for all aspects of the business. From retail through local community involvement, provided insights for processes and messaging throughout organization.