Cafe Indigo - Note on Design
As a futurist and fan of technology there are 3 events in my life that I distinctly remember being life changing. The first time I used the internet, when I touched the first iPhone, and just recently the first time I used artificial intelligence. It was also at this same time that Cafe Indigo was fully developed except for its label design. I wanted a rooftop background scene depicted but knew it would be difficult to execute my vision.
With the help of the Midjourney Ai bot I was able to use text to image technology to create the label scene for Cafe Indigo. It’s as simple as typing in a text prompt such as “rooftop Paris view indigo” and the Ai bot will render 4 variation images.
From those variations I can choose if I want to download the image or create 4 more variations of a variation. These are being rendered well within a minute's time. This process can be done over and over again. In the instance of Cafe Indigo I chose the 3rd option of the 4 presented.
There were many other prompts leading up to the final one. It takes some trial and error to get a feel for how Ai responds visually from text. Learning how to prompt will be a future skill that will be both bought and sold. I must note that these images do not exist anywhere else. They are rendered artificially in real time based solely on a text input.
The image I selected took some cleaning up and removal of elements in order to accommodate the design elements of the label such as the logo and text. This process was done on the mobile app Procreate Pocket with the final label designs rendered in Adobe Illustrator. Printed on a white bopp label with a high gloss finish to protect the label from the product.
For the Cafe Indigo product photoshoot I tried another first; using a computer monitor as a background. With this in mind I used a different Ai generated image that I didn’t use for the label.
With the 4k monitor lit up with the Ai image I needed a stage. I balanced a sheet of glass on a yoga block anchored on top with my Beard Baron mustache mug (halfway through the shoot I realized my coffee was in the mug but couldn’t drink it). Lit from below with a ring light set to the warm setting that is partially covered with black cardboard to provide a foreground reflection of the monitor.
With each product in place and my Nikon Z6 on a tripod I use a single Lume Cube light that has barn doors attached to create some directional light. Post processing of the images was done on mobile with warm settings applied.
Creatively this was some of the most fun I have had in a long time. Chateau No. 9 earlier this year really challenged me to push the labels and photography further. With the assistance of artificial intelligence it made Cafe Indigo almost limitless in what could be created. This is just the start. The start of a creative revolution.
low angle waterview with French chateau landscape formal twilight warm light cinematic
Below are some additional images where I’ve been using the Midjourney Ai bot to create backgrounds for my forms. Each image is listed with its prompt. More can be found at https://www.instagram.com/diehlstudio/
Outrun xx, 2022
low angle waterview Tuscan landscape fog sunset warm light cinematic 8k hyperreal vaporwave render –upbeta –ar 4:5
Triton xx, 2022
grand interior water reflections 4k hyperreal dusk –upbeta –ar 4:5
Lilac Diesel xx, 2022
neoclassical chateau twilight rule of thirds photorealism render –uplight –ar 9:16
Support your local artists ;) John
