Embarking on a Startup Journey... as a Side Gig ;)
User Experience Design, IxD, OOUX, Branding
Nope!
AI, so hot right now, am I right? With a super smart engineer at the helm, I jumped in and sunk my teeth into the world of custom AI model training and text to image inference.
Train, Prompt, and Generate Dynamic AI-Driven Portraits of Yourself, Your Friends, and Beyond.
It's not every day that one gets the opportunity to craft an experience that reshapes the way people interact with technology. This is the story of one such project – a journey through User Experience Design (UX), Interaction Design (IxD), Object-Oriented User Experience (OOUX), Branding, Business Strategy, and a dash of Front-end Development that transformed a concept into a captivating product.
it needed to be harnessed and fine-tuned for real people
The project began with a simple yet powerful concept – empowering users to create AI-generated images of themselves and their loved ones. The idea was to provide a platform where anyone, regardless of their technical background, could harness the magic of AI to craft personalized visuals. The technology was there, but it needed to be harnessed and fine-tuned for real people. We need to educate people of the possibilities, and do it in a way that is simple and fun.
AI's abstract nature got a boost from OOUX, slicing the complexity of the concepts into user-friendly bits. It gave me a starting point for component design and allowed us to get on the same page in terms of language and structure.
“People don’t care about the containers. They care about the things they contain.” Mike Atherton.
The design came directly alongside the development of the functionality. It was quick and iterative, with the goal of having an interface that says. "This is fun" and "You belong here". Staying in lock step with what we were learning as we developed the technology was key. Being the masters of our own destiny - awesome and a little scary.
We started with a mobile first responsive design. We wanted people to be able to play on their phones anytime, anywhere.
Craxy, sexy, cool...
Delving into similar offerings and drawing inspiration from industry trailblazers such as Night Cafe and Midjourney became our compass on this expedition. Their successes and strategies offered rich insights that guided our path and influenced our decisions as we ventured into uncharted territories.
Utilizing Tailwind for styling was a breeze, enabling me to explore a new tool and dive into the styling process with ease. Taking some of the front end development off my partners plate gave him back the time to focus on complex technical challenges without sacrificing the aesthetics that inspire confidence.
We realized early that their were some complexities around the "state" of a user. This comes along with the concepts of having and account vs a subscription, and the fact that you first need to create a model before you can create images.
We explored many options, but ultimately settled on a lean approach that gave us the most flexibility, without completely reworking early decisions, and with the desired user experience. Will we have to rework things in the future? Likely yes, but fast and furious is the name of the game for now.
Creating effective AI models and prompts comes with its fair share of challenges. Firstly, crafting "good" models requires the right training data, and obtaining high-quality, diverse data can be a daunting task. The data must accurately represent the desired outcome, which can be particularly challenging for complex or niche tasks.
Secondly, devising effective prompts demands a deep understanding of the model's capabilities and limitations. Finding the right balance between specificity and generality in prompts can be tricky. Overly vague prompts might yield unpredictable results, while overly specific ones may limit creativity.
Lastly, staying updated with rapidly evolving AI technologies and adapting to changes in model behavior is an ongoing challenge for creators. Addressing these hurdles requires continuous research, experimentation, and a commitment to ethical AI development.
How do I create a "good" model.. also prompt ;)
To address the challenges associated with creating effective AI models and prompts, we began to integrate education features into our platform. Our goal was to empower users with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate the intricacies of AI effectively.
We began by developing in-depth tutorials and guides that demystified the model training process. These resources provided step-by-step instructions, practical tips, and best practices to help users curate high-quality training data. We also curated a library of sample prompts and model training examples, showcasing a spectrum of creative possibilities while illustrating the nuances of prompt design.
We aim to democratize AI, making it accessible to users of all backgrounds.
As we gear up to launch our MVP, things are getting pretty exciting around here. But here's the deal: the MVP isn't the finish line; it's the starting gun. We're all about constant improvement, and that means we're in this for the long haul.
Launching the MVP is like dipping our toes in the water; it's where the real adventure begins. We can't wait to hear what you think, what you love, and what you'd like to see more of. Your feedback is gold, and it's going to shape the evolution of our service.
We're already cooking up some awesome new features that we think you'll dig. So, stay tuned!