Embarking on the Midjourney

Have you heard the garbage in, garbage out saying? Here’s how Wikipedia describes it:

“In computer science, garbage in, garbage out (GIGO) is the concept that flawed, or nonsense (garbage) input data produces nonsense output.”

The same goes for any kind of input or briefing. If you don’t provide a decent brief, you only get decent creativity back if the someone(s) on the receiving end bother to challenge it, rethink it, push the boundaries a bit – or a lot – and tell you you’ve got it wrong.

Where does this leave us with briefing the machines I wonder? I’m going to find out with Midjourney, the San Francisco founded, generative AI research lab.

The twist is though, I’m not going to brief in the fantastical, as with most of their Community Showcase images. A large number of which, btw, seem to be images of remarkably similarly featured young women.

Wide eyes, button nose, white/tan, flawless skin anyone? Because it seems that’s the only response there is to the key words lady, woman, girl, empress, bride, cyberpunk, cyborg and beautiful alien girl!!" To be fair, that is probably what the world in the main is telling the machines. (GIGO right there.)

No, the twist is giving Midjourney the sort of briefing given in branding and comms all the time. You know core thoughts/ideas that are intended to lead to something distinctive, not just on the logo front but in terms of an overall visual brand or campaign.

Are the machines up to it? More interestingly perhaps, how does the briefing need to change to get outputs that aren’t garbage. Watch this space.