Middle of Somewhere Design

Opening Keynote 2024 – GS1

The Keynote presentation was very engaging to sit back and absorb. The enthusiasm of the presenters was palpable, and it definitely grabbed my attention for what was to be unveiled. I almost wasn’t surprised, but Generative AI was the initial focus of the content with AI assistance and conversational assistants being highlighted. Artificial Intelligence is at the center of so many industries right now, that it makes sense that Adobe wanted to come out of the gate with how it is being utilized. AI assisting was presented as key to the future scope of creative possibilities. Technology, responsibility, and community are being highlighted as the key focuses of AI with Adobe. Three layers of generative AI – Data, Models, and Interfaces are considered in this approach. Bias, Stereotypes, and Privacy were also interesting considerations that were touched on as unintended consequences of AI. “GenAI is a tool for, not a replacement of, human creativity” was a line that really stood out to me. As part of the opening Keynote demonstrations of different applications were led by various Adobe partners and cutting-edge creators. Demos of new updates to the Adobe Suite focused on the Creating, Collaborating, and Concepting of design ideas. Of the various unveilings of new features in the Adobe Suite, I really enjoyed Michael Fugoso covering some of the enhancements to the Illustrator application. The enhanced image trace and generative shape fill were both very impressive and seemed like features I would utilize right away. The 3D content that Michael shared with Project Neo was really interesting as well. It was clearly well thought out to mimic many of the tools and the layout of Illustrator.

Building Brands: From Brand Strategy to Social Content – Led by Rion Harmon

In addition to my interests in UX/UI, I also gravitate to branding and thoughtful brand strategy. I sought out a video from the conference that focused on this category of design and discovered Building Brands: From Brand Strategy to Social Content by Rion Harmon of Day Job. This video presentation was really interesting in how Rion broke down the decision making for different brand development and branding decisions. I appreciated how he utilized imagery of specific brands he’d worked on and did backstory and provided context to different choices that were made in the copy and typography of the brands. Early in the presenation he stressed the importance of how to just make a brand exist, and then once it exists decide what things you can make with it. The way he then explained how Copy in branding can be a very key strategy in guiding the brand development. This was demonstrated by the background he provided on the brands David Protein Bars, Recess CBD Beverages, and Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp. After introducing these brands he painted a picture of how to think laterally and dynamically to come up with brand strategy. His journey of how this strategy played out with Summerfall Sake really inspired me about ways to ideate and consider brand decisions through different lenses and processes. Going into a second portion of his presentation, Rion talked about content creation and how to stay creative every day to promote a “thing” that creatives have introduced to the world and the current attention economy. One of his final takeaways that resonated with me was to not forget the importance of integrating beauty, humor, and education into your brand designs. I think this really speaks to this idea that there is a perfect solution to things and designing can be too serious at times. If these different avenues of approaching a design are considered then there can be room for much more dynamic and engaging solutions.

Ripples to Waves: Visual Storytelling for Social Impact – Led by Nacho Corbella

After learning from Rion Harmon, I was searching for another presentation from the conference and Ripples to Waves: Visual Storytelling for Social Impact by Nacho Corbella caught my eye. I am a designer who really sees the impact of thoughtful storytelling when it comes to design, so I was curious what I could learn from this presentation. Nacho began by providing some background on his company, Ripple Effect Images, and then showed a moving piece to demonstrate the type of work they do. I appreciated that immediately after showing the video footage he had the company mission statement displayed, which read “Multiply the impact of proven and sustainable solutions empowering women and children by using world-class visual storytelling to shine a light on successful initiatives.” He then explained this mission in more detail with how visuals and documentation can help elevate women voices and spark global change. The company seems very intentional with their focus, as the overall mission seems like almost an insurmountable goal. He expressed their key avenues for storytelling to be Health, Climate Change, Education, Economic Empowerment, Food Security, Water & Sanitation, and Energy. I found it interesting that these 7 key areas of focus are addressed both through commissioned projects as well as self-funded projects. Nacho explains how they will take on the vision of someone else’s idea or goal, but also create deliverables that the company personally believes in. I found this combination of project types to be really smart as it can build your portfolio and reputation in two distinctly different ways. I also found it very interesting how Nacho builds his films or visuals around designating a “champion” figure. This was a unique way to frame how his storytelling process develops.