CLIENT: Microsoft
PROJECT: AI-Generated Holiday Card 2023
ABOUT: Microsoft Bing AI Image Creator is a free AI-powered tool you can use to generate unique, customizable images with textual prompts.
OBJECTIVE: Come up with a fun way for users to play with the their AI creative tool DALLE-3 for its newest update launch. Create a website where a user can create a shareable Microsoft Bing AI-Generated Holiday Card. User can create their own image or they can an ai generated image and edit the prompt.
Process
user RESEARCH
Users Don’t Know How to Write an Effective Prompt
Tested users on the Bing AI Image creator to understand their needs and frustrations.
Insight
Most users did not know how to write effective prompts to create their desired images.
Educate the User on How to Create an Effective Prompt
The Perfect Prompt…
is made up of very specific categories. Once users understood the components of the
perfect prompt, it became as simple as going down a checklist.
Bing AI Image Testing Generates Very Different Results for Same Prompt
Using the same prompt always ended up generating totally different images that are not even in the same style.
This led to wondering how to get a prompt to output a consistent or similar image in terms of the main elements - especially in visual style.
How would AI describe an image?
Reverse Image Engineering Prompts are Mini Stories
Took original image and explored a few reverse image engineering tools to understand more about key words used. Then took that copy and replaced it back into Bing AI generator.
Insights
You can create a closer image by copying and pasting RE prompt
Prompts need to be very detailed like a paragraph in a story.
Inspiration
Looked at other AI tools
Researched how other places are explaining the anatomy of a prompt
Explored other non AI related concepts
User Flows
Iterated on multiple user flows throughout the process.
Concept 1 Fun with Mad Libs
One insight revealed was that not everyone is creative. Some people need a bit of hand holding.
Explored a Mad Libs-inspired prompt so user could fill in the blanks. A somewhat guided experience felt more manageable than leaving the user to come up with an original prompt completely on their own.
Great for users who don't know how to write and for users that don’t know how to describe art.
Insights
Client loved the concept but:
Wanted the user to be able to interact more.
Users loved the concept, but wanted:
To be given suggestions for prompts
To be able to have more control of the visual style
Concept 2 Emotive Prompts
Emotive prompts for users were designed to bring back happy holiday memories of family and friends as inspiration to the user.
Insights
Client business needs changed. They decided to put this idea into section of their home page.
Users appreciated the nostalgia, but wanted a few less prompts.
The Result
Gallery Carousel with 6 images to give users a sense of what they can create.
Interactive diagram of the anatomy of a great prompt.
Ability to edit text for an already AI Generated image.
Ability to select a few suggestions from 4 categories and/or type in your own prompt.
Real Change in the Real World
Microsoft liked the Mad Lib idea so much, they used it in their Microsoft Design Studio :)
