Ukiyo Zine: Exploring AI-Generated Visuals for Event Promotion
Project Overview
This semester I created Ukiyo Zine, a platform dedicated to fostering a love for Japanese culture. As a Japanese person who moved to Los Angeles a couple years ago, I felt like I was losing a sense of community far away from my loved ones. I wanted to make a space where Japanese residents in Los Angeles, those who have heritage in Japan, or those who are interested in Japanese culture have a community where they can learn and have a sense of community together. This case study explores how AI-powered image generation tools, specifically DreamStudio, can be utilized to create engaging and thematic visuals for promoting Ukiyo Zine's cultural events.
Researching AI Possibilities
I first started off with researching the capabilities of DreamStudio, a web app that uses generative AI to create images from text prompts. I found these aspects of DreamStudio very useful for Ukiyo Zine project:
DreamStudio allows for specifying artistic styles, making it ideal for generating visuals that evoke the essence of Japanese art.
The ability to create specific scenes and objects related to Japanese culture events (such as art exhibitions, food preparation, traditional festivals) was important for crafting event posters.
DreamStudio generates visuals based on the text prompts that I give them. Giving them detailed text prompts that capture the event's essence and keeping iterating on generated images were needed for successful results.
Proposal
I would like to use DreamStudio to generate visuals for promoting various Ukiyo Zine events. Since Ukiyo Zine is still a baby project that I started this February, I still haven’t had events where Ukiyo Zine community can gather to enjoy specific events that I’m planning to have, so there is no photos that I could use to promote our events.
Art Exhibitions
DreamStudio prompts:
People admiring traditional Japanese art or artists showcasing their work at a gallery.
A brightly lit art gallery in a traditional Japanese building. People dressed in kimonos admire colorful woodblock prints hanging on the walls.
A close-up of a person's hand holding a delicate Japanese ink painting, with calligraphy and a red seal in the corner.
A bustling art exhibition showcasing contemporary Japanese art installations, with people interacting with the pieces.
Japanese Festivals
DreamStudio prompts:
Scenes depicting lively festival celebrations with vibrant colors and traditional attire.
A vibrant street scene filled with people in yukata and happi celebrating a Japanese festival. Colorful lanterns and food stalls line the street.
A close-up of a group of friends laughing and holding takoyaki 🐙 on a summer night at a Japanese festival. Fireworks explode in the background!
A traditional Japanese festival parade featuring performers in elaborate costumes and musicians playing taiko drums.
Cooking Classes
DreamStudio prompts:
Participants learning to prepare Japanese dishes in a fun and interactive environment.
A warm and inviting kitchen setting with a Japanese chef instructing a group of people on how to prepare sushi.
A close-up shot of hands rolling gyoza 🥟 with fresh vegetables spilling out.
A fun and interactive cooking class where participants are enjoying themselves while learning to make traditional Japanese dishes.
Movie Screenings
DreamStudio prompts:
A cozy movie theater with a red curtain showcasing a Japanese film on the screen. People sit in comfortable seats, some with popcorn and drinks.
A group of friends gathered around a projector screen in a living room setting, watching a classic Japanese movie.
A close-up shot of a person captivated by a scene from a Japanese film playing on a screen.
Benefits of AI-Generated Visuals
With this AI-generated visuals, I want to successfully promote Ukiyo Zine’s events (even I don’t have one to showcase yet.) I’m visioning users flipping through the latest issue of Ukiyo Zine, or visiting events or community pages on Ukiyo Zine website, wanting to discover the next captivating cultural experience. Suddenly, a visual catches their eyes – like a vibrant poster showcasing an upcoming event. It could be an art exhibition brimming with cool prints, a fun festival with a lot of energy, or a hands-on cooking class where people are enjoying delicious Japanese dishes that they cooked together.
I would love to constantly seeking innovative ways to bridge the gap between the printed page and the website and the immersive world of Japanese culture. That's where DreamStudio enters here as my little helper.
DreamStudio makes it possible to make a promotional visuals with low budget. But it's also about speed and efficiency. With this tool, I can rapidly explore a range of visual concepts, making sure that each event poster perfectly reflects the spirit of the experience within.
Also, the fact that DreamStudio is able to customize the visuals in my preferred style is what caught me in the first place. I can give them detailed prompts, acting as virtual art directors for DreamStudio. I just have to give them very detailed visions of what I have in my head to make each poster becomes a visual extension of the rich content found within this community.
Last but not least, DreamStudio unlocks a universe of unique aesthetics. It’s almost unreal. Not simply replicating existing styles, but I can use the power of AI to create engaging and visually stunning visuals that transport users to the heart of Japanese culture, closely aligning with Ukiyo Zine's goal to have a fun and cool events.
Event page on Ukiyo Zine website
Event details with the AI-generated images created by using DreamStudio
Implementation Plan
To bring these AI-powered visuals to life, I’m planning follow a clear plan. First, I’ll create detailed "instructions" for DreamStudio. These prompts will be like mini-descriptions for each event visual, specifying the scene we want (such as “a bustling festival”), the artistic style (such as photography), and any key elements that need to be included.
Then, DreamStudio can give me several different versions based on our prompts (I’m aiming to have 3 per prompt), giving me a range of options to choose from. I will be carefully reviewing these initial images and use even more specific prompts to refine the most promising ones until they're perfect.
Lastly, these polished AI-generated visuals will be seamlessly moved into the design tools (Figma, Illustrator, and Webflow) and used to create eye-catching event visuals for both our website and potentially social media channels such as Instagram.
Next Step
In this project, I explored the possibilities of AI in design, and generated visually engaging and thematic event visuals that capture the essence of Japanese culture and attract audiences to participate in Ukiyo Zine's events, demonstrating the potential of AI-powered image generation tools in design practice, specifically within the context of event promotion.
I want to see if these AI-made visuals attract more people to join the Ukiyo Zine community. In the future, I might even use them for social media posts. I’m also curious to try other AI art tools and see how people react to these AI-powered visuals compared to traditional designs.
