Recently, we received an email from a potential new client. He is starting a new business and looking for help with a logo and supporting brand materials. Normally, this type of inquiry comes through a referral or Google, so I was surprised when he said that ChatGPT recommended us.
I replied, set up a Zoom call, and prepared myself for the possibility that it might be some new flavor of scam.
It wasn’t a scam. The client was friendly, thoughtful, and receptive to our design process. We defined a scope of work and are now working together. Through ChatGPT, he had generated some concepts, and the main one is actually pretty decent. I’ve also used ChatGPT for sketching, so I’m familiar with its strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths:
- Speed. Generates images and iterates quickly.
- Thoroughness. Presents most of the common approaches to a problem.
- Encouragement. Provides positive responses to requests.
- High floor. Rarely produces something truly terrible.
Weaknesses:
- Literalness. Overlooks abstract or tangential solutions.
- Quality. Logo drawings often have issues in the line work.
- Consistency. Difficult to get exact logo reproductions across contexts and formats.
- Typography. Type choices lack creativity and often have layout and letterform issues.
- Low ceiling. Rarely produces something exceptional.
The process of working with a client alongside ChatGPT has been interesting, but I’m more curious about the how, why, and when of the recommendation itself.
Here are some thoughts and questions this raised:
- How did we become a design firm that ChatGPT would recommend?
- Is OpenAI making ChatGPT recommend small businesses as part of a PR effort?
- Will there be a field of AIRO (Artificial Intelligence Recommendation Optimization) that’s just as soul-draining as SEO?
- At what point did ChatGPT decide that the desired level of work was beyond its capabilities?
I’m not sure why ChatGPT likes us. It’s probably because of our creative, well-executed designs. It can’t be because of our great SEO or frequent website updates. Maybe it’s because when I ask ChatGPT for help, I always say “please” and “thank you.”