Graphic Design
Generative AI
My personal and professional journey exploring generative AI tools, from early experiments in Midjourney to mastering new workflows with Nanobanana, and how these technologies now support concept development, rapid prototyping and large-scale creative processes.
Year:
2024 - 2025
Industry:
Technology
Project Duration:
Ongoing
CONTEXT
I started using generative AI tools in 2024, first out of curiosity and then increasingly as a professional necessity. In my role at YouFirst, we often create concepts and visuals for competitions and pitches, projects that require fast, high-quality outputs even if they never reach production.
Generative AI quickly became a valuable ally, helping us visualize ideas in minutes rather than days. What began as a tool for experimentation gradually became an essential part of my workflow, blending creativity, strategy and efficiency.
CHALLENGES
The early stages were not easy. Midjourney, in its initial versions, struggled with realism and consistency, and learning how to write effective prompts felt almost like learning a new language. Achieving coherent compositions, keeping a consistent aesthetic and directing the AI to match my vision required practice, iteration and technical understanding.
As the technology progressed, new challenges appeared: adapting to the accelerated pace of generative tools, deciding when AI belonged in the process and when it didn’t, and learning to combine multiple AIs to get the results I needed.
Another key challenge was the ethical dimension: understanding how to integrate AI responsibly without replacing artistic skill, originality or professional roles.
Switching to Nanobanana became necessary when Midjourney stopped meeting professional requirements, especially when working with logos, faces or precise brand elements.
SOLUTION
My learning process was a mix of self-teaching, experimentation and structured training. YouFirst provided an introductory AI course that helped me understand prompting techniques, and later my UX/UI Master expanded my understanding of how these systems work.
Practically, AI transformed my workflow:
• It allowed me to generate environments, mockups and fictional spaces without 3D software.
• It saved days of manual work, especially for pitch visuals and stand designs.
• It became a tool for concept development rather than final production, helping me explore directions quickly and refine ideas with the client or team.
Nanobanana, in particular, improved precision and adaptability: it understands prompts better, integrates logos and text more accurately, and produces images that feel less “AI-generated” and more aligned with real-world design needs.
Today, I use AI mostly for ideation, mood exploration, mockups and proposals, never as a replacement for final design, but as a powerful accelerator within the creative process.
OUTCOME
Incorporating generative AI changed my work for the better, making me faster, more experimental and more versatile. It also challenged me creatively: having easy access to instant visuals forces me to stay intentional, making sure AI enhances my creativity rather than replacing it.
In real projects, AI has helped us deliver full pitch decks in a single day, combining my designs with AI-generated concepts to meet tight deadlines without compromising quality.
Most importantly, this journey shaped my ethical stance: AI should not replace artists, nor justify cutting professional roles. It requires skill, taste and visual training to use it well, and it should always respect copyright and creative authorship.
Generative AI hasn’t replaced my creativity, but it has expanded what I can do with it. And as the field keeps evolving, so does my interest in understanding it, mastering it and integrating it responsibly into my future work.
More Projects
Graphic Design
Generative AI
My personal and professional journey exploring generative AI tools, from early experiments in Midjourney to mastering new workflows with Nanobanana, and how these technologies now support concept development, rapid prototyping and large-scale creative processes.
Year:
2024 - 2025
Industry:
Technology
Project Duration:
Ongoing
CONTEXT
I started using generative AI tools in 2024, first out of curiosity and then increasingly as a professional necessity. In my role at YouFirst, we often create concepts and visuals for competitions and pitches, projects that require fast, high-quality outputs even if they never reach production.
Generative AI quickly became a valuable ally, helping us visualize ideas in minutes rather than days. What began as a tool for experimentation gradually became an essential part of my workflow, blending creativity, strategy and efficiency.
CHALLENGES
The early stages were not easy. Midjourney, in its initial versions, struggled with realism and consistency, and learning how to write effective prompts felt almost like learning a new language. Achieving coherent compositions, keeping a consistent aesthetic and directing the AI to match my vision required practice, iteration and technical understanding.
As the technology progressed, new challenges appeared: adapting to the accelerated pace of generative tools, deciding when AI belonged in the process and when it didn’t, and learning to combine multiple AIs to get the results I needed.
Another key challenge was the ethical dimension: understanding how to integrate AI responsibly without replacing artistic skill, originality or professional roles.
Switching to Nanobanana became necessary when Midjourney stopped meeting professional requirements, especially when working with logos, faces or precise brand elements.
SOLUTION
My learning process was a mix of self-teaching, experimentation and structured training. YouFirst provided an introductory AI course that helped me understand prompting techniques, and later my UX/UI Master expanded my understanding of how these systems work.
Practically, AI transformed my workflow:
• It allowed me to generate environments, mockups and fictional spaces without 3D software.
• It saved days of manual work, especially for pitch visuals and stand designs.
• It became a tool for concept development rather than final production, helping me explore directions quickly and refine ideas with the client or team.
Nanobanana, in particular, improved precision and adaptability: it understands prompts better, integrates logos and text more accurately, and produces images that feel less “AI-generated” and more aligned with real-world design needs.
Today, I use AI mostly for ideation, mood exploration, mockups and proposals, never as a replacement for final design, but as a powerful accelerator within the creative process.
OUTCOME
Incorporating generative AI changed my work for the better, making me faster, more experimental and more versatile. It also challenged me creatively: having easy access to instant visuals forces me to stay intentional, making sure AI enhances my creativity rather than replacing it.
In real projects, AI has helped us deliver full pitch decks in a single day, combining my designs with AI-generated concepts to meet tight deadlines without compromising quality.
Most importantly, this journey shaped my ethical stance: AI should not replace artists, nor justify cutting professional roles. It requires skill, taste and visual training to use it well, and it should always respect copyright and creative authorship.
Generative AI hasn’t replaced my creativity, but it has expanded what I can do with it. And as the field keeps evolving, so does my interest in understanding it, mastering it and integrating it responsibly into my future work.
More Projects
Graphic Design
Generative AI
My personal and professional journey exploring generative AI tools, from early experiments in Midjourney to mastering new workflows with Nanobanana, and how these technologies now support concept development, rapid prototyping and large-scale creative processes.
Year:
2024 - 2025
Industry:
Technology
Project Duration:
Ongoing
CONTEXT
I started using generative AI tools in 2024, first out of curiosity and then increasingly as a professional necessity. In my role at YouFirst, we often create concepts and visuals for competitions and pitches, projects that require fast, high-quality outputs even if they never reach production.
Generative AI quickly became a valuable ally, helping us visualize ideas in minutes rather than days. What began as a tool for experimentation gradually became an essential part of my workflow, blending creativity, strategy and efficiency.
CHALLENGES
The early stages were not easy. Midjourney, in its initial versions, struggled with realism and consistency, and learning how to write effective prompts felt almost like learning a new language. Achieving coherent compositions, keeping a consistent aesthetic and directing the AI to match my vision required practice, iteration and technical understanding.
As the technology progressed, new challenges appeared: adapting to the accelerated pace of generative tools, deciding when AI belonged in the process and when it didn’t, and learning to combine multiple AIs to get the results I needed.
Another key challenge was the ethical dimension: understanding how to integrate AI responsibly without replacing artistic skill, originality or professional roles.
Switching to Nanobanana became necessary when Midjourney stopped meeting professional requirements, especially when working with logos, faces or precise brand elements.
SOLUTION
My learning process was a mix of self-teaching, experimentation and structured training. YouFirst provided an introductory AI course that helped me understand prompting techniques, and later my UX/UI Master expanded my understanding of how these systems work.
Practically, AI transformed my workflow:
• It allowed me to generate environments, mockups and fictional spaces without 3D software.
• It saved days of manual work, especially for pitch visuals and stand designs.
• It became a tool for concept development rather than final production, helping me explore directions quickly and refine ideas with the client or team.
Nanobanana, in particular, improved precision and adaptability: it understands prompts better, integrates logos and text more accurately, and produces images that feel less “AI-generated” and more aligned with real-world design needs.
Today, I use AI mostly for ideation, mood exploration, mockups and proposals, never as a replacement for final design, but as a powerful accelerator within the creative process.
OUTCOME
Incorporating generative AI changed my work for the better, making me faster, more experimental and more versatile. It also challenged me creatively: having easy access to instant visuals forces me to stay intentional, making sure AI enhances my creativity rather than replacing it.
In real projects, AI has helped us deliver full pitch decks in a single day, combining my designs with AI-generated concepts to meet tight deadlines without compromising quality.
Most importantly, this journey shaped my ethical stance: AI should not replace artists, nor justify cutting professional roles. It requires skill, taste and visual training to use it well, and it should always respect copyright and creative authorship.
Generative AI hasn’t replaced my creativity, but it has expanded what I can do with it. And as the field keeps evolving, so does my interest in understanding it, mastering it and integrating it responsibly into my future work.