In a journey of reinvention, I’ve decided to transform my brand and portfolio with a fresh vision—one that better reflects my growth and the dynamic collaboration I’ve experienced with AI. This change is more than visual; it’s an evolution of my identity and how I want to present my work to the world.

From Face Machine to Warrior Bot: Why the Change?

As you may recall, I wrote extensively about my collaboration with AI. The article is called “My Personal Journey with AI.” It talks about my introduction to AI and how I use the technology. Me & The Machine (the name of the newsletter) created a robotic face within a lightbulb. The face represented my journey into this collaborative process with AI. In the introductory article, you were given a bird’s-eye view of how I designed the main image using AI. This process laid the foundation for my journey.

My goal was to share the steps and my thought process. It was a nice introductory project.

The decision to redesign my logo stemmed from a need to reframe my portfolio. I wanted my new brand to evoke strength, adaptability, and boldness—qualities that the “Warrior Bot” (what I call the robot) embodies.

The Warrior Bot was born from two AI-generated designs, which I refined to create a character that symbolizes my approach—fierce, flexible, and future-focused. This bot will be the logo for my LinkedIn newsletter.

The New Warrior Shield

Alongside the Warrior Bot, I designed a new shield—the “Warrior Shield”—to serve as a modern, refined complement, and to represent my personal branding across my portfolio. The origins of the Warrior Shield go back many years ago, when I produced a TV series called The Business Warrior (on public access). Inspired by the Black Panther film, I updated the previous logo to create a theme for my UX design portfolio. The Warrior Shield reflects my Civil Engineering CAD history, with lines symbolizing roads traveled and circuit lines representing technology. Creating this new shield tells a new story and moves me in a new and dots represent technology. My goal was to create a new and fresh look that complemented the Warrior Bot. The final design represented: being a warrior for design, for innovation, and for the power of collaboration with AI.

No Longer Limiting Myself to a UX Designer

The title “UX Designer” didn’t fully capture the breadth of my work. My experience spans web design, branding, accessibility, and strategic innovation—plus the partnership I’ve developed with AI in ideation and creation. This transformation is about recognizing my potential and owning it.

I want to showcase projects like my CEWQI model—an extensive web quality evaluation framework—and my team-building journey with AI using CliftonStrengths and Jung Typology. Storytelling is important, so I created an explainer video to redefine UX Design, making the concept more accessible. I’m also working on case studies to illustrate these processes and give insight into how I built them.

Honoring My Skills and Journey

This shift is about taking control of my value presentation and highlighting the unique strengths I bring. I want to work with companies that appreciate my expertise, versatility, and ability to innovate through strategic thinking and AI collaboration. The Warrior Bot visually represents my commitment to growth and innovation.

My New Title: Strategic AI Collaborator & Creative Framework Architect

In this transformation, I’ve embraced a new professional title that aligns with my goals and reflects the broad range of skills I bring to the table: Strategic AI Collaborator & Creative Framework Architect | Driving Innovation through Ideation and Context.

These titles are also deeply connected to my CliftonStrengths:

Strategic: My strategic strength helps me find the best path forward, which is key to being a Strategic AI Collaborator.

• Ideation and Context: These strengths enable me to innovate while being grounded in a deep understanding of the background and purpose of my projects, driving meaningful outcomes.
• Maximizer: I aim to elevate good ideas to great ones, which aligns with my role as a Creative Framework Architect, striving for excellence in structured solutions.

Here’s why this title fits well:

• Strategic AI Collaborator: This signals my deeper understanding of AI and its applications, which would appeal to both tech, film, or business start-ups looking for innovation. It highlights my ability to partner effectively with AI, using it as a tool for creative and strategic development.
• Creative Framework Architect: This highlights my ability to create structured, strategic solutions—something start-ups need to grow effectively. My work includes building frameworks like CEWQI (Cara’s Extensive Web Quality Index), which provide valuable insights and systems for improving web quality and supporting growth.
• Driving Innovation through Ideation and Context: This phrase highlights my tenacity and drive to independently create innovative concepts. It reflects my focus on developing ideas that are not only creative but also deeply rooted in an understanding of their context and background, ensuring they are meaningful and impactful.

This title speaks to my strategic and creative strengths while conveying that I’m capable of taking a leadership role and thinking deeply about both the present and the future. It also shows that I am interested in more than just following trends; I bring a foundational, structured approach to design and strategy.

The Role of AI in This Journey

AI has been integral to this journey, helping me take nebulous concepts and bring them to life. AI has provided a new perspective on my creative process and accelerated my ability to innovate.

Emphasizing the Need for Collaboration

Ultimately, this transformation showcases the power of collaboration—whether between people or between humans and AI. Moving forward, I will share how these dynamics shape my work and how others can use AI to unlock new possibilities. Together, we can achieve more than we could alone.

Lets Keep The Creative Energy Flowing,

If this article sparked some ideas or you need help with your a project , I am always open to a conversation. Whether you are curious about the journey or considering a project, I’d be happy to connect.

Reach out to me, Cara Harpole on Linkedin

It was a busy weekend at an IT convention in Austin, Texas. I had decided to make extra money using a ride-sharing app, and the passengers I met were often in tech, many on the cutting edge. One passenger in particular caught my attention. He held a high-level IT job and was eager to talk about technology. He asked, “Have you heard of ChatGPT?” I told him I had, but I hadn’t used it. As he exited the car, he said, “You have to download it, it’s a game-changer. It will change the world.” He was right.

The Creative Process

Years ago, I decided to get rid of cable TV. It felt like a product that had peaked—limited and overpriced. I waited for sports to make the switch as well, to offer better streaming options. In a similar way, AI reminded me of the final moments before older technologies fade away, like when Blackberry heard Steve Jobs introduce the iPhone. By then, it was already too late to catch up.

Now, AI is a disruptive technology integrated into many of the design tools I use. Over the last year, I’ve stopped using image downloading services because AI tools like DALL·E, MidJourney, and DaVinci offer me almost unlimited possibilities. I’m no longer limited to what databases have to offer. Gone are the days when my requests for more diverse images—different racial groups and cultures—were ignored.

Redesigning the Artwork

Creative Collaboration with the Machine
Subject: African Cooking Class Flyer

I needed a very specific image for a cooking class flyer for a new organization I co-created. The dish we’d focus on was from Senegal, so I needed an image of people in a kitchen enjoying themselves while the instructor demonstrated a traditional West African dish. The flyer also had to include the date, time, location, a QR code, and a main caption.

I wanted the piece to have an African vibe, so I requested a traditional African-inspired border, a beautiful platter, and cropped the finished dish to place in it. AI helped bring the elements together, but the final success came from my own curation and refinement.

I believe in creative collaboration with technology, but it’s important not to solely depend on it. We must take ownership of our creative ideas and processes. AI can be a tool, but the human touch is what gives the final work its meaning.

The Process: Me & The Machine
Here’s how I created the concept:

Narrowing down the name of the newsletter by eliminating uninspiring options.
Choosing fonts that fit the style and tone of the project.
Designing the logo style through iterations.

Software & AI used:

• MidJourney for images and ideation.
• Photoshop for brand identity.
• Illustrator to recreate the sunglasses.
• ChatGPT to brainstorm brand concepts.

The Redesign: Lessons Learned

AI-generated art often has noise or artifacts—random elements that don’t belong, like someone having six fingers. The final resolution can sometimes be poor, and the artwork may feel too detailed or cluttered. I had to eliminate 95% of the original AI-generated design and start fresh. I traced the contour of the face and redesigned the lightbulb, sunglasses, and cyber hair to create a cleaner, modern, and futuristic look.

Symbolism in Design

The bold sunglasses in my design represented insightful thinking and vision. I had used similar glasses in a previous project for accessible design, but in that case, the glasses symbolized sensory sight. In this project, the sunglasses reflected personal insight and creativity.

I especially wanted to create a reflective, mirrored effect using a gradient of two colors. Just like looking into a mirror, the design reflects the artist—not the machine. AI’s version was transparent, while I chose opacity because it carried more weight and symbolism.

The Face: Evolution of the Design

The Start: The face began as a lightbulb with a circuit board, symbolizing the fusion of machine and person. After many prompts, I narrowed it down to three options. I decided to remove the lines and keep the shape of the image intact, but redesign everything else from scratch.

The Final Design: The final design merges the machine and the human. The hair could represent entanglements, noise, or just colored hair. I borrowed the concept of circles and lines intersecting the hair from AI, but I redesigned everything else, except the lips, because of the noise and artifacts in the original AI version.

Noise: In this context, noise refers to random objects or unnecessary details in the AI-generated designs. For example, a person with six fingers instead of five. I eliminated most of this over-detailing while keeping elements like the colored dots, which I interpreted as representing an out-of-body experience, like traveling through space or time.

Removing the Lines: I wanted the lines to represent a path, not chaos. Some paths lead to a destination, while others don’t. That’s how the creative process works—some decisions lead us forward, while others leave us feeling lost. The lines, to me, represented the journey, while AI’s lines were more random.

The Takeaway

As society embraces AI, I hope we don’t lose our human insights and ownership of our work. AI is a powerful collaborative tool, but it should never erase the human voice. Taking bold creative risks makes our work unique and interesting. We don’t have to conform—we can break the mold while still aligning ourselves with good design principles.

Remember this: AI is a tool for enhancement, not replacement. The sunglasses representing insight were always part of my vision, and AI helped me visualize the concept. AI’s version was transparent, while mine was opaque. What do you think the symbolism behind that decision could be? I’d love to hear your views.

Exercise: Creating a Semi-Realistic Scene with AI Art Tools

Below is a step-by-step exercise designed to help newcomers create images using AI prompts. This exercise will guide you through selecting AI art tools, writing prompts, and refining your image creation process.

MY RESULTS – Using Midjourney

Create Your Own AI Generated Tea Party Image

Step 1: Tools You Need

To get started with AI art, you’ll need an AI image generation program. There are several options available, both free and premium. Here are some of the most popular ones:

1. DALL·E (Premium with some free credits): Website: https://openai.com/dall-e This tool generates highly detailed images based on text prompts.
2. Craiyon (formerly DALL·E mini) (Free): Website: https://www.craiyon.com/ A free, simplified version of DALL·E that generates quick AI art based on text descriptions.
3. Stable Diffusion (Free and Open-Source): Website: https://stablediffusionweb.com/ A popular open-source AI model for generating art with flexibility in details and creativity.
4. Dream by WOMBO (Free with in-app purchases): Website: https://www.wombo.art/ A creative AI art tool that lets you create visually striking images quickly.
5. Artbreeder (Free with premium options): Website: https://www.artbreeder.com/ A tool that blends and morphs images based on user input, allowing for unique image creation.
6. MidJourney (Paid, with trial options): Website: https://www.midjourney.com/ This tool is known for generating highly creative and artistic interpretations of prompts.

Step 2: Writing a Detailed Prompt

A well-crafted prompt is essential to get the best results. Start by thinking about the key elements you want in your image. Here’s a prompt breakdown for the sample scene you mentioned:

1. Main Subject (Focus of the Image):
2. Setting:
3. Outfits and Accessories:
4. Atmosphere:
5. Additional Details:

Prompt Example:

Here’s how you can structure your prompt for the AI tool:

“Create a semi-realistic scene of African American ladies gathered at a formal tea party. They are wearing vintage Southern hats adorned with feathers and ribbons. The ladies are elegantly dressed in lace and pastel-colored dresses. The tea party takes place in an antique room with green walls, vintage wooden furniture, a delicate lace tablecloth, an antique tea set, and fresh flowers on the table. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with the ladies engaged in lively conversation. Add soft lighting and subtle details like steam rising from tea cups and an antique clock chiming in the background.”

Step 3: Using the AI Tool

Now that you have your prompt, it’s time to use one of the AI art tools:

1. Choose Your Tool:
2. Enter the Prompt:
3. Generate the Image:
4. Refine the Prompt (Optional):

Step 4: Reflect and Experiment

• Once the image is generated, review it and think about what worked and what didn’t.
• Experiment with different prompts by changing small details (e.g., color of the walls, number of people, or decorations).
• Encourage your readers to try creating multiple variations of the same scene to see how different wording changes the result.

Conclusion

This exercise helps newcomers get hands-on experience with AI-generated art. By selecting a tool, writing a detailed prompt, and experimenting with different descriptions, your readers can easily create stunning and imaginative visuals.