FEBRUARY 2024
The Startup Edge | Vol 2
Levelling up with an AI-powered cover for the second edition!
editorial design
GenAI
The second volume of the magazine, designed end-to-end within a 2.5 week timeline, and was launched during FTX: India’s Largest FinTech Fest.
7,250 copies distributed
at the Global Fintech Fest 2024 and FTX 2024
10 articles
taking us through the journey of the ever-evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, and it’s undergoing reset.
All uniquely designed, on the basis on the content
88 Pages
The layouting process for the pages was the same as Vol 1
Check it out!
what set this edition apart?
the cover image is
not a photoshoot
it’s a 42-hour sprint, using AI
Spotlight-like lighting on all faces, natural shadows
High & low composition using sofas/pillar/ blocks
I started with analysing current famous business magazine covers
Everyone is looking into the camera, smiling and confident
Power poses (hands on knees/ waist/ crossed)
MidJourney
to generate the
upper body and face physique
Find a reference image and write the MidJourney prompt. Starting with the image link, followed by brutally describing the physique of the person.
2x Zoom out
Upscale
Vary Region
Prompt
a 30 year old indian male, with a soul patch beard, black hair, smiling, confident, mid-size body, slightly buffed, wide eyes, looking into the camera, wearing a wine coloured polo-neck shirt, blue denim jeans, sitting on a stool, surrounded delivery parcel carton boxes, hyperrealistic painting
Prompt
a mid-30s year old indian female, mature face, wearing a blue polo-neck tee, flat and straight hair, arms on the waist, smiling into the camera, dynamic lighting, plain dark background, hyperrealistic painting
MidJourney FaceSwap Plugin
to swap the face of the person onto the body
Original Reference
Before
/swapface
After
/swapface
Photoshop GenAI
to extend the body and generate legs, blocks, stools, boxes, and shoes.
Procreate
To put the final cover together!
Arranging all individual generations into a single composition, expanding the background, adding shadows to the floor and people at the back, to create depth. Also colour corrected the lighting and added company logos and branding to the boxes!
tap to play the timelapse
AI Generations & Learnings
A Cheat Sheet
MidJourney
V 6.0
HUMANS
Not great with faces and human postures, especially in non-portrait compositions
COMPOSITIONS
Generates more creative, dynamic looking visuals, especially with colour based prompts.
PROMPTS
Understands conceptual and vague prompts well
a visual of a big crowd, realistic, pink, orange, blue green themed
prompt
SPECIAL FEATURES
“Vary Region” tool lets you only re-generate a selected part of the image as well as adjust the prompt accordingly.
All aspect ratios allowed and upscale friendly
DALL-E
GPT 4.0
HUMANS
Better with faces and humans, doesn’t generally mess up proportions, add extra limbs or remove fingers
COMPOSITIONS
More professional, (sometimes boring), majorly either one point perspective or isometric.
PROMPTS
Understands very specific and detailed prompts
a visual of a wooden school desk with a chair, a yellow notebook and some books kept on top, child’s backpack kept under, stationary pouch on the table. plain white background. warm tones
SPECIAL FEATURES
Chat-GPT like user experience, wherein you can build on prompts and re-iterate the entire generation by saying something like “make it more realistic”.
The Launch
at FTX 2024
a photobooth
for all attendees
an instagram reel
covering the launch day
1,250 copies distributed within 5 hours!
+91 9711540260