STASH
🎯 OVERVIEW
Stash Studio City↗ is a cannabis dispensary that regularly works with Outfront to put up seasonal billboards. The owner was looking to update a previous billboard design, and stated he was open to doing something unconventional, with extensions and eye-catching graphics, as long as "Studio City", the cross streets "Whitsett & Ventura", and "Free Parking" were included.
previous designs (not done by me)
🔄 FIRST DRAFT
With so much creative freedom, I wanted to go out of the box with absurd copylines. I also wanted to experiment with the limits of Adobe Firefly's AI image generation, and thought a surreal concept would be perfect for this.
LA also has strict rules for what can be shown on billboards. Product photos, cannabis leaves, and depictions of people smoking can't be included, furthering my case for a less literal design.
my first draft concepts
💬 FEEDBACK
I presented 3 different concepts to the Outfront team for critique before showing the client: a marble statue version, a graphic plant version, and one with a mysterious alien door.
We all agreed that the graphic plants weren't working and made Stash look like a farmer's market. For the other two versions, the team argued that I didn't need the green border or smoke to relate the design to cannabis— the ambiguity would pique attention, and secondary text could clarify.
Overall they encouraged me to push myself with textures, especially for the marble version; could I create a convincing rock effect without Adobe Firefly?
3D text made in Illustrator
a stock image of rocks
final marble concept
🤔 WHAT I LEARNED
This project was a turning point for me in my use of Adobe Firefly. Generative AI makes for a great base, but in the end, it's only one tool that should be used among other techniques.
In response to the Creative Team's feedback, I created 3D text in Adobe Illustrator and manipulate some stock images to bring my marble design to the next level. It's about the little details that AI can't always capture.
