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By Brian Biddle

My draft post is an AI playground.

Enhancing the design process with our AI Assistant, Lou
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January 30, 2024

Lou, our AI-powered publishing assistant, has become an integral part of my design process. This isn’t about embracing the newest technology or following trends, but about how Lou truly simplifies my daily tasks and makes them more enjoyable for me and, in the end, a more caring designer for our users.

Self-use is a crucial aspect of testing. While I may not be a practicing attorney utilizing Lou as an assistant for blog content creation and enhancement, I have found it to be an invaluable resource for design tasks. In the past, lack of content hindered my progress or even stopped me from completing a design for client review. Now, with Lou, I can efficiently finish these tasks.

Content is essential, and I’ve noticed that layout approvals increase when you present a design featuring real content, rather than using placeholder posts or Lorem ipsum. However, what’s the solution when a client has a tight launch deadline and requires you to construct the layout without having any of their content available for the design?

Lou steps in at this point, significantly enhancing the processes of production, review, and approval. I currently have a “draft” post from my personal blog open in a tab on my ARC browser (which is an excellent tool). I use this draft post as a basis to discuss with Lou about potential taglines, post titles, and even introductory paragraphs. This allows me to create content that is more authentic and tailored, as opposed to relying on the generic post templates I usually use.

In this particular case, I was given a very specific title and tagline by the client. I then asked Lou for suggestions on potential blog post titles that could be used for a blog covering a specific topic. Lou responded with eleven post titles and even provided an opening paragraph (upon further discussion), which I used as an excerpt on the home page. The result was a more thoughtful design that the attorneys could resonate with vs. seeing the “Hello world” type of content that we are prone to use in such instances.

I believe that Lou, or any AI, is most effective when used as an assistant. It can provide helpful feedback, offer clarity on complex tasks, and generate innovative ideas to jumpstart your work. In my own creative design work, using AI as an assistant has proven to be beneficial, allowing me to work more efficiently and effectively. Furthermore, I think that using AI is not only about how it improves my work but also how it enables me to better care for those I serve. It may sound odd, but I truly believe that AI helps me be more caring. If my job is to help others, then anything that allows me to do so more efficiently is a good thing.

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