A Creative Approach To Generative AI In Book Cover Design With James Helps

I really enjoyed this laid-back discussion around AI tools as part of the creative book cover design process with James Helps from Go On Write. We discuss how generative AI tools can help make more unique and interesting cover designs, and how designers can have a more imaginative time making them.

This episode is supported by my Patreon community, who fund my future-focused thinking time. If you join the community, you get an extra solo Q&A; show monthly, as well as behind-the-scenes videos on planning for the year ahead, AI and creative business, plus discounts, early access, and more. Join the community for the price of a coffee a month at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn

James Helps is a book cover designer at GoOnWrite.com, offering pre-made covers and custom cover design. He also writes articles for authors about the impact of AI at his blog, HumbleNations.

You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. 

Show Notes

* James' history with computers, AI, and art

* Various tools for AI-generated images and the rise of text to video

* Midjourney vs DALL-E and how being an artist makes Midjourney easier to use as you have the language to use it

* How James uses Midjourney as part of his creative ideation process with a client and how it gives him more scope for imaginative designs, and how it takes more time

* Is AI a threat to cover designers and/or authors? How our human creative drive and connection is our real differentiator.

You can find James at GoOnWrite.com, HumbleNations.wordpress.com, or JamesHelps.co.uk.

Transcript of Interview with James Helps

Joanna: James is a book cover designer at GoOnWrite.com, offering pre-made covers and custom cover design. He also writes articles for authors about the impact of AI at his blog, HumbleNations, which we're talking about today. So welcome to the show, James.

James: Hi there.

Joanna: Hello.

Tell us a bit more about your book cover design business and how you became interested in generative AI.

James: I guess the first thing I'd probably say is I don't really like the word business. It's more that I make covers for people that I like. They come in and chat to me, and I'm just a designer that really enjoys doing covers.

I guess when it comes down to the AI stuff, I got interested in that probably around two years ago when there was a lot of stuff in the air. There was like the DALL-E and Imagen that I was reading about quite a lot. I've always been sort of somebody who's looked at technology as a thing.

In my history, I did a computer science degree back in the early 90s. As a kid,