Top 5 Midjourney Artists using Artificial Intelligence to push the boundaries of creativity

Posted on 22/05/2023 by Sarang Sheth

I increasingly find it harder and harder to imagine a world without AI creation tools. In a matter of just a few months these tools have gone justifiably mainstream, and no matter where you look, there’s really no escaping them. Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t mean to paint these tools in a bad light, because we’ve seen them be capable of creating some stunning pieces of work, whether images, text, podcasts, or even music (if you haven’t heard the AI Drake and The Weeknd collab, go do it right now)! The first industry to be truly revolutionized by AI is probably the world of art, with text-to-image models like Midjourney turning everyone into an instant artist. Art forms a backbone to many disciplines of design – architecture definitely being one of them. Today we take a look at how creatives are using AI tools to revolutionize the world of architecture by either introducing fresh perspectives into it, or by carrying architecture to other design disciplines to make something refreshingly new. Here are 5 Top Midjourney Artists who are disrupting architecture with their AI-based creations!

Hassan Ragab (@hsnrgb)

Probably the hottest name in AI art, Hassan Ragab is an Egyptian architect based out of California, with over a decade of experience in computational architecture. Ragab took the internet by storm with his AI-based creations early on, making some unusually beautiful building facades using AI text-to-image tools. Over the months, he’s also experimented with AI videos, using tools to turn human movement into architecture (Ragab captured Michael Jackson’s dance and turned each frame into a modern building. He also did a similar exercise with a ballerina’s dance). His secret sauce, however, remains the fact that along with Midjourney, he’s also using his own custom blend of AI tools by training machines on his own architectural works over the past decade. Head to his Instagram to check out some AI architectural magic!

Arturo Tedeschi (@arturotedeschi)

Tedeschi has, for years, mastered the art of algorithmic design. It’s how nature thinks and works, he says, and using algorithms is his way of imitating nature’s balance between being artistic and efficient. A master of generative design (and an author of multiple books), he’s now begun shifting his focus on training and using AI tools to create designs. Arturo’s work isn’t simply limited to architecture, as he experiments with all sorts of AI tools and disciplines. He even recreated some MET Gala looks on his Instagram using Midjourney and is a master of understanding how to use AI to get just the right desired results. Visit his Instagram page to see what he’s up to and you can even sign up for his Domestika course of using Grasshopper’s algorithms for 3D modeling.

Shail Patel (@shael.ai)

Indian-origin Architectural Designer Shail Patel (who goes by @shael.ai on the gram) has a supremely good command over Midjourney, weaving together whimsical images of bubble homes and vehicles, vivid facades for luxury brand shops, and combining art and design in unusual ways. Shail’s designs are almost always grandiose, but have an element about them that still brings a childlike curiosity, whether it’s bubble-shaped designs, or entire fashion gowns made out of greenery. Shail’s always creating vivid new pieces of work on his Instagram page.

Ulises Design Studio (@ulises.ai)

If you love Shail’s work, you’re sure to find the Ulises.AI Instagram account just as fascinating. The Berlin-based studio specializes in ideating and realizing concepts using AI, and has collaborated with ArchDaily and its subsidiary website, DesignBoom. A lot of their work exists within the realm of architecture as they explore new materials, styles, and even architectural movements by using AI. Check out their Instagram page to see the kind of world we’d live in, if the folks at Ulises had their way!

Str4ngething (@str4ngething)

The Banksy of this list, Str4ngeThing is a faceless, identity-less being (or a group of beings) that blends the lines between fashion and architecture, simultaneously merging haute style with Renaissance elements. It’s very difficult to build a “style” while using AI tools (because the AI will use its entire database to make a variety of designs across multiple styles), but Str4ngeThing does that pretty well, with this visual niche of theirs. In fact, this eclectic blend has earned them features in Vogue, Hypebeast, High Snobiety, and even on leading NFT platforms. What really sets Str4ngeThing apart from other artists on this list is their careful blend of two distinct styles that help create something totally avant-garde. In their own way, they’ve reinvented the Renaissance and Art Noveau movements, bringing AI to them. Check out their brilliant work on their Instagram account.

The post Top 5 Midjourney Artists using Artificial Intelligence to push the boundaries of creativity first appeared on Yanko Design.

3D Printing meets traditional Italian glassmaking techniques with this innovative lighting design!

Posted on 07/11/2020 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

Light fixtures have the potential to give your room the accent piece needed to completely open it up with just the right amount of warm, soft light or bursts of ample, bright light. Designing new and unique light fixtures is no easy feat though and the designers behind HorizON, a suspension lamp with an elliptical form designed and constructed in Italy’s glass-making capital, Murano, took it upon themselves to completely reimagine the future of lighting design.

On the inspiration behind HorizON, the designers say, “HorizON lamp is based on the belief that the industry of the next years won’t only evolve through a constant, technological upgrade of products, but reconsider values such as uniqueness, hand-making, and even ‘imperfection.’” Through HorizON, the creators reconsider design values by transmuting classic, craftsman artistry with 21st-century technological capabilities. HorizON’s final product is comprised of two main parts: a glass bubble crafted through a tried-and-true glassmaking tradition that enwraps its 3D-printed, LED-filled centerpiece.

HorizON’s ultimate glass bubble forms from two separate halves that are individually shaped, ground, and polished by hand in order to resemble two individual, transparent petals. Sculpting the glass petals into their final forms takes upwards of two days to finish. Once the hot glass is shaped and ground into a flower petal, the glassmakers take at least one day for the glass to cool down before polishing it to completion. The glassmaker utilizes CNC-milled molds in order to produce the wavy, dangling glass. CNC-milled molds follow a sculpting process that essentially chisels away at masses of the desired material, which emphasizes both meticulousness through learned craftsmanship and freeform thanks to the human touch. Through this handmade design and construction process, each final piece of artwork is distinct and filled with sought-after imperfections. In between the two glass petals hovers the fixture’s 3D-printed core, which illuminates come night from integrated LED lighting mechanisms.

The bright light emanates from inside golden clouds that meet the outer edges of the 3D-printed core’s semi-transparent, nylon lining. Internal cavities dot the design’s core and offer unique glimmers of light and shadows for your room that change with each manufactured HorizON suspension lamp. Love is in the imperfections with this suspended light fixture design and thankfully, there are as many imperfections as there are reasons for them.

Designers: Arturo Tedeschi, Michael Pryor and Pavlina Vardoulaki

Full Dimension: 460 x 320 mm, Maximum Thickness: 55 mm

LED strip: 3.5 mm/24V/3000K, Lamp’s total weight: 2kg

This futuristic Volkswagen DJ-inspired car’s roof lets music lovers display their beats

Posted on 01/05/2020 by Ruchi Thukral

We love concept designs here, in fact, Yanko Design started out with a passion for concepts! And concept cars always catch my attention because they give you a glimpse of the kind of future we always see in movies. Or even the Jetsons which was a futuristic cartoon (does anyone remember?) that showed compact flying cars and that’s what I first thought of when I saw IRIS, a conceptual Volkswagen electric car. It may not fly but it instantly tells you that it was made for a sustainable future.

The interesting thing about IRIS is that designer Arturo Tedeschi used tools like DJs do with instruments and samplers. “IRIS is the output of a cross over between algorithmic design, virtual reality, and videogames,” says Tedeschi. I can see the DJ aesthetic with the neon lights and it works – crank up the volume and you’ve got yourself a show on the road. The project beautifully merges unlimited potentials of algorithmic modeling to create freeform shapes rendered in real-time with realistic materials featuring the famous game-engine. “The light gradient is created by moving the hand controllers like a magic wand and the wheel rims are generated trough a vortex animation of fluid material,” says the team while explaining their design and development process.

This two-seater has been envisioned to be an electric car with a futuristic aesthetic that balances smooth curves and angular elements. You can truly see the designers’ process while they tried to put their thoughts on paper through hand-drawn sketches, reality control (MindeskVR), algorithmic modeling, and finally rendering – the team is not shy to show it all and inspire more designers to take things up a notch! IRIS was modeled to fit the Volkswagen range and the team had the honor of digitally presenting it to Volkswagen at the ‘Future Technology for Car Design’ event held this month.

Designers: Arturo Tedeschi and Maurizio Degni