NightBloom Case Study
Discover your imagination — Midjourney search engine.
NightBloom is a personal project I’ve recently built after recognizing how difficult it is to search Midjourney images.
Team
James Kouzinas | Design and Product
Kingsley Hendrickse | Engineer
Problem
AI tools are taking the world by storm, and naturally, people are gravitating towards image creation solutions like Midjourney and Dalle-2, looking for interesting ways to unleash their creativity.
For businesses of all sizes, a unique opportunity has been discovered — high-quality, customized images can be created with a few simple prompts. This is quick and cost-effective, and thus, appealing.
Of the AI image generators currently in the market, Midjourney has emerged as a clear leader in generating high-quality imagery.
However, users have expressed frustration with Midjourney’s search engine that accompanies their image generation tool.
Prompts
It's driven by prompts that are difficult to produce without guidance. The quality of the prompt drastically alters the output.
Lack of style filters
There are no style filters. This makes it difficult for a user to simply 'browse' and discover styles.
Solution
NightBloom seeks to offer users the ability to search Midjourney’s rich image catalog by using keywords.
Our sophisticated search engine will generate imagery based on keyword input, ensuring the user is provided with the images they are seeking.
Furthermore, NightBloom will offer users ‘Style Guides’, allowing users to kickstart their search without too much thought.
Key features include the following:
Keyword search
Users simply insert keywords descriving the image they are seeking, and the NightBloom engine will return the results.
Image exploration
Users can click into images, unearthing details about the parent/seed image, as well as functionality like saving, sharing, and similar style exploration.
Design
Leveraging Material v3, all surfaces and components have elevation. To communicate elevation, color is used, instead of shadows.
Coral gradients have been used to accentuate CTAs, drawing attention to important elements for user interaction.
Careful consideration has been given to accessibility — button sizing, component spacing, and icon sizing have been delivered according to material v3 guidelines.
Engineering
We built the application using RUST — Superior memory management was a driving factor.
Demographics
Age range: 22-45 years old
Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in graphic design, digital media or related field
Professional background: freelance graphic designers, in-house graphic designers for companies, design agencies
Skillset: proficient in Adobe Creative Suite or similar graphic design software, knowledge of design principles and color theory
Motivations: seeking to create visually appealing designs efficiently and effectively, staying up-to-date with latest design trends and techniques, delivering high-quality work to clients
Challenges: limited time to create designs from scratch, difficulty in generating new and creative ideas, need for a quick source of inspiration
Summary
Graphic designers are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to create visual designs. They would find Midjourney’s AI image generator to be a valuable tool for quickly generating images for their projects. They could use NightBloom to find specific images or inspiration for their designs and use the style guides to experiment with new and creative styles.
Age range: 25-45 years old
Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in marketing, digital media or related field
Professional background: in-house digital marketers for companies, marketing agencies, freelance digital marketers
Skillset: knowledge of marketing principles and strategy, experience in creating and executing digital marketing campaigns
Motivations: creating visually engaging content for their campaigns, meeting target audience’s needs and preferences, staying ahead of the competition
Challenges: limited time to create visually appealing content, difficulty in generating unique and creative ideas, need for a fast and efficient way to generate images for campaigns
Summary: Digital marketers are responsible for creating engaging and visually appealing content for their campaigns. They would benefit from Midjourney’s AI image generator, as it would provide them with a quick and efficient way to generate images for their campaigns. They could use NightBloom to find images that align with their marketing message and use the style guides to create eye-catching images that stand out.
Age range: 22-35 years old
Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in journalism, creative writing or related field
Professional background: bloggers, vloggers, freelance writers, and content creators for websites and platforms
Skillset: strong writing and communication skills, knowledge of digital media and content creation
Motivations: creating visually appealing content to complement their writing, attracting and engaging their target audience, growing their audience and brand
Challenges: limited time to create images from scratch, difficulty in finding visually appealing images to complement their content, need for a quick and easy way to generate images for their content.
Summary: Content creators, such as bloggers and vloggers, often need to create images for their articles and videos. They would appreciate Midjourney’s AI image generator, as it would save them time and effort in creating images from scratch. They could use NightBloom to find images that complement their content and use the style guides to experiment with different styles and visuals.