Chicago Creative AI Meetup

The ability to work with emotion is nothing short of a superpower in Creative AI. This insight traces back to Aristotle, who identified pathos (emotion) as a foundational element of persuasive communication alongside logos (logic) and ethos (credibility). Today, research continues to affirm this ancient wisdom. A WARC study found that 54 percent of the most successful advertising campaigns used emotion as a central creative strategy, and work by Les Binet and Peter Field shows that emotional messaging in B2B advertising is seven times more effective than rational appeals alone.

In this session, we will begin with a brief overview of emotion models and affective computing, then dive into the Valence, Arousal, and Dominance (VAD) axes of emotion. This framework offers a practical way to shape emotionally resonant prompts across leading AI tools.

Please bring your laptop to participate in hands-on creative exercises.

After the session, you are welcome to join us for lunch at one of the many great spots along Lincoln Avenue.

The picture above was generated using the VAD emotional axes: Valence -0.5, Arousal +0.25, and Dominance +0.25. It uses Fujifilm Provia film stock to match the emotional tone of the VAD.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the creative world, opening up new possibilities for generating original content in text, images, music, and video. But turning this cutting-edge technology into a real creative advantage depends on one key skill: your ability to communicate effectively with AI. This communication happens through "prompts," the instructions or questions you give to guide the system’s output. Crafting effective prompts, known as prompt engineering, is both an art and a science. It's not just about what you ask, but how you ask it so the AI can deliver results that are creative, targeted, and aligned with your vision. In this session, you'll learn the essential principles of prompt engineering that apply across all creative AI tools, giving you a strong foundation to unlock AI's full potential in your work.

Please bring your laptop to take part in hands-on creative exercises.

After the session, you're welcome to join us for lunch at one of the many great spots along Lincoln Avenue.

Prompt for image above: "A photograph of a barista serving coffee, tense atmosphere, slightly nervous expression, subtle disappointment on face, dim warm lighting, blurred background of a busy café, shallow depth of field, realistic textures, candid moment, 50mm lens, cinematic composition, slight motion blur."

Discover how to elevate your creative process using image prompting in Midjourney. This session will introduce participants to the core techniques for incorporating visual references into their prompts to achieve more consistent, expressive, and customized results.

You'll learn how to:

• Use Style References to match the aesthetic of another image.
• Apply Omni References to insert specific people or objects into your scene.
• Utilize Character References to maintain character consistency across multiple images.
• Explore with Describe to generate new prompts based on existing images.
• Using Personalization as a style assistant for your image creations.

Whether you're a beginner or looking to expand your skill set, this session will help you harness the full potential of Midjourney’s image-based features to bring your creative vision to life.

Please bring your laptop to take part in hands-on creative exercises.

After the session, you're welcome to join us for lunch at one of the many great spots along Lincoln Avenue.

Prompt for image above: "Close up, street style, A Buddhist monk meditating, in a monastery, Fujifilm 110mm, Extremely Deep, low key, horizontal lines, natural light."