Hand-Crafting an AI Brand
Talking a little about a new brand we built. The link to the website is at the bottom.
The way Erika Stanley feels about AI is not the way I feel when I hear those two letters next to each other, which is that I feel like I really wish they were in reference to Allen Iverson.
Erika lights up when she talks about the way AI can empower female small business owners to compete on a more level playing field. She gets actually mad when discussing the tech equity gaps and intimidating jargon prevalent in the space. And she feels really, really excited about the possibilities of what women can do with AI.
With her experience building custom AI bots that helped her clients in ways that were hyper-specific to them, Erika came to realize she had a unique expertise and viewpoint to bring to the world of AI, and as a brand strategist herself she knew the power of working with partners like Kind & Funny to help bring her voice to life.
My notes from our Soul Search interview are full of words like “fun” and “play” and “exploration” right alongside quotes like, “I have a heart for women-owned businesses, and I don’t want them left behind.” Erika was so clear in her mission to demystify AI, to cultivate curiosity, and to focus on the possibilities of what people could do instead of what the technology does.
And so, Kelly & I designed a site that ignores the way AI usually looks in favor of a site that feels the way it feels to talk to Erika about AI.
It feels fun!
It feels like talking to the smartest, nicest person in your class, and they’re explaining something that sounded like blah blah blah when the teacher said it but now it completely makes sense because this friend has translated it into language meant for you.
And it feels like anything is possible, three words that in our household automatically trigger this:
One way Kelly made the brand fun was creating custom art by adding layers of color and dozens of individual squiggles to hand craft something that feels organically digital even though those words are pretty close to oxymorons.
We channeled the classroom hero by using “You”-centered language that focused on possibility, including my favorite line from Kelly, “AI as custom as your drink order.”
And to make it feel limitless Kelly brought in sky, a hallmark of her design style, as a canvas to play in Canva with flowers and arms and photo editing and the unexpected.
I say it’s time for you to go see www.erikastanley.com. Here’s a good soundtrack:
If you are curious at all, you should absolutely reach out to Erika. If you need a new brand, or a creative marketing campaign, or some strategic help, you should call us! jed@kindandfunny.com.