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wild lab / The first draft was bad · Vol. 01

Velawild lab · The first draft was bad

Art direction for AI product images of a candle brand

The first draft was bad. On purpose.

Full transparency first: our first two routes for Vela already looked good. So we started a third route with a deliberately weak prompt, to show what art direction actually does with AI images. The rough draft is staged; every step after it is a real edit.

  • Art direction
  • AI product images
  • Branding

Invented brand, made with AI. Concept, branding and art direction by wild & co.

Version historyRoute C

Routes A and B already looked good. We started route C badly on purpose, so you can see what happens afterwards.

Version 01 of Vela, briefed weakly on purpose: harsh orange light, dried flowers and a vase, thin glass, giant lettering
  • Dried flowers, a vase: noise
  • Harsh orange light
  • Wax too high and flat
  • Oversized wordmark
  • Thin-looking glass
v01 · staged

Edit by edit · route C

Edit by edit

Briefed badly. On purpose.

  • A deliberately weak prompt that orders the mistakes along with it.

The rough draft is staged. We deliberately under-directed the start; the AI didn’t fail on its own.

The brand · Vela

Heavy glass, calm light.

Vela is an invented candle brand: a clear, heavy-walled glass with a thick base, ivory wax below the rim and a cotton wick. On the front sits a small paper label with an embossed edge and black serif type; the box is graphite card.

  • Charcoal#151719
  • Ivory#F1E9DA
  • Graphite#262526
  • Flame#B8793F
  • Cool rim#B4BDC3
Vela slide 12: the Vela wordmark on ivory, five colour dots and “Ivory, wax, amber, graphite.” beside candle and box
Ivory, wax, amber, graphite.

The reference for every picture after it

One final version, every picture after it.

The final key visual fixed glass, wax, label and light. Every further angle was generated on its own and then matched to the centred label position.

  1. Vela in side profile on a dark stone ledge, heavy glass and a calm flame against a black background
    01ASide profile
  2. Vela from above: the melt pool, cotton wick and flame inside the heavy glass, the label at the edge
    02ATop view
  3. Vela detail: the heavy glass base, the paper label with embossed edge and warm reflections on the stone
    03AGlass base
  4. A hand lights the Vela candle with a match, a quiet evening by the window
    04AThe ritual
  5. Vela on the window sill, the city lights outside in the blue hour
    05AThe window
  6. Vela beside a closed linen book in soft light, the candle unlit
    06AStill life
Unboxing Vela: a hand lifts the glass out of the graphite box, the lid with the wordmark beside it
The box opens

The object

Graphite card, a small serif.

The box repeats the label: quiet, centred, embossed. Graphite card, a light wordmark, nothing else.

Vela burning beside the closed graphite box with its light wordmark, on dark stone
Candle and box

How we built it

Edit, look, decide, repeat.

The first draft was bad is a new series about what happens between the first image and the finished motif. Vela’s starting point: harsh orange light, dried flowers and a vase as noise, thin-looking glass, wax too high and flat, a giant wordmark across the front. Then came three decisions, only one per edit: light and set, glass and wax, brand hierarchy.

Every edit builds on the one before. First, out with everything that distracts, so the flame can lead. Then heavier walls, a lower wax line and a real melt pool. Finally the big lettering became a small embossed paper label, and the label moved until it sat right in the centre. The final version became the reference for every picture after it: side profile, top view, the ritual, the window, the box.

Vela is fictional. All images are AI-generated; the rough draft was staged deliberately.

Vela moodboard: crystal glass, ivory wax, dark stone, an embossed label, a graphite box and a flame
Moodboard · glass, wax, stone, label, box, flame
  1. BriefA candle brand as a case study for art direction with AI images, as the first episode of The first draft was bad.
  2. Rough draftA third route, briefed weakly on purpose and openly labelled as staged.
  3. EditsLight and set, then glass and wax, then label and brand hierarchy, one decision per step.
  4. DesignA black serif wordmark on ivory, a palette of charcoal, ivory, graphite, flame and cool rim.
  5. Visual worldThe key visual as reference, plus side profile, top view, ritual, window, still life and box.

Generating is easy. Directing is the work.

Brand
Vela, invented
Series
The first draft was bad, Vol. 01
Carousel
15 slides, 1 animation
Rough draft
Staged on purpose, real edits after it

What this means for your brand

An AI image takes seconds. Whether it looks like your brand is decided afterwards: light, material, physics, hierarchy. That is exactly the work we do, traceable and step by step, so you end up with a key visual every further picture can build on.

AI imagery & AI video for your brand Guide: AI images for business

Your second draft

Your first draft doesn’t have to be the last.

You have AI images that are almost there? We take over the art direction, decision by decision, until they look like your brand.

Write us for your project