AI-generated posters don’t have to be horrible

AI 生成的海报不必非得那么糟糕

The problem: A now famous Facebook post shows us the scourge of identikit posters generated by AI. Here’s an article on the subject from the Independent. A collage of AI-generated village fayre posters found online. Here’s another I found in the wild. With apologies for picking on the Leamington Beer Festival - they are by no means unique. 问题所在：一篇在 Facebook 上走红的帖子向我们展示了 AI 生成的“千篇一律”海报的泛滥。这是《独立报》关于该主题的一篇文章。网上随处可见 AI 生成的乡村集市海报拼贴画。这是我在野外发现的另一张。向被我“点名”的利明顿啤酒节（Leamington Beer Festival）致歉——这种情况绝非他们一家独有。

The problem with these is not so much that they’re bad. They’re OK, I don’t love them. The problem is that once you’ve seen that style 20 times it starts to irritate just from the sheer repetition. I knew that even ChatGPT was capable of a broader variety of styles than this, so I set out to prove it. 这些海报的问题不在于它们有多糟糕。它们其实还行，虽然我并不喜欢。问题在于，当你看了 20 次同样的风格后，纯粹的重复感就会让人感到厌烦。我知道即使是 ChatGPT 也能生成比这更丰富的风格，所以我决定证明这一点。

I gave ChatGPT some invented event details and asked it to produce a poster. Rather than go with the default look it would choose for a spring fayre, I made a point of specifying what I thought was a different style: 我给 ChatGPT 提供了一些虚构的活动细节，并要求它制作一张海报。为了避免它选择春季集市的默认外观，我特意指定了一种我认为不同的风格：

Me: Produce a poster for a spring fayre. 21 April - 11am to 3pm, Mill Beach Park, Honeyford. Free entry. Tombola, Cakes and drinks, Performance by a samba band and a dhol band, Craft stalls, Circus Skills workshop. Go for a clean, unfussy, bright layout with a bold striking spring-themed graphic. Avoid pastel/airbrush/oil style art or images of people. 我：制作一张春季集市的海报。4 月 21 日，上午 11 点至下午 3 点，Mill Beach 公园，Honeyford。免费入场。设有抽奖、蛋糕和饮料、桑巴乐队和多尔鼓乐队表演、手工艺摊位、马戏技巧工作坊。布局要简洁、明快，配以醒目的春季主题图形。避免使用柔和色调/喷枪/油画风格的艺术作品或人物图像。

This is what came back. First attempt — the default craft-fayre template. Not as successful as I hoped. To me it still feels like what I’m trying to avoid. I asked for something deliberately different. 这是它给出的结果。第一次尝试——默认的手工艺集市模板。效果不如我预期的成功。对我来说，它依然是我试图避免的那种风格。于是我要求它做出一些刻意的改变。

Me: Make another one using a completely different design aesthetic of your choice. Treat the current one as a “what not to do” – not that there is anything wrong with it, but we want ours to stand out from other posters that look similar. 我：换一种你选择的完全不同的设计美学再做一张。把刚才那张当作“反面教材”——并不是说它有什么问题，但我们希望我们的海报能从其他类似的海报中脱颖而出。

Second attempt — Bauhaus / geometric modernist. I think this is already much better. It stands out just by being different. I wondered what I would call this style if I wanted to ask for it again? 第二次尝试——包豪斯/几何现代主义风格。我认为这已经好多了。仅仅因为它的与众不同，它就显得很突出。我在想，如果我想再次要求这种风格，我该怎么称呼它呢？

Me: What is this design style you’ve used called? 我：你使用的这种设计风格叫什么？

ChatGPT: This one is leaning into a modernist / Bauhaus-influenced graphic style, with a bit of contemporary “flat illustration” layered on top. More specifically, you could describe it as: Bauhaus / Modernist Poster Design. Rooted in the Bauhaus tradition (1920s–30s), strong emphasis on function over decoration, asymmetrical layout with clear hierarchy, bold, simple sans-serif typography, limited, high-contrast colour palette. Geometric Minimalism: Built from basic shapes (circles, semicircles, rectangles), the flower is abstracted into almost symbolic forms, very little texture or shading — mostly flat colour. Swiss Style (International Typographic Style) influence: Clean grid-based alignment (even if loosely applied), information-first layout, clear, legible structure. ChatGPT：这种风格倾向于现代主义/受包豪斯影响的图形风格，并叠加了一点当代“扁平插画”的元素。更具体地说，你可以将其描述为：包豪斯/现代主义海报设计。植根于包豪斯传统（20 世纪 20-30 年代），强调功能重于装饰，非对称布局且层次清晰，粗体、简洁的无衬线字体，有限的高对比度调色板。几何极简主义：由基本形状（圆形、半圆形、矩形）构成，花朵被抽象成近乎符号化的形式，几乎没有纹理或阴影——主要是平涂色彩。瑞士风格（国际字体风格）影响：基于网格的整洁对齐（即使应用得比较宽松），信息优先的布局，清晰易读的结构。

If you wanted a shorthand label for a designer or printer, you could call it: “Bauhaus-inspired geometric minimalist poster”. If you’re trying to stand out, this direction works well because most local event posters default to: bunting, hand-drawn florals, pastel palettes, “craft fair” aesthetics. Whereas this feels more like: a gallery poster, a design museum flyer, or something you’d see in a well-curated café. 如果你想给设计师或印刷商一个简短的标签，你可以称之为：“受包豪斯启发的几何极简主义海报”。如果你想脱颖而出，这个方向效果很好，因为大多数本地活动海报默认使用：彩旗、手绘花卉、柔和色调、“手工艺集市”美学。而这种风格感觉更像是：画廊海报、设计博物馆传单，或者你在精心布置的咖啡馆里看到的东西。

If you want, I can push it further into a really distinctive niche (e.g. brutalist, risograph, 90s rave flyer, Japanese minimal, etc.). 如果你愿意，我可以进一步将其推向一个非常独特的细分领域（例如粗野主义、孔版印刷、90 年代锐舞传单、日式极简主义等）。

Well, thanks GPT. I knew there was an endless array of design styles that it could produce. Instead of trying to dredge some names from my memory, I asked for suggestions. It replied with a list of styles, some of which I’d never heard of, some I recognised but couldn’t picture, some which were names I didn’t know for styles I did. 好吧，谢谢 GPT。我知道它能产生无穷无尽的设计风格。与其费力从记忆中搜寻名字，我直接向它寻求建议。它回复了一份风格列表，其中一些我从未听说过，一些我认得但无法想象出样子，还有一些是我熟悉但不知道名字的风格。

Me: Give me a list of styles to choose from. 我：给我一份可供选择的风格列表。

ChatGPT: Here’s a deliberately varied menu—some safe-but-distinct, some quite left-field. I’ve kept each one concrete so you can imagine how your fayre poster would actually look. ChatGPT：这是一份刻意多样化的菜单——有些稳妥但独特，有些则相当另类。我让每一项都具体化，这样你就能想象出你的集市海报实际看起来会是什么样。

🎨 Clean but Characterful (简洁但有个性)

1. Bauhaus / Modernist (What you just saw): Geometric shapes, primary colours, strong type. Feels cultural / design-led rather than “craft fair”.
2. 包豪斯/现代主义（你刚才看到的）：几何形状、原色、强有力的字体。感觉更具文化/设计感，而不是“手工艺集市”风。
3. Swiss Style: strict grid, lots of whitespace. Black/white + one accent colour. Very “information design”, almost institutional.
4. 瑞士风格：严格的网格，大量的留白。黑/白 + 一种强调色。非常有“信息设计”感，近乎机构化。
5. Contemporary Editorial (Magazine-style): Big headline, elegant serif + sans mix. Think weekend supplement or gallery leaflet. Could feel surprisingly premium for a fayre.
6. 当代编辑风格（杂志风）：大标题，优雅的衬衫与无衬线字体混合。想想周末副刊或画廊传单。对于集市来说，这会显得出奇地高级。

🌿 Graphic & Illustrative (but not twee) (图形与插画风，但不俗气) 4. Risograph Print Style: Limited ink colours, slightly misregistered layers. Grainy textures, bold shapes. Feels handmade but designed, not crafty. 4. 孔版印刷风格：有限的油墨颜色，轻微错位的图层。颗粒感纹理，大胆的形状。感觉像是手工制作但经过设计，而不是那种廉价的手工艺感。 5. Cut Paper / Collage (Matisse-inspired): Inspired by Henri Matisse cut-outs. Organic shapes, bold colour blocks. Very striking from a distance. 5. 剪纸/拼贴（受马蒂斯启发）：灵感来自亨利·马蒂斯的剪纸作品。有机形状，大胆的色块。从远处看非常醒目。 6. Botanical Scientific Illustration (Modernised): Clean line drawings of plants, labelled or diagram-like. Monochrome + one highlight colour. Quietly distinctive, slightly academic. 6. 植物科学插画（现代化）：简洁的植物线条画，带有标签或图表感。单色 + 一种高光色。低调独特，略带学术气息。

⚡ Bold / Unusual Directions (大胆/不寻常的方向) 7. Brutalist Graphic Design: Raw, high-contrast, almost “ugly on purpose”. Heavy black blocks, stark type. Feels rebellious—very different from typical village posters. 7. 粗野主义平面设计：原始、高对比度，近乎“刻意丑陋”。沉重的黑色块，严峻的字体。感觉叛逆——与典型的乡村海报截然不同。 8. 90s Rave Flyer / Acid Graphics: Neon colours, warped type, energetic layout. Could echo the samba/dhol energy. Surprisingly effective if done with restraint. 8. 90 年代锐舞传单/酸性图形：霓虹色、扭曲的字体、充满活力的布局。可以呼应桑巴/多尔鼓的能量。如果控制得当，效果会出奇地好。 9. Memphis Design (80s Postmodern): Playful shapes, squiggles, clashing colours. Inspired by Memphis Group. Fun but still graphic and bold. 9. 孟菲斯设计（80 年代后现代）：俏皮的形状、波浪线、冲突的色彩。灵感来自孟菲斯小组。有趣但依然具有图形感和冲击力。

🧭 Quietly Distinct / Understated (低调独特/内敛) 10. Japanese Minimal Poster: Very restrained layout, lots of empty space. One strong graphic element. Elegant, calm, and unusual in this context. 10. 日式极简海报：非常克制的布局，大量的留白。一个强有力的图形元素。优雅、冷静，在这种语境下很不寻常。 11. Monochrome + Single Accent (Ultra-minimal): Black, white, and e.g. bright green or orange. Typography-led, almost no illustration. Relies on composition rather than decoration. 11. 单色 + 单一强调色（超极简）：黑、白，加上例如亮绿色或橙色。以排版为主，几乎没有插画。依靠构图而非装饰。 12. Wayfinding / Signage Style: Looks like a park map or transport signage. Icons, arrows, structured layout. Functional but visually interesting. 12. 导视/标识风格：看起来像公园地图或交通标识。图标、箭头、结构化布局。功能性强，但在视觉上很有趣。

🎪 Slightly Playful but Still Clean (略带俏皮但依然简洁) 13. Modern Icon System: Everything represented as simple icons. Consistent stroke weight, grid-based. Feels like an app UI or transport system. 13. 现代图标系统：一切都用简单的图标表示。笔画粗细一致，基于网格。感觉像是一个应用程序界面或交通系统。 14. Stamp / Letterpress Style (Modernised): … 14. 印章/凸版印刷风格（现代化）：…