The rule I broke
I fell in love with the solution, not the problem.
My rule is to fall in love with the problem, not the solution. With Bespoke I did the opposite. The real problem was artisans connecting with the people who’d buy their work. Both versions chased an idea that looked great, without checking that anyone wanted it.
Then and now
The idea
Pick what you like, and an artisan makes it.
The first Bespoke started with one line. A ring, for my engagement in Lake Tahoe, for my artsy fiancée. It made nine images and you X’d out the ones you didn’t like. Between rounds it asked questions like “Do you not like silver?” and kept a list of what you wanted and didn’t, which you could edit. Every answer went back into the prompt. When you found the one, you sent it out and artisans bid to make it.
From one line to the one
- ready · press run, or hover any part of the system
What I was thinking
React to images instead of writing a brief.
People know what they like when they see it, even when they can’t describe it. So instead of writing a brief, you’d type one line and react to images. Every X and every answer sharpened the prompt until you found the one.
Wireframe to design
The wireframes I started from, and the screens they became.
The prompt
Before · Wireframe 
Now · Design Narrowing it down
Before · Wireframe 
Now · Design Asking as it goes
Before · Wireframe Now · Design
Why it wouldn't work
It took the artisan out of the design.
Artisans make the things they enjoy making, and then sell them. Sometimes a client is part of the process, but the design is still theirs. Bespoke AI handed them a buyer’s finished idea and asked them to build it, which takes away the creative freedom that makes their work worth buying. And the images came from AI, which knows nothing about an artisan’s materials, tools, or limits. It wasn’t realistic to expect a piece that looked like the picture, or even close.
