Brand Founder Academy You're the critic, not the designer
AI makes the pictures. Your job is to judge them. Point AI at your name and brand, let it do the heavy lifting, then run every image through the two questions below. Cut anything that fails, and keep going until someone who doesn't know you would believe the product already exists.
The bar: both questions, every time
- Would a design site feature it?Would a site like thedieline.com actually post this? Clean, premium and deliberate, not almost there.
- Does it look like its own brand?Or does it look like generic packaging anyone could own? If it could be anyone's, cut it.
Name the flaw on every reject
Saying the flaw out loud is what trains your eye. For every image you cut, name the one thing that gives it away.
- Fake or plastic finish
- The material looks wrong: too shiny or too soft.
- Warped logo
- The mark bends, smears or loses its edges.
- Nonsense text
- Letters that aren't real words, or a label you can't read.
- Wrong material
- A kraft pouch, a busy label, or packaging that isn't your format.
- Too generic
- Nothing about it says your brand. It could be a stock photo.
- Obvious AI lighting
- Impossible reflections, blurry edges, that plastic render shine.
- Product keeps changing
- The pack changes shape or color from one shot to the next.
The call
Keep or cut. No maybes.
One strong shot beats four weak ones. If you can't decide, cut it.
The three-step method
Work in this order
- Let AI do the heavy lifting.Ask for a batch, not one image. Make lots of options fast and cheap.
- Be the critic.Run every image through the two questions. Name the flaw. Keep or cut.
- Lock the master image.Pick the single best shot. Make every other shot using it as the reference, so the whole set matches: same pack, same colors, same finish, same light.
Rules at the idea stage
Keep it cheap and honest
- These images are for seeing and sharing the idea, not for selling.
- Still $0 on inventory. No print run, no order, no supplier.
- No checkout. The one-page pitch only collects a waitlist.
- This is a working look book, not a final catalog. You can change all of it later.