Darren Smith first came under fire this week, after it emerged that he had used generative AI tools to help design characters used in promotional posters and social media posts.
Complaints flooded in from local artists and residents, who believe that a festival which celebrates local artists and traditions should have made more of an effort to utilise the skills of local artists, and the festival was forced to make a statement.
Darren, an established graphic designer and festival board member, however, claims that the use of AI tools has streamlined the organising of the festival and eased the burden on the team of volunteers who organise the event.
Darren Smith (second from right) is an established graphic designer with his firm Sweet Creative, but has come under fire for his use of AI-generated assets (C) Leith Festival Association
Speaking today, he said he used AI to generate different characters, slowly refining the assets through prompts, and then using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to standardise the colouring. He would then add text and format the posts.
He said that using AI tools to design parts of the branding this way was far less labour intensive and expensive than sourcing the stock images and vectors.
He said: “People think, reading online, that I’ve just gone into ChatGPT and went, ‘create me this image with Eat Sleep Leith Repeat (the festival’s tagline) on it’. That is not the case, I spent about 20 hours putting all this together.
“I’ve taken the original AI image, I’ve went through three processes to get to that single colour, and then I’ve added all the type and the logos on top, using software programs like Illustrator or Photoshop.
“The backlash has been difficult. I’ve not copied anyone’s work, I’ve not created something horrible, I’ve not hurt anybody.
“All I was trying to achieve was to create some funky characters that I could use for this market project.”
The festival gave a statement online when pressure began to mount, saying: “We strongly believe that arts/design/creatives can never be replaced, but also feel that with modern technology, there can be room for a little creative technological innovation too.”
Replying to the statement, many questioned why they did not call for volunteer artists to help design assets instead.
Speaking today, Amy Liston, an Edinburgh-based artist, described her frustration with the festival’s use of AI:
“I think as a local artist it was initially a shock when they started advertising with AI a few months back, but what really shocked me was despite the amount of us who called it out, they ignored everyone until the statement this week when it’s much too late to rectify.
“I understand being on a volunteer basis, but I know myself and countless others would rather volunteer our time and expertise to create something for them that is real, authentic and not morally skewed.
“Especially as it is hosted in a wonderful green space in the heart of Leith – it feels contradictory when using gallons of water on generative AI marketing that doesn’t even look good.
“I love our wee Leith community and what this festival sets out to do, it’s just a shame that even in this week’s statement they can’t even really acknowledge that they went about it wrong.”
She added: “Just hope they actually take things on board for next year.”
Darren said that he would welcome volunteers to create assets for the festival next year. This year, however, he says it wasn’t possible, as the marketing theme had been set at the start of the year.
He said: “Before January, we had lots of board meetings, we sat down and we came up with Eat, Sleep, Leith, Repeat – we’d already done it by the start of the year.
“Sometimes you have to act fast, so I generated the first batch of images, and everybody loved it.
“I’m in charge of the marketing every year, so if I’ve got the board behind me, then I’m happy, I’m feeling confident, and I can crack on and get things done.”
He added that the criticism had had a profound impact on his mental health:
“I think the festival has been going for 119 years this year, and as I say, we’re all volunteers, we do this for the love of the festival.
“It’s hard to organise and it’s getting harder every year – just like everything in life.”
On the backlash, he said: “I wouldn’t say it’s been derogatory, but it hasn’t helped things – my mental health has been affected by because I started doubting myself.
“How can these people be so horrible when they don’t know the actual background of why I did it and who I am.”
The Leith Festival was founded in 1907, and has maintained the pageant and gala day traditions for almost 120 year.
The Gala will take place on the Leith Links on 13 June this year and will feature a range of live music, entertainment, food stalls, games, and stalls.
The Leith Community Pageant is one of the longest-running community events in the city and invites the people of Leith to join a parade which marches from Taylor Gardens, through the heart of Leith to the Shore.
The festival concludes with the Leith Festival Community Tattoo, which brings together pipe bands, highland dancing, and performances from a range of different cultures.
The festival depends largely on the support of local businesses and sponsors to keep going.
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