Personal Project: Exploring AI Content Generation

After transitioning back to an individual contributor role, I used the opportunity to reconnect with hands-on design and development through a personal project. To generate content at scale, I experimented with AI models to automatically create event summaries, categorize performances, and surface venue details, in theory reducing the manual effort of curation while maintaining a human-friendly tone. This project allowed me to dust off my design and development skills, as well as explore the boundaries of AI-assisted content design.

Inspiration and Concept

Lansing’s distinct mix of counterculture grit, economic contrasts, and vibrant diversity provided the backdrop for creative exploration. Inspired by the city’s character - and a resurgence of ‘90s aesthetics - I set out to design a site that reflected this unique energy while serving as a sandbox for experimenting with both modern and retro design and development trends.

Design Process

• Mood Board Creation: Started with a FigJam mood board filled with ‘90s cultural artifacts - trapper keepers, concert posters, and album covers - to capture the era’s DIY, maximalist design ethos.
• Aesthetic Direction: Chose a bold, colorful visual style inspired by underground grunge aesthetics and the amateur, experimental spirit of ‘90s design. This approach not only fit the tone of the local scene but also addressed practical constraints, like the lack of high-quality artwork and the challenge of photographing poorly lit venues.

Development Journey

• Web Development Refresher: This project served as a hands-on return to web development. I modified WordPress theme templates, wrote custom CSS, and refreshed my knowledge of responsive design principles.
• Flexbox & CSS Grid Exploration: I used this opportunity to gain practical experience with modern layout techniques like Flexbox and CSS Grid - tools that had matured while I was in a leadership role. This also helped deepen my understanding of how these concepts inform modern UI tools like Figma.
• AI Tools as Creative Assistants: A core goal of the project was to explore AI’s role in design and development workflows. I used ChatGPT extensively for troubleshooting, learning WordPress plugin development, and generating localized content about artists and events - treating AI as both a technical partner and creative collaborator.

Outcome

Although the site is no longer active, LoveLansing.com served its purpose as a creative and technical sandbox - a space to learn, experiment, and embrace unconventional approaches to design and development. The project allowed me to explore AI-assisted content workflows, refresh my front-end skills, and reconnect with hands-on problem-solving.

While it may return in the future - possibly with deeper AI integration and more automation around event discovery and curation - its value as a personal development exercise has already been realized. The site was never promoted publicly, so the project is missing real market and user feedback; however it succeeded as a meaningful opportunity for me to stretch creatively and technically.