“Myself in the multiverse”: designer Charles Kalpakian talks getting acquainted with ai

Across furniture, space and interiors, the work of architectural designer Charles Kalpakian is unmistakable.

Born in Beirut, his work incorporates a cutting edge approach to design with a deep knowledge of classical forms, much of it drawn from both his Lebanese and French roots. It gives his output a timeless appeal; rich in historical influence while at times almost futuristic in its elegance. Whether creating bespoke sofas or geometric mirror sculptures, he is a designer unafraid of stepping beyond rigid categories. From wall lights to wood carvings, his body of work is both consistent and vast.

More recently, AI has been introduced to his process – both on a personal level, and as part of the Charles Kalpakian studio, where he works alongside a larger team. As exactly.ai grows its community, we were excited to learn Charles had recently used the platform for the first time, so caught up with him to discuss his experience – and the role he anticipates AI will play in his work going forward.

You’re what most people would call a multi-disciplinary designer – how do you describe your creative practice?

I'm actually a product designer, but I’ve worked mostly, for about 15 years now, as a creative director or art director. Since last month, I’ve mostly been working with a museum, making their content inclusive for all people. It’s with this company that I started to use Midjourney. But as a product designer I also have a lot of links with graphic design, typography, and much more.

What role does AI play in the processes of your studio currently?

For the process it's very simple. We have a budget, we have a deadline, and then we have the personnel in the studio. Nowadays, work is not consistent. Sometimes you need a freelancer for one or two months; sometimes you need an intern; sometimes you need graphic designers. And then we have the main core of the team. You can't expend as before COVID because the market is such a rollercoaster. You have to be very quick and very clever. And more efficient.

So I draw, I make 3D renderings, and now I have another skill: AI. I'm happy because, in the end, I'm 42. I think if I miss it now, I’ll be out of a job.

Having AI to help can be very important. When we kickoff with the client, we have a big workshop. AI comes in when we need quick input. For example: we have a project and I want to make some renderings – but making 3D renderings takes a long time. So I’ve learnt how to make a good prompt and earn back some time.

I'd love to know a little more about the images you generated using exactly.ai. What was the inspiration behind them and what do you think you'll do with the images next?

It's a project linked to my Graphic Novel that I started a year ago, it's about "contemplative journey in my graphic universe ". I use exactly.ai as part of my research for this project.

What have been your experiences with the AI tools you’ve used so far?

The problem with Midjourney is that you start to do something, and if you take the wrong approach, you can lose what you’ve done – so you have to restart. It's more difficult to keep the style, and this is the most important thing for me. Then I used Stable Diffusion, but it's more complicated to install. So when someone showed me exactly.ai and I saw the interface… It looks like Pinterest! It's very user friendly. Also, I like that I can have a private channel. For the moment, I don’t want people to see my style.

The funny thing is, for me, I see AI more as an assistant. Before, when an architect started work, they used to stand with a pencil and make a plan. Today it's all on the computer and nobody says anything about it! Nobody makes plans drawing by hand anymore, you know? I see it like this.

Do you discuss AI with your clients?

It depends. For example, I work with a furniture brand. For the moment, I won’t tell them that I’ve designed certain things with AI, because that will give them the idea that they can do it on their own, you understand? They think they don’t need us. But for brands we deliver the content for – we print it, we make online – it's different because we have control. The furniture brand, we can't control, because we’re not the producer of the end product.

[In general] the designer should be attentive and find ways to bring AI to the brand – to work together, to have a different partnership. The business model is different. There's a good way to use it and a bad way to use it.

Obviously if you're stealing the creative asset and not paying the creator, that's a bad way to use it.

You become a franchise. So you need to make a contract to licence your trademarks or business model. I have seen lots of copies of my furniture around the world, but I can't sue everybody! It's funny, because on their website they will even say “inspired by Charles Kalpakian.” This could also happen with the bad use of AI, they will say, but “no, it's not Charles, it's inspired by!” So you can't sue them.

I think, for the artist, we need a safe place. It's already complicated to be a creative person in the market now. And when you have your own style, you want to protect it.

So copyright is your main concern, when it comes to AI?

It should be fair. At the end of the day, AI needs us to learn, and we need AI to do what we want, you know? And it's not just for now. It’s the base for the future. For example, if an agency goes to exactly.ai, see a style that they like, me, for example – can they use my style or not?

No, only if you publish it. It's your decision. You can keep it to yourself, if you're not looking for a job, for example. But if you want to rent it out, you can publish it. We wanted to make a tool for everyone to use, but we made it clear that the model that you create – that's capable of producing images in your style – belongs to you.

Okay, that’s interesting.

I had one more question. In a broader sense, what excited you about the prospect of AI in the first place?

The unlimited imagination. I have a very nice digital footprint on the internet. I remember when I first used AI, with my name. I saw the results and I was shocked. You know? I started, it was 10:00 PM. I said, “I will do 30 minutes because I don't have lots of time,” and I finished at 02:00 AM. I made, like, a hundred pages. I remember I showed it to a client I was working with. I inputted “make an interior like the wall light of Charles Kalpakian,” and I showed him the result. He was like, wow. Lots of people [who saw the images] asked me if they could go to my place to take some photos! It helped me a lot. I use it like… myself in the multiverse.