AI-Generated Laughs

Visual puns represent an artist’s way of understanding and representing concepts in multiple ways. In this introductory Photoshop project, preservice students explored how humor, language, and technology intersect by creating visual puns based on compound words. They also explored the emerging world of art made through collaboration with artificial intelligence (AI) in Adobe Photoshop’s image generator. Students experimented with two pieces based on the same compound word, one using digital photographic manipulation and the other using AI-generated imagery.

Project Takeaways
This project encouraged students to experiment with digital tools, composition, and the meaning behind images. It also introduced them to contemporary designers and digital artists who use humor and wordplay. Through this process, students investigated technology as part of an artistic practice. They considered how AI can serve as both a tool and a collaborator in creative expression while also revealing issues of bias and limitations in image generation.

Examining Punny Pixels
We explored examples of visual puns, starting with examples from @punnypixels (see Resources) by Singapore-based designers Eunice Ng and Nandini Trivedi. We examined how the artists moved beyond literal interpretations to consider the words within compound words and multiple meanings of words. Ng explains, “Our love for clever puns, wordplay, and graphic illustrations come together… It’s a visual play on puns, wordplay, and metaphors.”

We examined how contemporary digital tools, including Photoshop and AI, allow artists to push creative boundaries while also discussing biases that may exist in AI platforms and digital inconsistencies. We provided a list of compound words and phrases for students to use or they could find their own visual pun. They were asked to bring an object related to the phrase to photograph.

Digital Collages
For the second phase of the project, the teacher demonstrated photographing objects against a neutral backdrop with lighting sources. Students took turns photographing their objects and imported the images into Photoshop to manipulate their objects using masks, adjustments, and adding other images and backgrounds. Some students created collages of objects, while others manipulated their images so that the viewer may not even recognize the original object that was photographed, as in the small plush owl figure placed on a branch in (K)night Owl by Evie.

AI-Generated Images
For the third phase of the project, Photoshopʼs AI text-to-image generator was used to explore new iterations of the word or phrase. Students experimented with different combinations of words or details in prompts that affected the outcome of the image produced. Photoshop allows users to select a specific style, such as “cyberpunk” or “antique photo.” For example, Clara eventually succeeded with the phrase “cat with fishtail” for Cat Fish, but it only worked when she chose a specific style within the tool. Some students found that the AI tool easily replicates cultural stereotypes and visual culture imagery.

Reflection
The integration of Photoshop and AI allowed students to practice their technical skills in new ways. Lane’s Cow Boy image integrates the photographed object from Photoshop and AI in a collage-like composition. Creating visual puns allowed students to use humor to think critically about language, images, cultural references, and current events. Even as an introductory project, students were appropriately challenged and able to play with digital media, making the project feel more like discovery than work.