Consiglieri

Consiglieri is a marketing agency created by former executives from companies including T-Mobile, Nordstrom, Adobe, Nike, and HTC. They also have experience with agencies including Publicis, Omnicom, Razorfish, Slalom, and Deutsch.

The team was ready to modernize their website, and I was tasked with redesigning their website with a new CMS and leveraging AI to generate content for their branding.

There were two things that needed to happen at the same time: rebuild the website on a modern CMS that the Consiglieri team could manage themselves, and develop a visual identity that felt modern, bold, and distinctly their own.

The Website

I rebuilt the site from the ground up with Webflow. Every module was designed to be reusable so the team could assemble pages, add content, and rearrange layouts without touching code or needing to call me. New sections were also added for the team, job postings, and insights. All in all, the end goal was to hand them a site they could own and operate without additional support from me.

The Visual Identity (and the AI Experiment)

This is where it got interesting… Consiglieri wanted to push beyond generic stock photography, and they wanted to explore generative AI as a creative tool for developing the future version of their brand.

Using DALL-E and Midjourney, I worked through multiple rounds of iteration to develop imagery that matched the brand's personality… the creative direction they requested drew from 60s post-modernism, Bauhaus patterns, and the collage work of artists like Frank Moth… blending eccentricity with sophistication.

The process wasn't clean though. Early iterations featured professionals in hotel lobbies and meeting rooms, but the whole thing felt incredibly dated. I refined the direction towards a more modern studio and downtown setting with diverse individuals… but then we hit another wall: the AI-generated people looked too close to real humans, and it risked being confused with actual employees. We essentially hit the uncanny valley with where we were headed.

I suggested a pivot to steer away from actual people towards environmental imagery. With the new direction, I focused on modern office environments, design studios, and curated lifestyle compositions without people. The imagery felt intentional and elevated without the pitfalls of AI-generated faces. Once we paired the imagery with a cognac brown and vintage green color palette, the visual system became complete and made Consiglieri feel like we landed on a unique brand they could call their own.

The site went from undercutting Consiglieri's reputation to reinforcing it. Prospective clients now arrive understanding the caliber of the firm before a single conversation happens, and potential hires see a company that operates at a level worth joining.

The CMS gives the team full control over their content. Team members, job postings, case studies, and insights can all be published without the intervention of a developer. And the AI-generated visual identity gives them a brand aesthetic that's unique in their space.

This project also proved something I've continued to lean into: generative AI, used with clear creative direction and real iteration, can produce brand assets that compete with traditional photography at a fraction of the cost and time. The key with it all is knowing what to ask for and when to pivot… which is exactly the kind of judgment needed when working with AI tooling.

“Our company, Consiglieri, hired Empac Design to restructure and redesign our website to add a more professional, modern feel to the content. The Empac team was collaborative in the early design process, efficient with their work and reviews, and delivered a final product at an incredibly high standard. They continued to support us even after the new site launched to ensure our complete satisfaction. We'd highly recommend Empac for design!”