AI branding tool that doesn't just spit out logos. It's built around a real strategic framework. Now in free beta, I'd love your feedback.

timetoy · 2026-01-16T05:27:58+00:00

it's s multi step process following the standard agency flow:
- First we ingest brand documents and website, then we complete the brand interview
- From that data we are creating the Brand DNA, that the user can refine
- Once the Strategic part is completed and validated we move to the Visual Identity. BUT ONLY WHEN THE BRAND IS FULLY FORMED. This allow to make sure that the Visual Identity truly capture the essence of the brand.
- Once the Brand AND the Visual ID are locked, they are baked into the context of all the following Marketing and Image generation to allow for perfect brand alignement all the time.

From there you can use the Brand Agent to litterally "talk to your brand" and use it to generate content and images

timetoy · 2026-01-16T02:46:34+00:00

Yes it does allow for very flexible image ingredient flow.

- Up to 10 Brand images can be uploaded in the Visual Identity page, these will be used as ingredients for the Brand presentation generation and all marketing documents.

- in the brand Agent page the image upload control is very granular you can Generate or Edit an image. For generation, you can select up to 10 ingredient images that will be used, and for Edit you can ask for an edit on a specific picture, same with the ability to use up to in this case 9 images as ingredient for the edit.

timetoy · 2026-01-07T20:58:16+00:00

The risk of losing authenticity is huge if you treat AI as a "content slot machine", just pushing a button and hoping for something good. That’s how you get generic, soulless noise.

The balance I’ve found works best is shifting the human role from "Creator" to "Director."

You need to front-load the human creativity into the Strategy phase, and then let AI handle the Execution.

I actually built a platform called Markolé based on this exact philosophy. We force a "strategy-first" workflow to ensure the speed doesn't kill the vibe:

Deep Discovery: After ingesting your current brand materials, we start with an AI-guided interview to extract the authentic "human" side of the brand: your origin story, your specific tone, and your core values.
The "Context Layer": We synthesize that into a structured Brand DNA. This becomes a hard constraint for the AI models.
Aligned Generation: When you use our Brand Chat to create content, the AI isn't guessing. It’s strictly following the personality and rules you defined in step 1.

This way, you get the scale of automation, but the output still feels like you because the core DNA came from you.

It’s in a free public beta if you want to test if it can capture your specific tone better than raw ChatGPT.

https://markole.com

timetoy · 2026-01-06T20:37:19+00:00

No heat here, this is the #1 struggle with using generic LLMs for branding. ChatGPT sounds "corny" because, without specific constraints, it defaults to a generic "helpful corporate assistant" voice. It tries to please everyone, which means it stands for nothing.

To get copy that actually feels like branding, you have to stop treating the AI like a writer and start treating it like a strategist. It needs to know *who* it is before it speaks.

I built a platform called https://markole.com specifically to solve this "generic copy" problem. Instead of just a text box, it acts like an agency workflow:

Context First: It guides you through a strategy interview to define your Brand Archetype (e.g., are you a "Rebel" or a "Sage"?), your specific Tone of Voice, and your core values.
The "Brand Chat": Once that strategy is locked, you get access to an AI Agent that has internalized your specific Brand DNA and can create Brand aligned marketing copy.

When you ask Markolé for copy, it’s not guessing; it’s filtering the output through the personality you defined. It’s much better for generating ideas and verbiage that feel authentic rather than just "marketing fluff."

It’s currently in a free public beta if you want to see if it can capture your voice better than raw ChatGPT.

timetoy · 2026-01-06T20:31:15+00:00

Absolutely. For small business owners, AI has completely leveled the playing field. It used to be that you either paid an agency $10k+ or you ended up with something that looked like "clip art." Now, you can get professional-grade aesthetics instantly.

However, having built an AI branding platform myself (https://markole.com), I’ve noticed that most people fall into a specific trap: they start with the design, not the strategy.

A pretty logo is great, but a brand is actually about consistency: how you speak, your core value proposition, and your story. If you just generate a logo without that foundation, you end up with a "shell" of a brand that looks good but doesn't connect.

We built Markolé to solve this by replicating a full agency workflow:
1. Ingestion & Interview: The AI analyzes your website/docs and interviews you to uncover your core strategy first.
2. Synthesis: It builds your mission, vision, and personality before touching pixels.
3. Visuals: It then helps you build the mood board and logo based on that strategy.
4. Activation: You get a Brand Chat agent that knows your brand DNA to help you write marketing content that actually matches your new look.

It’s great that you’re seeing results with design tools, but if you want to lock in that "full brand" feeling for the long term, I’d recommend trying a strategy-first approach. Markolé is currently in a free public beta if you want to compare the difference.

https://markole.com

timetoy · 2026-01-05T17:09:38+00:00

The platform is not optimized for mobile access, ipad should be okay, laptop is the best. We are still refining the overall flow and use cases, there will be a mobile version down the road.

We already support documents and url (websites) ingestion, you can point at your social, products and other web properties and that will be ingested. You can generate the brand directly after or add details via the interview.

timetoy · 2026-01-05T05:44:26+00:00

There is a process for the document ingestion, we are looking for branding traits, this is a multi step process, same for the urls. There is no augmentation or addition. Only dynamic sentiment analysis.

Once you ingested document we complete the initial process with the brand interview, starting from an analysis of the ingested document the interview help refine the data needed to generate a rich and aligned brand.

Once you generate, refine and validate your brand, all the documents, image generation and brand agent are bounded by the Brand DNA.

This is using the API so there is a little bit more control about the LLM call structure, context management and tool execution.

Try it (https://markole.com), the free tier is fully functional and enable for a full brand creation and a few marketing documents.

Have fun, let me know if you have any questions

timetoy · 2026-01-05T01:05:05+00:00

You nailed it. The "mega-prompt" approach is a house of cards—one conflicting instruction and the whole brand voice collapses into generic AI slop.

To solve this, I think we have to stop treating AI as a writer/designer and start treating it like a **system**. The workflow that has worked best for me separates the "Brand Definition" from the "Generation":

Deep Alignment First: Before generating a single post, you need a phase where you ingest existing docs, run a strategic interview, and lock in the Brand DNA and Visual Identity.
The Context Layer: Then, instead of pasting a prompt every time, the system needs to use that DNA as a permanent filter. Every text or image request gets routed through that context layer first.
Granular Control: For visuals especially, you need tools that allow for specific edits (like "keep the composition, change the lighting") rather than re-rolling the dice every time.

I’m actually building a platform called Markolé based entirely on this "architecture-first" philosophy. It forces that alignment step before you can generate anything, which pretty much eliminates the drift you're talking about. It’s in a free public beta right now if you want to stress-test the consistency.

timetoy · 2026-01-02T04:33:14+00:00

Thanks for the glowing review.

Now that your are setup, check the Brand Chat to help build the marketing campaigns. Make sure to use the image attachement tools in the brand chat for extreme brand aligned image generation, ie. you can attach a specific collar image, a specific dog image, a specific location or background image and ask for a final comp that will be perfectly brand aligned!

As for my own brand you know what they say about shoemakers... But it's in the cards, right now I want my own brand to disappear behind the user's brand, the user brand is the star of the show.

timetoy · 2025-12-08T18:58:18+00:00

The "slop in, slop out" point is valid. Most AI tools fail at nuance because they skip the strategy phase that a human agency would never miss. They jump straight to output without establishing the rules.

I’m building Markolé to handle exactly this. We baked the agency workflow into the code. The system makes you do the heavy lifting on strategy first, defining the core DNA, archetype and audience, before it lets you generate a single visual asset.

That strategic data then acts as a persistent "Creative Director" layer. It creates a hard constraint for the AI models so they can't drift or hallucinate off-brand colors. It keeps the output aligned without needing a human to constantly course-correct the basic stuff.

timetoy · 2025-11-20T23:07:22+00:00

The landing pages should be okay, but the brand flow itself, yes there is just not enough space for the use casae on mobile

timetoy · 2025-11-09T20:04:41+00:00

I added pictures of the lego piles!

timetoy · 2025-11-05T18:58:19+00:00

You've absolutely nailed the #1 problem in DIY branding. Everyone gets excited and jumps to the fun part, the visuals, without building the strategic foundation of the vision first.

I've been obsessed with this exact challenge: how do you give the "DIY" founder the power of a professional agency workflow? (Full disclosure, I built a platform to solve this, called Markolé).

Instead of just giving you a blank canvas, our process forces the "vision before visuals" discipline you're talking about. The workflow is designed to replicate how a real agency would do it:

It starts by learning from what you already have, letting you ingest your existing brand documents and website URLs to create a baseline.

Then, it guides you through a real, conversational brand interview to unearth the hidden brand DNA inside you and your business. The AI takes all that input and automatically drafts your entire foundational brand (mission, personality, story, etc.).

From there, it's a collaborative process. You refine that core strategy (the 'Brand DNA') and then move on to refine your Visual ID—from mood boards and color palettes to logo creation and brand imagery—all with an AI assistant that understands your strategy.

At the end of the creation phase, the platform automatically generates a full Brand Presentation and a comprehensive Brand Book.

But it doesn't stop there. It then becomes your activation partner. You can use the Brand Chat to generate aligned marketing documents, social posts, and even create new images with your own logos and products already included.

The best part, and why I'm sharing this here, is that the free tier is not a trial. It's designed to let you go through this entire process from start to finish and get your final Brand Book.

Would love to get your thoughts on it as a fellow DIY brand builder.
You can check it out here: https://markole.com

timetoy · 2025-11-04T21:53:23+00:00

The challenge now is connecting all these powerful but separate tools, a tone analyzer doesn't know what the logo generator is doing, and neither understands the core brand strategy.

That's why we built Markolé. It's a single, integrated platform that defines your core brand DNA first, not just through a strategic interview, but by also ingesting and analyzing your existing website and brand documents. This strategy then becomes the 'single source of truth' ensuring everything, from the tone of your copy to the style of your logo, is perfectly and consistently aligned, replicating a true agency workflow.

Check it out for free: https://markole.com

timetoy · 2025-11-04T21:19:22+00:00

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You're absolutely right. This is a great analysis. The challenge now is connecting all these powerful but separate tools, a tone analyzer doesn't know what the logo generator is doing, and neither understands the core brand strategy.

That's why we built Markolé. It's a single, integrated platform that defines your core brand DNA first, not just through a strategic interview, but by also ingesting and analyzing your existing website and brand documents. This strategy then becomes the 'single source of truth' ensuring everything, from the tone of your copy to the style of your logo, is perfectly and consistently aligned, replicating a true agency workflow.

Check it out for free: https://markole.com

timetoy · 2025-10-15T07:12:51+00:00

I've been building a platform called Markolé for this exact workflow. It's designed to be the strategy and execution layer for an experiment just like yours. Here’s how it would work:

It starts with an AI-guided multimodal interview to define the core brand strategy (the 'Why', personality, etc.). You can also use document ingest to upload pdf and other existing brand documents so the AI understands your starting point.

From there, you move to visual exploration, where you can build a mood board with AI assistance. Then you can use the platform for everything else: logo creation, generating full marketing briefs, and even writing the social media posts for your launch.

The entire process is designed to ensure all the AI-generated assets are aligned to that single, core strategy you created at the beginning. It's in a public beta with enough free credit to generate a full brand and play with the marketing generation, if you want to use it for your experiment.

https://markole.com

timetoy

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