How a font mockup turned into a Scottish thriller
While I was creating the promotional images for my font Glen Etive, one of the mockups looked like something more – the cover of a thriller.
That got me thinking: what if I asked ChatGPT to write the story behind it?
So, just for fun, I did. I asked it to come up with a synopsis for the book – and here’s what it came up with…
When photographer Erin Macrae retreats to Glen Etive to escape the chaos of city life, she’s seeking silence, not secrets. The Highland glen, with its mist-laden peaks and mirror-still lochs, promises solitude – until she finds a half-buried rucksack on a remote trail. Inside: a camera, a bloodstained map, and a memory card full of photographs that shouldn’t exist.
The images are of her – sleeping in her cottage, walking by the river, standing on the same road where she found the bag.
When the weather closes in and a landslide cuts off the single-track road, Erin realises she’s not as alone as she thought. Each night, the tapping on her window grows louder. Her phone loses signal. Her footprints are joined by another set leading back toward her door.
As she pieces together the mystery of the missing hiker whose belongings she found, Erin begins to suspect the truth lies closer than she ever imagined – entwined with her own past, her estranged brother, and the dark history of the glen itself.
Because in Glen Etive, the wild watches back.
I became so intrigued by the story that I was tempted to ask ChatGPT to write the whole book. Maybe one day I actually will.
For now, it’s a fun reminder of how design and storytelling can blend in unexpected ways – how one creative spark can lead you somewhere you never planned to go.
And while AI can be an incredible tool for inspiration and play, it’s essential to remember to support the hard work of real creatives — the designers, writers, and artists who dedicate their time and talent to bringing ideas to life.