diff --git a/src/data_designer/engine/column_generators/generators/base.py b/src/data_designer/engine/column_generators/generators/base.py
index b7ad4c6d..fa477b85 100644
--- a/src/data_designer/engine/column_generators/generators/base.py
+++ b/src/data_designer/engine/column_generators/generators/base.py
@@ -1,23 +1,27 @@
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import functools
 import logging
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
-from typing import overload
+from enum import Enum
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, overload
 
 import pandas as pd
 
-from data_designer.config.column_types import COLUMN_TYPE_EMOJI_MAP
-from data_designer.config.models import BaseInferenceParams, ModelConfig
-from data_designer.config.utils.type_helpers import StrEnum
 from data_designer.engine.configurable_task import ConfigurableTask, ConfigurableTaskMetadata, DataT, TaskConfigT
-from data_designer.engine.models.facade import ModelFacade
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from data_designer.config.models import BaseInferenceParams, ModelConfig
+    from data_designer.engine.models.facade import ModelFacade
+
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-class GenerationStrategy(StrEnum):
+class GenerationStrategy(str, Enum):
     CELL_BY_CELL = "cell_by_cell"
     FULL_COLUMN = "full_column"
 
@@ -82,8 +86,7 @@ def inference_parameters(self) -> BaseInferenceParams:
         return self.model_config.inference_parameters
 
     def log_pre_generation(self) -> None:
-        emoji = COLUMN_TYPE_EMOJI_MAP[self.config.column_type]
-        logger.info(f"{emoji} Preparing {self.config.column_type} column generation")
+        logger.info(f"Preparing {self.config.column_type} column generation")
         logger.info(f"  |-- column name: {self.config.name!r}")
         logger.info(f"  |-- model config:\n{self.model_config.model_dump_json(indent=4)}")
         if self.model_config.provider is None:
diff --git a/tests/engine/column_generators/generators/test_llm_completion_generators.py b/tests/engine/column_generators/generators/test_llm_completion_generators.py
index 0b787b7e..6cba3bdc 100644
--- a/tests/engine/column_generators/generators/test_llm_completion_generators.py
+++ b/tests/engine/column_generators/generators/test_llm_completion_generators.py
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ def test_log_pre_generation(mock_logger):
     generator.log_pre_generation()
 
     assert mock_logger.info.call_count == 3
-    mock_logger.info.assert_any_call("📝 Preparing llm-text column generation")
+    mock_logger.info.assert_any_call("Preparing llm-text column generation")
     mock_logger.info.assert_any_call("  |-- column name: 'test_column'")
     mock_logger.info.assert_any_call('  |-- model config:\n{"test": "config"}')