AI x The Design Industry

A blog by our partners Studio Van M

We asked ChatGPT to interview us about how AI will impact the design industry.

Here are our 100% human answers.

I prompted OpenAI’s ChatGPT (v3.5, July 20 Version) to ask me a few questions about Generative AI with the following prompt:

“You are an expert design journalist (i.e. Debbie Millman, Steven Heller) interviewing me, the Account Director for Studio van M, for a piece called “We asked ChatGPT to interview us about how AI will impact the design industry. Here are our 100% human answers.”

Please structure an interview in a call-and-response type manner where you ask a question, wait for me to reply, then you ask another question or follow up question based on my response:”

ChatGPT: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I’m excited to hear your perspective as an Account Director for Studio van M and your expertise in the Generative AI space. Let’s dive right in!

Q: How do you see AI impacting the design industry in the near future? And specifically, what role do you think generative AI will play?

A: AI is already starting to make an impact on the design industry, and its influence will only continue to grow in the future. This is just like the transition from physical cut and paste design layouts to digital design layouts in the early 90s (which is before my time). Generative AI, in particular, has the potential to revolutionize the design process. It can assist designers in generating ideas, exploring multiple design variations, and even creating entirely new concepts that might not have been possible otherwise. By leveraging the power of generative AI, designers can enhance their creative capabilities and streamlinetheir workflows, resulting in more innovative and efficient design solutions. It is first and foremost a tool to be wielded by designers. 

Q: Can you provide some specific examples of how generative AI is currently being used in the design industry, and how it has benefited design processes?

A: One notable example of generative AI in design is the creation of dynamic and personalized user interfaces (Uizard, Galileo AI, bubble.io, etc.) By analyzing user data and preferences, generative AI can generate unique designs tailored to individual users, enhancing the overall user experience. Generative AI is also being utilized in areas such as logo design, typography, and layout generation, where it can rapidly generate a multitude of design options for designers to consider—again, it takes a highly trained eye to select the best option to present to a client based on their particular needs—this can save time and allow designers to focus on refining and iterating on the best ideas.

Q: With the increasing use of generative AI in design, there is often concern about the potential loss of human creativity and originality. How do you address these concerns, and what role do you think human designers will play in a future where AI is more prevalent?

A: It’s an important concern, and I believe that AI should be seen as a tool to augment human creativity rather than replace it. While AI can assist in generating design concepts, it lacks the nuanced understanding of human emotions, cultural contexts, and the ability to think conceptually that human designers possess. The unique perspectives, intuition, and creativity of human designers are invaluable in creating designs that resonate with users on a deeper level. It also takes a highly trained designer and thinker to translate ambiguous client requirements into a fully designed suite of concepts. In a future where AI is more prevalent, human designers will continue to play a crucial role in refining and curating AI-generated ideas, injecting their unique insights and ensuring the designs align with the desired objectives and brand values.

Q: How do you envision the collaboration between AI and human designers evolving in the design industry? Are there any challenges or considerations that need to be addressed for successful integration?

A: Collaboration between AI and human designers will likely become more seamless and integrated as the technology advances. Design tools equipped with AI capabilities will enable designers to interact with AI algorithms in real-time, allowing for a more iterative and interactive design process—we are already seeing this being rolled out by Adobe. However, successful integration requires addressing certain challenges: 

First, ethical and legal considerations need to be addressed: such as ensuring transparency and accountability in AI-generated designs, fair compensation for images/designs utilized in the training of these models, and the development of legislation or making court decisions on AI and copyright—my own interpretation as of now is that only human-created design qualifies as inherently copyrightable, but I can see the arguments from the other side (i.e. what does “human-created” mean?). It could be a huge risk for a new brand to generate an AI logo that turns out to not be subject to copyright and/or trademark laws.  

Second, designers will need to develop a strong understanding of AI capabilities and limitations to effectively leverage the technology. This will require new training and learning of the technology, something that good designers are already adept at doing (keep up on those release notes!)

And third, fostering a collaborative mindset that embraces the strengths of both AI and human designers is crucial for successful integration and effective teamwork. My example for this is, again, translating and making trade-offs of what clients are telling us they want and what the market at-large wants or needs, as well as making compelling arguments about why a particular design fits the client’s needs—something that is a very human interaction. The best firms out there will bring that human-centric approach to the design project process. AI will make this more efficient by, again, making it easier to generate variations to choose from. 

ChatGPT: Thank you for sharing your insights and expertise on how AI will impact the design industry. Your perspective as both an Account Director for Studio van M and a solutions engineer in the Generative AI space adds valuable depth to the conversation.