Workshop
AI as a tool
At the Hochschule Darmstadt, I conducted a workshop to explore the use of AI as a tool in the design process. The focus was on understanding AI as a supporting tool rather than a replacement for human work. While using AI adds an additional step in the workflow, it enables designers to quickly generate variations, test different materials, colors, textures, and lighting, and visualize ideas efficiently. The objective is not to produce a final render instantly, but to explore design possibilities, evaluate alternatives, and refine concepts with greater speed and flexibility.
During the session, participants used Google Gemini to apply AI to their sketches. They worked with their own drawings or photographs of my sketches and generated multiple design variations through simple prompts. Gemini was selected for its accuracy in representing the original sketch without introducing unintended changes, making it suitable for first-time users. More advanced tools such as Viscom, Midjourney, or Kling.ai can extend capabilities further, but Gemini allowed participants within a 90-minute workshop to explore multiple variations quickly and gain practical insight into AI as a design tool.
For me AI in the design process is strictly a tool to extend human creativity, not a replacement for the designer’s work. Using AI to quickly generate objects or designs independently, such as producing a vase without deliberate design input, is not the intended approach. The tool is meant to explore variations, materials, textures, and compositions efficiently, while all decisions, direction, and refinement remain fully controlled by the designer. AI augments the creative process, accelerates iteration, and helps visualize ideas, but the final outcome must always reflect human intention, expertise, and judgment.
