This post is inspired by a thought-provoking post I came across by Jarno M. Koponen @jarnokoponen a Product Design & Innovation Leader at Zalando. It got me thinking about the current state of AI-powered design interfaces, which as he mentioned often seem to follow similar patterns. While these interfaces differ depending on the specific use case, they still tend to look and behave in ways that feel familiar.

As someone who's been dabbling in woodworking and furniture design on the side, I recently decided to explore how AI could assist in creating designs based on my sketches and prompts. The idea was to use AI as a tool to enhance my process, curating designs that come close to my vision with minimal input.

In my experimentation, I ran into several challenges:

- The AI response time was too slow.
- I had to make too many attempts to get closer to the result I envisioned.
- The lighting in generated visuals was often off.
- I couldn’t adjust specific elements as I would like.
- The designs felt unbalanced at times.
- Changing materials was difficult and time-consuming.

I didn't have much time to dig deeper, but this experience sparked an idea: What if there was a concept that could react in real-time to user input, offering instant suggestions for materials or design choices?

My goal was to design a mobile experience tailored for the "persona on the go" — someone who needs to quickly generate and iterate on concepts for an upcoming presentation. This wouldn't be about creating a polished, tested product but rather about facilitating a quick, adaptable process to spark creativity. Without the constraints of business or financial concerns, I was able to experiment freely and push the boundaries of what could be done.

There are several other factors that industrial designers need to consider when integrating AI into their workflows:

Allowing AI to work directly from sketches or mood boards.
highlighting and adjusting specific elements
Conducting product usability testing.
Collaborating with engineering teams for validation.
Scanning for material cost and sustainability factors.
Preparing presentations or product videos for stakeholders.

AI holds significant potential to revolutionize the design process, but it should not be seen as a replacement for human expertise and creativity. Instead, it should function as a collaborator and support tool that empowers designers to work more efficiently, experiment freely, and refine their visions with greater ease. As demonstrated through my personal experimentation, AI can assist in quickly generating ideas and offering design suggestions, but it still falls short in areas like real-time adjustments, intricate customizations, and capturing the nuanced balance of design elements.

By focusing on AI as a partner in the creative process, designers can leverage its capabilities to streamline certain tasks while maintaining the flexibility and judgment that come from human experience. Ultimately, the best results come from the synergy between a designer’s intuition and AI’s computational power—together fostering innovation and creativity without the loss of essential craftsmanship or thoughtful design decisions.

I'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions on how to improve this experience further. If you're working on similar concepts, feel free to reach out, and I'd be happy to collaborate on new, creative approaches.