The Impact of AI Text-to-Image Generator on Product Styling Design

AI text-to-image generators have recently been used in a variety of fields, including graphic design, interior design, architectural design, and product design. This study aims to: (1) examine the effect of AI-generated visual stimuli (using Midjourney) on product design. (2) assess designers' acceptability of using AI technology. (3) explore the potential workflow of product designers in the future. Six industrial design students (aged 23-26) with at least four years of design experience were recruited using purposive random sampling. The experimental group used AI-generated visual stimuli from Midjourney, while the control group used visual stimuli searched on Pinterest. The participants performed the same design task twice, once using AI-generated visual stimuli as a reference and once using visual stimuli from an online source. The impact of using the new technology on the design outcome was then observed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather the participants' perceptions regarding the use of AI-generated visual stimuli as design inspiration. The resulting qualitative data was coded for key themes. The results of the interviews showed that AI-generated visual stimuli provide a limited range of variation for the same design task, but also allow for new combinations of text to create new patterns. Its computational characteristics make it almost impossible to duplicate its images, and its uniqueness and ambiguity allows designers to freely extract elements, which is very suitable for the early stage of product design. However, there was no significant difference in the performance of the participants for the different visual stimuli, although design fixation was observed in the sketches generated by both types of visual stimuli, it was less pronounced in the sketches produced using the AI-generated visual stimuli as a reference. AI is likely to be used in various industries in the future. Overall, the participants had a positive attitude of using AI technology in product design and expressed a willingness to try it out.