Artificial Intelligence in the Design Process

The book discusses how to include artificial intelligence (AI) systems in the early stages of the design process. Today designers need new tools capable of supporting them in dealing with the increasing project's complexity and empowering their performances and capabilities. AI systems appear to be powerful means to enhance designers' creativity. This assumption was tested in a workshop where sixteen participants collaborated with three AI systems throughout the creative phases of research, sketching, and color selection. Results show that designers can access a broader level of variance and inspiration while reducing the risk of fossilization by triggering lateral thinking through AI-generated data. Therefore, AI could significantly impact the creative phases of the design process if applied consciously. Being AI systems intelligent agents, the book treats the Human-AI collaboration as a collaboration between human agents, proposing a set of guidelines helpful to achieving an efficient partnership with the machine.

Fabio Antonio Figoli, Master's degree in Design & Engineering, is a research and teaching assistant at Politecnico di Milano. His research interests focus on the design process and aim to improve the development of industrial products for a complex society.

Francesca Mattioli, Ph.D., is a research fellow and teaching assistant at Politecnico di Milano. Her research aims at studying design learning and teaching practices through collaborative projects in academic contexts characterised by cultural plurality.

Lucia Rampino, Ph.D., Full Professor at Politecnico di Milano. Her core field of research is product design, with a focus on theories of design and the nature of design processes. She is currently leading the Doctoral Programme in Design at Politecnico di Milano.