Leveraging AI tools to foster creative thinking in the early product design process

Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into creative learning presents exciting opportunities for enhancing students’ innovative capacities across diverse educational settings. By providing transformative tools, AI fosters the development of creative thinking through adaptive feedback, ideation tools, and personalised learning pathways tailored to individual cognitive styles. The objective of this study is to identify the design challenges and concerns associated with the use of AI image generator applications during the early stages of product design ideation. Concerns were focused on three design criteria: form, function, and feasibility. In disciplines such as industrial design, AI plays a crucial role in streamlining complex design processes and merging computational creativity with human-led ideation. A qualitative approach, comprising design process observation and interviews, enabled an in-depth exploration of how AI influences creative thinking within a specific educational context. Seven students were observed engaging with AI image generator applications. Their individual insights were analysed in phases using image analysis, supported by thematic analysis, to assess the psychological impact of their designs in real time. Five themes were identified, namely the creativity level of students, idea quantity, user emotion considerations, time efficiency, and originality concerns. In the future, this synergy is expected to foster creative engagement by providing learners with key insights into the emotional and psychological aspects of their work while enhancing their awareness of novelty.