With the world moving closer to being dependent on AI systems, it is important to remember the limitations and drawbacks of using AI within the design industry. In this blog, we will explore ways to utilise AI alongside the ability, creativity and knowledge of design professionals.
AI is becoming smarter and quicker by the day, so it is easy to see why people would prefer the quick, low-cost DIY solution rather than hiring a professional designer, especially with the fees that come with it.
While AI can help with a visual concept, a professional designer will think of everything: lighting, scale of furniture, electrical placements and overall spatial functionality, the ability and detail-orientated approach that they bring to the table is inimitable. You're not just paying the designers for making your house or office look pretty, you’re making an investment into the safety and longevity of your space. Using AI to create an idea of what you would like in the space or create a rough plan to imagine what it would look like is fine but having a human and personable touch to the design is always important.
AI will be able to create a space that reflects the latest design trends and will know that certain colours evoke certain feelings, like greens and white go well together and evoke a calm environment but won’t be able to understand why one specific person may have a negative connotation towards it.
AI won’t ask questions like, who is going to use this space, what’s the functionality or what story is being told through the design of the space, all questions that a professional designers will ask while mapping and designing your space. So, while it’s a great way to find out what you like and don’t like, consulting a professional is always important.
AI & Interior Design
AI is becoming smarter and quicker by the day, so it is easy to see why people would prefer the quick, low-cost DIY solution rather than hiring a professional designer, especially with the fees that come with it.
While AI can help with a visual concept, a professional designer will think of everything: lighting, scale of furniture, electrical placements and overall spatial functionality, the ability and detail-orientated approach that they bring to the table is inimitable. You're not just paying the designers for making your house or office look pretty, you’re making an investment into the safety and longevity of your space. Using AI to create an idea of what you would like in the space or create a rough plan to imagine what it would look like is fine but having a human and personable touch to the design is always important.
AI will be able to create a space that reflects the latest design trends and will know that certain colours evoke certain feelings, like greens and white go well together and evoke a calm environment but won’t be able to understand why one specific person may have a negative connotation towards it. AI won’t ask questions like, who is going to use this space, what’s the functionality or what story is being told through the design of the space, all questions that a professional designers will ask while mapping and designing your space. So, while it’s a great way to find out what you like and don’t like, consulting a professional is always important.
AI & Architecture
Much like in the Interior Design industry, using AI in architecture for a quick idea or concepts to get the creativity flowing is fine, however when the safety of hundreds is on the line, designing a space should be left to the professionals.
Designing a structure involves a lot of moving parts, making sure that it is in fact structurally sound, considering, the location of the building and if it’s surrounded by nature or heritage sites or in a busy city. These are all very important questions that need to be answered while designing, it is important that the building mixes well with its surroundings, and that it doesn’t stand out or disrupt the landscape.
AI is good at designing to you request but will only design to what it can find on the internet and is trendy, not thinking of all the logistics, rules and regulations. It might create a striking design but won’t make it architecturally sound, after all it is only creating a picture and not a full structural plan of a building.
AI & The Exhibition Industry
It can be exciting to have AI systems like ChatGPT or Adobe Firefly create beautiful and intriguing designs; like we do for trends on social media platforms. Recently TikTok, Instagram and even LinkedIn are flooded with AI images of people in toy boxes with their daily essentials surrounding them. As harmless as these trends seem and are, creating a picture to go on social media is very different from having AI create designs of your exhibition stands. While they may look like the perfect stand for your company, they are far from it.
When AI creates these intricate designs, it doesn’t consider the logistics of a temporary structure, how stable the stand will be, the weight of the products in the showcases, organiser and venue regulations or if it’s even a possibility to construct. This is where AI is lacking, and the downfall to many designs that are sent to exhibition stand contractors daily.
“We have many people send us AI generated designs as a base for their exhibition stand, but we can instantly see what can and can’t work, most of these AI generated designs don’t take into account the rules and regulations of the stand location or the venue” - Wiebke Carvell, Design Consultant at Quadrant2Design.
Quadrant2Design has a team of Design Consultants with more than 30 years experience between them, who know the industry well and can create designs that fit your needs at the show, even if you didn’t know where to start, where they work closely with a specialist team of CAD designer to create a stand that is not only beautiful but also works with the requirements of the venue and location of the stand.
Conclusion
AI will never fully replace human designers, empathy, creativity and emotional understanding which are crucial for user-centred design cannot be replicated by AI, no matter how advanced it may become.
However, AI will be a great tool to integrate within the design processes to minimise the amount of repetitive admin work that the design process requires, freeing up time for designers to be more creative and innovative.
As this move towards AI is taking place designers will have to learn to use AI in an effective way to create conceptual designs and bring focus to a higher-level of strategic thinking while being able to keep the human feel to their designs.
