Flying ideas

AIdeation happens where human creativity and generative AI work together. Such collaborative creation between human, here the designer and machine, here AI systems can be likened to how air pilots, typically the captain and first officer, are co-piloting the flight - an interaction in which, moreover, the pilots are assisted by an autopilot. An autopilot, however, doesn't replace human pilots but rather allow them to focus on broader aspects of the flight. And so, generative AI does not replace designers but help them generate, refine and modify ideas. In this way, designers, while "letting AI fly for a while" add their unique touch to AI generated outputs while maintaining oversight of the ideation process, similar to how pilots are responsible for critical decision-making, from take-off and landing to situations in between. The interaction, then, between co-piloting and an autopilot, suggests a similar approach to how designers and AI systems can work together which, moreover, may help improve transparency and accountability in AIdeation.

Kafkaesque ideation

Franz Kafka (1883-1924), the writer known for his aversion to noise, joked that a living typist was much less intimidating than a machine: 'A machine with its serious, silent demands strikes me as exercising a greater, more cruel compulsion on one's capacities than any human being.' In Kafka's case, the machine was the typewriter (he claimed he was even afraid of the telephone). Today that machine is the computer. It operates silently but does it make silent demands? While there are those who depreciate the use of the computer for ideation, the fact that you can type a request into a machine, in normal conversational language, and it outputs something close to what you asked for, is pretty remarkable. Yet AI can give users false confidence, giving them the sense that if AI - with access to billions of data points - can come up with new ideas, they must somehow be better. But then ideas have never been in short supply. The problem for most designers, and their clients, is the uncertainty - which ideas are best, which ones are worth investing in? So will human creativity always prevail? But with humans in competition with AI, how can we tell?

Generative AI systems - the new art factory?

Art and technology, throughout the ages have had a close relationship whereby technology has influenced and facilitated works by artists and designers. The new materials of twentieth-century technology, for example, provided both the means and the inspiration for the three-dimensional works of the Russian Constructivists. László Moholy-Nagy, the painter and photographer of Bauhaus fame, argued for the integration of industry and art and suggested it would be ideal to ring up a factory and order one's art according to specifications. Andy Warhol, known for The Factory (his studio), created works using Amiga computers in the 1980s and is quoted saying, 'I want to be a machine, and I feel that whatever I do and do machine-like is what I want do to. I think everybody should be a machine.' And now, text-to-image generators built on huge data sets - and whether Open Source or Closed Source LLMs - search for images not yet created. changing how today’s creatives will likely produce, or co-produce their work. So there's a long history of artists inspired by and adapting to technology and even led by technology. But when art is reduced to a use case (list of actions) for technology, are we bound to a proliferation of shallow artistic engagement, asks Simon Kenny, an independent researcher and educator. https://medium.com/@skenwrites/the-art-of-ai-prompt-engineering-dd4f23138f7a.

AI facilitates ideation across cultures

Generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT can help designers not only generate but also communicate ideas and whether in spoken, written or visual forms, or combinations thereof. Moreover, chatbots can be particularly helpful to designers for whom English is a second language and so enabling them to focus on the creative content of their idea. That is, human language (spoken and written), although supple and flexible, does not always fully capture the richness of ideas while remaining mindful of the interrelationship between concepts and lived experience. So the original state of the idea might get diffused, distorted or lost in translation from one language to another, notably when it comes to cultural nuances or idiomatic expressions. This highlights why spoken or written words need to be supplemented or supported by images in the ideation process (multi-modal communication). Generative artificial intelligence, then, is becoming an influential and practical design tool in the development of ideas and ideas communication.

TikTok ideation tool

TikTok, the short-form video platform, has, in its latest iteration, added the notion of ideation to its new Creative Assistance. That is, in TikTok's marketing jargon: 'Creative Assistance is an AI-powered virtual assistant designed to intelligently collaborate with brands and creators throughout their creative journey on TikTok  ... through never-ending ideation and brainstorm sessions'. As with generative AI in general, TikTok's Creative Assistance works through prompts input to generate or refine scripts and images. That is, creative prompts yield creative outputs. Creativity, however, in its deeper sense often requires a more open and explorative approach than AI algorithms can offer. That is, to use generative AI effectively, and ethically human involvement is needed at both the beginning and the end of the process involving not only prompting, editing and iteration but also curiosity and compassion. In other words, it is human creativity that is giving shape to AI systems, not the other way around. Yet AI is already embedded in everyday software and so, like all technology, what matters is how AI is put into practice.

Sketch, ideate, communicate

One of the main benefits of the sketch, and whether drawn on paper or e-tablet is that it gives full play to the imagination that is foundational to creativity. It captures the essence of the idea, helps clarify design intention both in the sketcher's own mind and that of their audience (colleagues, clients etc). Sketching, then, is a fast and efficient way of communicating first thoughts and ideas. And so sketching helps conceive, elucidate and articulate design ideas, and whenever there's a need to quickly "sort things out" in the design process. As a thinking tool, sketching encourages the freedom of simplicity and helps develop a sense of creative self. And the iterative nature of sketching, going backwards and forwards channels new thoughts and ideas. And although ideas are either endorsed, rejected or modified, in their sketchiness they are often adaptable to new, different or emergent contexts.

The Magician

On a lighthearted, and imaginative note, let's draw, interpret and reflect on a single Tarot card. And so, the Magician - a beautiful card signalling a magical, creative, inspiring times ahead. Make something! Design or invent something! Pitch an idea! People will listen to what you have to share, and they will love  your ideas. You will get the green light during this period if you make the proposal now. The Magician shows you stepping into your power, feeling like you’ve got talent and skill, and wanting to manifest something with it. You want to make a living based on what you’re uniquely good at. It’s time to shine! The Magician, then, like the ideator, is interested in new ways and finding solutions that are not yet imagined, as well as products not yet built. They are an idea-driven powerhouse, thriving on vision and intuition - a force for transformation and innovation through ideas.- everywhere, anytime.