Stockholm Design Week on AI - Critical Thinking Isn’t Dead
Scandinavia is a region renowned for taking an innovative and influential approach to design, sustainability, and minimalism.
Because its design culture places such an emphasis on functionality, I was eager to hear insights on the future of design and, particularly, the use of AI.
Points raised throughout the week’s discussions were resoundingly positive. With designers posting their perspectives on how AI can be leveraged as a collaborative tool - which fostered an inclusive and thoughtful conversation.
The AI-volution & The Eye for Design
On Day 3, SFF and Dezeen hosted a panel discussion on the “AI-volution”.
The talk featured insights from Marta Giralt Dunjó, design director at FranklinTill; Alexandra Zenner, creative strategy lead at Gharage; Carl-Axel Wahlström, founder and CEO of The Copy Laboratory; and Sean Barrett, head of innovation and co-founder of Interesting Times Gang.
Interestingly, the panelists share a similar optimism around the future of AI and design. Decrying the doom and gloom of job replacement, Dunjó argued that AI won’t take jobs, but the people using it will.
Zenner urged people to leverage AI “purposefully” in design practices. Dunjó explains, critical thinking and a keen design eye will become more important. Which is right, you need to have good taste - just because you create it doesn’t mean people will like it.
As Zenner puts it: “designers are becoming curators.”
Indeed, AI isn’t ‘creative’ per se. It’s been trained on absurd amounts of human-generated data and creations. Without us, there can be no AI.
A simple input into Midjourney and Runaway does not make one an artist, nor immediately mean the art is good. It still requires a human to input the prompts, generate a new creation, and a keen human eye to refine and rework until it is, arguably, something of merit.
That said, it does allow artists to work more efficiently.
Wahlström shares this view, though argues that critical thinking would become more difficult. He explains this is an opportunity for smaller brands to do more with less.
Wahlström also compared it to the Bauhaus and Modernist movements, suggesting that AI is raising the bar for lower-level designers, with content being much easier to create, and that high-level design would be less impacted.
A Tool, Not a Replacement
The general consensus was that AI is a powerful tool for collaboration and idea development, but not for replacing human creativity.
Barret emphasised that AI can, and will aid humans in creative exploration, and that understanding its limitations, as well as possibilities, is essential for unlocking its collaborative potential. He adds that ‘true’ designers have no desire to outsource their talent to an algorithm - as it would undermine the essence of being a designer.
Just as Deep Blue didn’t kill Chess, AI won’t eradicate design. It’s another significant evolution in how humans interact and utilise technology in the field. It’s an opportunity.
And I agree. There have been several moments in history where a revolutionary tool transformed how our species creates and interacts with the world. AI is just another tool on humanity's belt, albeit potentially the largest leap forward in history.
Simply put, we’re witnessing another turning point for humanity, and we can either embrace it, or run from it.
Everything Has its Flaws
Amongst the positive sentiment shared on the panel, there were still some points of concern raised. One key point is the inherent biases on which AI tools have been trained.
Wahlström voiced concerns about AI “recycling” ideas, and questioned if this could hinder our progress. He continues to explain the ethical concerns of leveraging data that is difficult to trace the origin of.
That said, it presents an important opportunity to hold open conversations about the direction we want to take these tools. Whilst existing biases persist in many models, the panel urged the design community to consider how we can train models to be more inclusive in the future.
There is a substantial opportunity for independent designers to train their own models to differentiate themselves from the repetitive outputs we currently observe.
Another key concern was the major issue of power consumption. Dunjó stated that we should be using it on unnecessary things. When we are wondering what to have for dinner tonight, “call your mother and ask” she says.
One thing was clear. Designers must be prepared for AI. It’s transforming the industry and will continue to do so, almost indefinitely. Therefore, avoiding it is naive and risky.
Dunjó encouraged the audience to experiment with the tech, discover where it leads, and free themselves from mundane tasks so that they can focus on the creative approach. Barrett shares this view, reminding us that humans fear the unknown and that designers should familiarise themselves with this great tech.
Working Together to Build the Future
Both Zenner and Wahlström wrapped the talk by emphasising the importance of discussing, experimenting, playing, and considering how we want to shape AI.
Aside from this fantastic conversation at SFF, I couldn’t find much else on the topic of AI, except for a small exhibition hosted at the Nordiska Galleriet, titled “AI: Brilliantly Bad!” by Front.
It’s a quirky project that highlights the strange hallucinations and biases present in AI models in their current state.
The thoughts and motives behind this project perfectly capture the essence of how designers should approach integrating AI into their work. They should consider it as a collaborator—a peculiar, quirky one that generates some unusual interpretations of input—and embrace these flaws and imperfections.
Front Design noted: “We use AI not merely as an effective tool to attain perfection, but rather for the contrary reason: because it is wonderfully inadequate at design.” adding, “We are curious and want to get to know and challenge our new colleague.”
The last conference I attended was Web Summit, and it was refreshing to be at an event where the buzzword of AI wasn’t inescapable. Recently, it can often feel like AI is thrown around to gain eyeballs without any thought or real meaning behind its integration.
The few discussions at Stockholm Design Week, on the other hand, were thoughtful, productive, and insightful. Despite this, I am left wondering how the landscape of this event will look next year as AI continues to develop at a rapid pace.
I’m Jack, the Motion Director here at OK Social. I’ve been working in the world of motion design and animation for nearly 10 years. I had the pleasure of working with leading agencies and brands around the world, such as Samsung, Ford, Shell, Deliveroo, and Starbucks, to name a few.
From a young age, I’ve always been interested in animation, from making stop-motion films in my room as a kid to learning animation on my first computer. It started as a passion and still is to this day. Part of what I do now is more than just animation. I help craft the narratives of the stories we tell to ensure they make an impact to the audience and remain worthy of their attention.
So how do I do that? It starts with asking the right questions, leading to solving the right problems. First, diagnose what the problem is. Then, we can start to see if we can help. I believe that communication plays a key role in delivering a smooth and successful project. Looking into the future, I’m excited to expand my knowledge into creating more engaging stories that make a difference.
