Visionary
An end-to-end AI tool created and developed with current AI tools for designers. My exploration of AI-powered design tools led to Visionary, a collaborative project that elevates the design process. By automating repetitive tasks, Visionary empowers designers to focus on creative problem-solving and craft innovative designs.
Disclaimer: “Visionary is an experimental project that was developed with the aid of AI tools. AI played a crucial role in generating concepts, copy, design decisions, and even original artwork." - Chat GPT 4.0
“Visionary is a design-sensitive AI assistant that inspires, generates, iterates, and organizes projects for designers.” Chat GPT 4.0
Overview
Designlab UX Academy 2023
By embracing innovative AI tools, I aimed to explore new ways to enhance the designer's toolkit and elevate the design process. The design process was entirely collaborative, meaning that all information provided by the AI was carefully evaluated and considered.
"Visionary is an AI tool designed to enhance, not replace, designers' abilities. By streamlining tasks and freeing up time for creativity, it empowers designers to produce innovative, effective designs."
- Chat GPT 4.0
AI tools
Chat GPT
Google Bard
MidJourney
Dall-E
Stable Diffusion
Bing Create
Deliverables
User Interviews
Competitive Analysis
Personas
Information Architecture
User Flows
Feature Roadmap
Site Map
Task/ User Flow
Brand Style Guides
High Fidelity Wireframing
Opportunity
Visionary’s goal is to help designers achieve their best work without feeling like their job is at risk or that they're sacrificing their own creativity.
The Visionary app tackles authenticity, intellectual property, and AI's future responsibility. It enables creative professionals to collaborate with AI for faster iterations and idea generation, meeting the demand for digital creativity.
User Interviews
5 participants
Ages 24- 36
30 min virtual interview
From my research the three data points that stood out were, participants expressed some hesitation and uncertainty regarding AI but recognized its potential as a valuable tool to enhance their creativity.
100%
of participants agreed that AI has the potential to help them with their work
100%
of participants expressed the need for more inspiration
100%
of participants mentioned ways that AI can improve the creative process
Branding Decisions
While Chat GPT 4.0 is a powerful tool, it cannot fully replace the personal taste and intuition that I've developed as an industrial designer over the past 10 years. Like working in a team, it's important to question, explore, and consider new directions when collaborating with others.
“Green represents growth and innovation, off-white emphasizes simplicity and elegance, and orange adds a playful touch….”
- Chat GPT
Mood board
Brand kit
Logo and color iterations and experiments
Information Architecture
At the core of Visionary is the principle of generating original designs. While AI is a rapidly progressing technology, there are few established design patterns. The most recognizable design pattern for popular AI tools is a simple text field where users enter text prompts.
Design generation is the most powerful aspect of the Visionary design tool. The Visionary landing page will prioritize “generate” with a similar text field seen in other tools.
Bing Create, Google Bard, Stable Diffusion, Chat GPT
The home page of Visionary is a simple text field that is familiar with the current design patterns used for current AI tools on the market
Key Value
The landing page is a simple and intuitive layout that informs users of the app's capabilities and provides additional information for those who are not familiar with current AI patterns and terminology.
The final design used a monochromatic theme to create a more eye-catching and brand-oriented design. Previous designs are shown below to help new users understand the potential of the generation function.
User flow: how to generate/ iterate a design
Establishing a grid system was crucial. I wanted to use a grid that would allow the design work to shine, while also maintaining an organized and structured viewing experience. This was a very important detail that formed the foundation for the rest of the app.
Design System
Early lo-fi screens explored simple to no labeling, relying on styling to communicate projects and create new ones.
Finding a design pattern that was modular and flexible was key to allowing the app to display designs in an interesting way.
Early iterations used tight button spacing for aesthetics, but this caused accessibility and usability issues
User testing revealed that users were struggling with AI terminology and the main purpose of the Visionary app.
My solution to help users learn the app was to clearly state the purpose of the app on the home page and provide a FAQ section.
User Feedback
5 participants
Ages 24- 36
20 min usability test
60%
80%
Found AI terminology such as ideate, generate, and prompt to be unclear.
Of users found Visionary’s main purpose unclear and confusing.
Design Iteration
Visionary's Generate feature instantly creates new designs from text, photos, or camera input.
The goal of iterating is to constantly improve the designs quickly and often.
01. Generate original designs
02. Iterate and improve
03. Explore new ideas
Final Design
01.
Generate Original Ideas
Combining existing design references with custom text prompts can accelerate the creative process for designers, resulting in the rapid generation of new design concepts. The ability to swiftly produce high-quality designs can not only boost productivity but also foster the exploration of novel design solutions.
Images generated by Dall-E
02.
Iterate and Improve
Through user-generated designs, others can discover, edit, and iterate on them, leading to a virtually limitless array of variations that serve as inspiration for numerous future designs.
Images generated by Dall-E
03.
Explore New Ideas
Find users that share your same interests, speak at the same skill level, and want to learn the same language! Enhance your comprehension and speaking skills by immersing yourself with native users around the world.
Designers are able to discover, generate and then organize their designs
Learning & Takeaways
A.I is our friend
AI is a valuable tool that has helped me gain new perspectives and generate ideas quickly. However, its effectiveness relies on the user's input and learning to interact with it to achieve desired results.
Collaboration is key
AI is a powerful tool, but it’s not perfect. It’s important to use AI in conjunction with human intuition. When working with AI, I found it essential to consider its ideas, but ultimately, I needed to trust my years of design experience. Don't make the mistake of blindly copying and pasting.
This project is a snapshot
AI rapidly evolves, and design patterns quickly become obsolete as new patterns emerge. This project is a snapshot of the current state of AI design, but it is likely to be outdated within a matter of months :)