DOI: 10.1017/pds.2026.10656 ISSN: 2732-527X
More AI means less design? Empirical insights from design education
Klemens Hohnbaum, Philipp Schröder, Josef Ponn, Markus ZimmermannABSTRACT:
Product development increasingly integrates generative AI tools to enhance creativity and efficiency. However, their actual impact on structured design work, particularly on method application and resulting designs, is not well understood. This study examines the effect of (1) method application quality on (2) product concept quality, influenced by (3) potential confounders like AI usage. Statistical analysis reveals that method application quality correlates positively with product concept quality, while higher AI usage correlates negatively with both, indicating limitations in AI usefulness.