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the future of quilt design in an AI world
what does this mean for designers?
Something I’ve been thinking about, that I think is worth your attention: AI.
That’s artificial intelligence, not Adobe Illustrator (in this case).
It’s everywhere (unless you’ve been living under a rock).
what does AI mean for designers, for creatives, for artists, for quilters?
I am at the beginning of this rabbit hole, so I’ll share a few preliminary thoughts this week, but if you’re interested in hearing more about it in coming weeks, leave me a comment and let me know.
here are my thoughts so far in terms of using AI to generate design ideas:
Mindblowing speed of implementation – in a few clicks, and a few lines of typing, you can create incredible images.
Dulling our differentiation – because it’s so easy, it means ANYONE can do the same thing.
The value of handmade, analogue, unique thinking will go up – if you can show that there is really a human behind your design process, that it really was ‘made by hand’ or demonstrate that your design process works outside of AI, then I think there will be increased value here.
Not to mention your UNIQUE design expression.
Not to mention your SATISFACTION in revelling in the design process itself.
designing, being creative, making something with your hands, is something truly satisfying.
You know it.
You’ve experienced it when you’ve put the last stitch in your binding, or iterated your design to an elevated level of idea for a quilt pattern, or had that moment when ideas collide and a new idea is born.
Fear of the ‘blank page’ is real, and AI can be a powerful tool for generating a starting point for your design.
I believe we are still able to rapidly come up with our own unique design ideas.
I show designers and quilters how to do exactly this when I share about my design process: iterating from unique sources of inspiration to rapidly generate a range of unique design ideas so you never feel like you don’t have a unique design idea again.
Using the power of human thinking – connecting the dots on your favourite things.
Using the power of the connection between the mind and the hand – through simple sketching.
Using the power of iteration – to rapidly generate multiple design ideas – without AI.
While I think AI is an incredible progression in technology, I also think it allows us to reflect on the value of design, the value of designing something unique to you.
this is why I teach my process to come up with unique design ideas in ALL my programs.
Design thinking is not only about coming up with something pretty, or aesthetically pleasing.
It’s also about the pleasure derived from the process itself.
And if that process is reduced to a few clicks and a couple of lines of text, then I think we’re missing 99% of the point of being designers and creatives.
I’d love to know your thoughts – leave a comment below and let me know what you think of the future of quilt design in an AI world
some other cool technology that has my eye right now:
I’m thinking how this could be some kind of 3D EPP
Do you get stuck with colour palette ideas? This could be an interesting solution.
I’m not fond of AI. I’m a 2nd year beginner and I look for authentic creativity not robotic. I’m excited to see the development of a concept by a person independently.
I think as we develop our preference and style that it feels authentic to create and express it in our art.
That’s the beauty of it and I like choosing colors and palettes to my preference and experience growth, change and refine what I feel looks good. And when I think of AI doing all the work or influencing my work, that’s where my creativity is hindered and I can become dependent and use my independent creativity less.
I want to challenge myself to become a novice and eventually an advanced quilter. I imagine that it might become boring to let an AI program to think for me… Just my two cents.
Thanks for your thoughts Hilda. I think AI has a place as a tool to help enhance human creativity, but I agree, I don’t think it can or should replace our own personal artistic and creative exploration. Looking forward to seeing your unfold!
It has been a while that I’ve been frustrated as an art quilter to create “fresh” subject matter i.e. work that doesn’t look like anybody else’s work. experimenting with AI has thrown the core of my designs in a different direction. Is this the answer? I don’t know yet. Will everyone land up with the same designs? I doubt it. With my first try, I had a specific look and feel in mind. It took me weeks to find out the correct phrases to use to enable me to get to the design I wanted. It took me a couple of months to work out a way and identify the methodology to get to the end results.
In an industry where ready drawn patterns, quilting ideas and classes are plagiarised daily, using AI as a design tool is, in my opinion, a fresh breeze of inspiration for the industry and one I am going to pursue for the time being to see where it leads.
Sounds like a fun experiment- and working alongside AI instead of for/against. Look forward to seeing your results!
Thanks, Ally. I have been avoiding the AI Rabbit Hole but I’m glad to see that you are able to put it into a positive light for those of us who still like to do things ourselves.
Anne
Hi Anne – it’s powerful, it’s probably not going away, so might as well see what we can do to use it in a way that suits us, is my thought. I’ll be doing some more experiments… stay tuned! 🙂