AI For Design: Sketches, Images, Ideation

Artificial intelligence and AI tools have risen in number and capability at an alarmingly fast speed. In design, AI tools are revolutionizing the creative process, enabling designers to explore a vast array of options and iterations swiftly, effectively personalizing products to individual consumer preferences.

– Harrison McDonald, November 2023

Meanwhile, in manufacturing, AI is crucial for optimizing production lines, predicting maintenance needs, and ensuring quality control, which minimizes waste and downtime. This technology is becoming an indispensable asset in managing complex supply chains and demand forecasting, ensuring manufacturers can adapt to market changes rapidly. Moreover, AI’s data analysis capabilities are unlocking insights into consumer behavior, allowing for the creation of more responsive and intuitive design features. As AI continues to evolve, its role as a cornerstone technology in design and manufacturing sectors is set to deepen, reshaping these industries with smarter, faster, and more sustainable practices.

Leveraging ChatGPT for Industrial Design Innovation

Chat GPT is a program that appears as an almost Google search engine tool from a first look, but offers far greater features than just question and response. The key areas within the design and engineering world that Chat GPT lends it usefulness to are as follows:

Idea Generation: Utilize ChatGPT’s creative capabilities to brainstorm and generate innovative concepts and solutions.

Prototyping Support: Get instant feedback and suggestions for prototyping, materials, and manufacturing processes.

Market Analysis: Harness AI-driven insights to understand market trends, user needs, and competitive landscapes.

Collaboration Enhancement: Facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration through natural language processing, bridging gaps between design, engineering, and marketing teams.

Visuals: Iconic representations for each point, such as a lightbulb for idea generation, a prototype model for prototyping support, a graph for market analysis, and interconnected avatars for collaboration.

These examples illustrate the types of work that Chat GPT can output. These examples are not just written in a vacuum, but rather methods that we at Additive Engineering have found useful within both the design and business side. Our uses include:

Writing prompts for images
Writing better contracts and client communications
Writing and reframing problems and problem solving
Reverse engineering descriptions and processes
Idea generation from different perspectives

Midjourney

Midjourney is an AI platform in which users can input prompts and output high quality images generated based upon the input prompt. The benefits that the Midjourney workflow offer are:

Real-Time Collaboration: Midjourney enables seamless collaboration across teams, ensuring a unified approach from concept to final design.

Interactive Prototyping: Create and test prototypes within Midjourney’s environment, streamlining the design process and saving valuable time.

Analytics and Insights: Midjourney provides data-driven insights, allowing designers to make informed decisions, understand user needs, and predict market trends.

Integration with Existing Tools: Easily connect Midjourney with your current design and manufacturing software for a cohesive design experience.

Visuals: Use engaging graphics such as interconnected avatars, a 3D prototype model, insightful graphs, and integrated tools to represent each point.

For specific use to the team at Additive Engineering, the key uses and benefits of Midjourney are the abilities of the program as:

Text to image generator
Greatest current output of Ai image generation
Using specific functions you can adjust images, convert to videos, specify aspect ratios, and track storylines
As of newest updates, adding reference photos allows fine tuned control of outputs

Midjourney Example

Prompt into GPT: write a prompt for an image generation of a mid century modern style espresso machine design sketches

Output from GPT (to input into Midjourney): “Create a collection of design sketches for a mid-century modern inspired espresso machine. The sketches should embody the sleek and minimalist aesthetic of the era, highlighting clean lines, geometric shapes, and a sense of functional elegance. Incorporate elements like tapered legs, natural wood accents, and bold yet understated color schemes. Focus on depicting the espresso machine from various angles, showcasing its user interface, portafilter, steam wand, and other key features, while infusing a timeless retro vibe into the design.”

Results

Vary (Strong)

Vizcom

Vizcom AI is a program that can take image input as well as written prompts to create stylized renderings. This program boasts the ability to take the input of hand drawn rough sketches and output finish quality product and design renderings. The benefits as seen by the team at AE are:

Advanced Visualization: Vizcom AI offers cutting-edge visualization tools, allowing designers to create immersive 3D models, simulations, and virtual prototypes.

AI-Powered Design Analysis: Utilize artificial intelligence to analyze designs for efficiency, aesthetics, and functionality, providing real-time feedback and suggestions.

Collaborative Workspace: Enable seamless collaboration across teams and stakeholders, with shared virtual design spaces, annotation tools, and synchronized updates.

Integration with Design Ecosystem: Vizcom AI integrates with existing design tools and platforms, offering a cohesive workflow from concept to production.

Market Trend Prediction: Utilize machine learning algorithms to understand market trends, user preferences, and potential opportunities, guiding the design process.

Vizcom acts as an almost shortcut in the design sketch to finish product rendering output process. This program within practical use by the AE team is used as:

Sketch to render program
Take basic linework and output photorealistic renders
Iterative process at controllable points (numerically)
“Render” and “Refine” settings for variations
Control Render styles, drawing influence, enter reference imagery, and write driving prompts

Input Sketch