AI in design: how are creatives using artificial intelligence? With Seky Kwon, Grafik and Vernacular

It’s easy to look at the emergence of AI as one of two black-and-white scenarios. Either, one: an existential threat. To not only livelihoods, careers, and intellectual property, but creativity itself. Or, two: the future of design, and a hallmark of a revolutionary new way of working. It’s easy to get lost in discourse. And, rather than dwell on hypotheticals, we thought we’d ask creatives directly to hear their thoughts. How are they using AI in their practice today? How do they feel about it? Sekyeong (Seky) Kwon is a Product Designer at Dojo (a top 10 fastest-growing fintech company in Europe), working on “how digital products look and interact with users.” Outside of her day job, the London-based designer keenly follows emerging technologies. In fact, she’s had her eye on the AI space in design for a few years now, having focused her MA thesis on ‘the social and ethical implication of AI in the design industry’ in 2017, in which she predicted the profound impact of AI in the creative industry. Following her seminal speculative design project Michael Barnes, the designer was invited to MIT Design Lab to present her paper, which she co-authored with Falmouth University tutor, educator and designer Dr Robyn Cook. Looking back at the project, has AI turned out the way she thought it would? “100%!” she tells us. “What I did with the Michael Barnes project six years ago; generating text, images and a website with online tools and code is already happening everywhere, and it’s crazy how they are so easy to do these days.” The key difference is, the original intention of her project was to be provocative and satirical, answering her research question: “Will AI be an ally or enemy to designers?” Today, she reflects, AI is being harnessed to create real things, by people with little or no understanding of the technology.