Abstract
Prototyping plays a crucial role in design thinking, yet many novice designers fail to adopt it due to insufficient value recognition, limited technical skills, and psychological barriers. This study proposes a new approach by integrating a generative AI-based chat system to simultaneously address these three obstacles. In a two-month exploration with four participants focusing on circular economy themes, we developed two interactive tools—“Jibungoto Design Navigator” and “Try-It-Out Navigator.” Our findings indicate that AI-driven dialogues help clarify project goals, boost self-efficacy, and reduce the fear of failure through rapid prototyping support. The participants created both low- and high-fidelity prototypes with fewer hurdles. These results suggest that incorporating generative AI can empower novice designers, promoting more frequent and confident prototyping endeavors while broadening access to design innovation.
Keywords
prototyping, prototype, novice designers, conversational AI
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/servdes2025.18
Citation
Mitomi, K.,and Kusano, K.(2025) Mitigating Barriers in Novice Designers’ Prototyping with AI: A Comprehensive Approach, in Mahamuni, R., Onkar, P. (eds.), ServDes 2025: Empowering Diversity, Nurturing Lasting Impact, 6–10 October, Hyderabad, India. https://doi.org/10.21606/servdes2025.18
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Mitigating Barriers in Novice Designers’ Prototyping with AI: A Comprehensive Approach
Prototyping plays a crucial role in design thinking, yet many novice designers fail to adopt it due to insufficient value recognition, limited technical skills, and psychological barriers. This study proposes a new approach by integrating a generative AI-based chat system to simultaneously address these three obstacles. In a two-month exploration with four participants focusing on circular economy themes, we developed two interactive tools—“Jibungoto Design Navigator” and “Try-It-Out Navigator.” Our findings indicate that AI-driven dialogues help clarify project goals, boost self-efficacy, and reduce the fear of failure through rapid prototyping support. The participants created both low- and high-fidelity prototypes with fewer hurdles. These results suggest that incorporating generative AI can empower novice designers, promoting more frequent and confident prototyping endeavors while broadening access to design innovation.