The DNA Paris Design Awards, an accolade honoring the work of international designers and architects who improve our daily lives through practical, beautiful, and innovative design, have announced its 2024 winners. Among the winners is an intriguing piece by Weiting Gao, recognized for her AI-generated dragon costume design series. This avant-garde design competition is one of the first in the world to embrace and honor AI-generated creations, marking a significant milestone in the design world.
Weiting Gao’s recent win at the DNA Paris Design Awards adds to her impressive list of achievements, including the Muse Design Awards and the prestigious Red Dot Award. However, her dragon costume series stands out as one of the most unique awarded projects to date. Utilizing advanced AI tools such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, and refining with Photoshop, Weiting crafted sophisticated and exquisite dragon costume designs showcased by elegant models. Her creative process involved a dynamic interplay between AI-generated concepts and manual refinement, allowing her to iterate rapidly and achieve polished, sophisticated designs. According to Weiting, AI technology enabled her to save at least 20 hours in the drawing, modeling, and polishing phases, as well as in finding human models and conducting photo shoots.
To further explore the potential of AI in the design field, we can look back at the development of AI tools. In recent years, AI technology has seen rapid advancements, particularly in the creative industries. Tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, with their powerful generative capabilities, are reshaping designers' workflows. These tools not only help designers accelerate their creative processes but also provide new sources of inspiration, enabling them to break free from the constraints of traditional design and explore unprecedented forms of artistic expression. This trend shows that AI is not just a supportive tool but an extension and expansion of a designer's creativity.
Notably, three years ago, in her published research titled 'Methods of Co-design Using Machine Learning as Design Materials,' Weiting began exploring how emerging technologies influence design processes. This pioneering study analyzed how user experience designers could adapt their design methodologies to work with machine learning (ML) technologies and develop AI products. Weiting advocated that in this new era, designers should embrace AI technologies as essential elements in their toolkit. Her recent design work indeed demonstrates how AI can transform the creation process, resulting in designs that are not only visually stunning but also innovative and practical.
It is worth mentioning that in her research, Weiting Gao pointed out that AI not only changes the appearance and functionality of designs but, more importantly, provides a new way of collaboration for designers. By collaborating with AI, designers can capture and realize client needs more precisely and even predict market trends, giving them a competitive edge. The integration of AI technology has made the design process more data-driven, offering designers more creative evidence and confidence.
Weiting’s journey represents a seamless fusion of traditional design principles and cutting-edge technology, combining scholarly research with practical, real-world applications. As a digital designer at the forefront of this new era where technology and creativity converge, Weiting is enthusiastic about integrating AI into her design process. Her vision is clear: a future where AI empowers artists, making the creative process more efficient, expansive, and imaginative.
Looking ahead, Weiting Gao expressed that she will continue to explore more possibilities between AI and design. She hopes that through continuous experimentation and innovation, she can push the application of AI technology in the design field to new heights. She believes that as AI tools continue to advance, designers will be able to create more unprecedented works of art, which will not only change the landscape of the design industry but also profoundly impact other creative fields.
