The Evolving Role of AI in Creative Processes
I have been extensively using ChatGPT as of late. I have been using it for stakeholder mapping, getting ideas for 5 whys, generating random words for a word association workshop, and distilling grand themes from our creative output. Before this my usage has been limited to creating code snippets or placeholder text for designs. I have been enjoying the creative use of the service, but it does poise a risk of losing one’s creativity and self-exploration. This is what is argued is happening with the current design thinking curriculums, that we risk relegating people to data providers, test subjects and passive audiences. I suppose this is what the unfiltered use of ChatGPT does in a way. If, when using it for creativity, you give in to the hallucinations of generative AI and do not use your own rational or creative thinking when deciding what outputs will you use.
The Creative Dilemma: AI Assistance vs. Human Ingenuity
However, I think there is a clear distinction between creativity in design and art. As all creativity demands originality and requires effectiveness, in design there are always external constraints, a certain goal that we need to fulfil. On the other hand, in art there are different constraints. Rick Rubin puts it nicely in his book “The Creative Act”: the reason we create art is not with the intention of making something useful for someone else, we create art to express who we are. Now, I think this is where the clear distinction is. As artists we create for ourselves and as designers, we create for someone else. There clearly needs to be an external beneficiary for design. The sort of overly narrow aspect of creativity that is argued design thinking is promoting, is valid in a sense, that when creating for someone else we might not be able to tap into something visceral or romantic within ourselves. So, there needs to be a distinction of what kind of creativity we are talking about. Are we fulfilling business needs or are we satisfying our own expressive needs?
The Common Thread: Patience in Creativity
One thing, however, is common both for creativity in art and design. There needs to be patience. This is something I have noticed that I lack quite often. I find myself frustrated with the team’s need to diverge even more when we need to converge. This is not only in this project, but I have now realized that in many previous projects. This big sense of unnecessary urgency that does not allow creative ideas to grow to their full potential. I think it might stem from this need to be efficient with one’s time. Regularly I have been the project manager of the creative projects I have been involved with hence also responsible of the budget and reporting to the clients. Now that I am looking back at these projects, it is extremely difficult to justify the business need for allowing enough time to diverge and converge.
Project Management and Pricing Strategies in Creative Work
Nonetheless, this is probably where we get to crucial aspect of project management – pricing strategies. I do not remember how many times I have had discussions whether a certain project should be priced hourly or should the pricing be value based. Of course, there might be benefits for either one. But for projects requiring a high level of creativity the dynamics shift. In creative work, to allow teams to tap into their creativity there needs to be a luxury of time. Not just to ideate but to iterate and refine, even revisit the drawing board. The output cannot always be evaluated by the time spent creating it rather the novelty and the impact it will have. A great, maybe even the most used example of this is the Citi group’s logo which the designer Paula Scher drew in mere seconds in the corner of her napkin for a significant sum.
Integrating ChatGPT in Design: A Path to Creative Symbiosis
Maybe using ChatGPT allows me more patience in the latter stages of design projects as it might speed up the first stages or maybe we get to tap into a creative symbiosis of man and AI unlocking more creativity.