AI as a Design Tool: Starting with Text-to-Image Generation 

A natural starting point for many educators is text-to-image AI. These tools take a written prompt and generate a visual output. In the classroom, this can be used to:

• Create product examples or visual references

• Generate discussion prompts

• Show a particular drawing style or material application

For example, a prompt like ‘sketches, construction lines, pro markers, toothbrushing and shaving’ can produce an image that helps kickstart a design brief. These kinds of visuals can spark curiosity and support learning, especially when no physical exemplar is available

However, these tools raise important questions. Concerns about copyright and the use of web-scraped imagery are relevant, particularly when outputs resemble human-made work. In this context, AI-generated imagery should be treated as a teaching aid rather than a replacement for original design.