Creativity in the Imperfections: GenAI as a Disruptive Inspiration

Iconic design products often arise from embracing imperfections, like the marks of craftsmanship and authenticity found in the flaws of glassware. This position paper argues that generative AI (GenAI) imperfections or unrealistic results should be viewed as opportunities for creativity, not errors to correct. While GenAI often defaults to conventional designs due to its training data, true creative potential emerges when deviations challenge expectations. The paper details three explorations using GenAI for design tasks, particularly in industrial design, demonstrating how such disruptive imperfections could lead to novel design concepts and discussions. It proposes that accepting these imperfections can fuel design innovations and traditions, such as provotypes and speculative design concepts through design friction, suggesting that the most creative AI may be the one that generates the most unexpected and thought-provoking imperfections.