Design Education in Human-AI Co-Creation: A Qualitative Analysis of Using Image Generative Models in Conceptual Design

In the context of ongoing advancements in artificial intelligence technology, creative collaboration between humans and AI has become increasingly common. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive research on the long-term cooperation between creators and AI design tools. This study explores the evolution of the co-creation process between designers and AI through a nine-week innovative training workshop, inviting 30 designers to collaborate with the generative AI tool Midjourney. Four rounds of in-depth interviews were conducted with participants over two months, using the grounded theory method for qualitative analysis. Drawing from the findings, we have identified five core competencies necessary for co-creation with AI and provided suggestions for fostering creative collaboration with AI to guide design educational practice.