Academics and students work with designers to develop a teaching methodology for AI

Funding for an innovative new research project that will help universities integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their art and design education programmes has recently been secured by the Nottingham School of Art & Design, in partnership with Liberty Fabrics, Norwich University of the Arts, and University of the Arts London (Chelsea).

The project is one of only 18 to be funded this year by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) under its Collaborative Enhancement Projects scheme for 2024. The scheme funds groups of institutions to work together on projects to enhance the quality of the student learning experience, offering outputs that benefit the wider QAA Membership and the HE sector as a whole.

Involving students and academics from three HE institutions, and working closely with industry partner Liberty Fabrics, the project will investigate how AI tools can be used to help and influence the design process, exploring how this learning can be used to integrate AI into art and design education at HE level.

With AI research more often focused on language, the impact of AI in HE art and design education is dramatic and has not yet been fully explored or understood. The design industry is also trying to understand how these new tools can help and influence the design process with AI-generated imagery opening up a multitude of possibilities.

Generative AI, such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, raises many unanswered questions around the potential impact on future job roles, ethical concerns, copyright and ownership, and the creative process itself for designers.

Image Credit: Photography copyright (c) Liberty

Natalie Brown, Deputy Dean of the Nottingham School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University, said:

“As AI continues to rapidly evolve, it is vital that universities consider not only how this will affect the way we experience and create art, design and other creative subjects, but how student skills can be honed and future-proofed to rise to this new creative challenge.”

Liberty is known for its links to art and culture, showcasing new products and championing new designers. The project will involve students and academics from three Institutions, working alongside the iconic Liberty Fabrics design studios exploring the capabilities and limitations of AI within the designer’s toolkit and how it affects the designers’ workflow. This new learning will benefit all participants as they share their experiences of exploring AI in the design process.

Through collaboration and co-design, this new project will identify a teaching methodology resulting in the creation of an online toolkit for universities, providing them with the support needed to integrate AI into the teaching and learning of their art and design programmes.

This new research further strengthens Nottingham School of Art & Design’s impressive standing as an HE leader in the field of Art & Design; a reputation that will be further enhanced when NTU’s dedicated new Design & Digital Arts building opens on campus later this spring.

Using AI in learning and teaching in art and design’ is a Collaborative Enhancement Project supported and funded by QAA Membership. The project is led by Nottingham Trent University in partnership with Liberty Fabrics, Norwich University of the Arts and University of the Arts London (Chelsea).