Exploring the Impact of AI-generated Image Tools on Professional and Non-professional Users in the Art and Design Fields
Open accessAbstract
The rapid proliferation of AI-generated image tools is transforming the art and design fields, challenging traditional notions of creativity and impacting both professional and non-professional users. For this paper, we define "professional users" as individuals who self-identified in our survey as "artists," "designers," "filmmakers," or "art and design students," and "non-professional users" as individuals who self-identified as "others." This study explores how AI-generated image tools influence these different user groups. Through an online survey (N=380) comprising 173 professional users and 207 non-professional users, we examine differences in the utilization of AI tools, user satisfaction and challenges, applications in creative processes, perceptions and impacts, and acceptance levels. Our findings indicate persistent concerns about image quality, cost, and copyright issues. Additionally, the usage patterns of non-professional users suggest that AI tools have the potential to democratize creative processes, making art and design tasks more accessible to individuals without traditional expertise. This study provides insights into the needs of different user groups and offers recommendations for developing more user-centered AI tools, contributing to the broader discussion on the future of AI in the art and design fields.
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AI-generated image tools have impacted workflows, highlighting AI's potential to democratize graphic design and emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration.
“the impact of AI-generated image tools on workflows has been explored [71, 95], highlighting AI's potential to democratize graphic design [97] and emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance AI systems [68].”
From Understanding Screenwriters' Practices, Attitudes, and Future Expectations in Human-AI Co-Creation (2025) · cites this paper as [97]
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“Furthermore, the impact of AI-generated image tools on workflows has been explored [71, 95], highlighting AI’s potential to democratize graphic design [97] and emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance AI systems [68].”
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Tang, Y., Zhang, N., Ciancia, M., & Wang, Z.
- Affiliations
- Politecnico di Milano (IT)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
- Venue
- Companion Publication of the 2024 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing
- Publisher
- ACM
- Published
- 2024-11-11
- Pages
- 451-458
- OpenAlex
- W4404331663
- Cited by
- 31
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 14
- FWCI
- 12.10
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- Virtual Community of Pathological Anatomy (University of Castilla La Mancha) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design › Digital Media and Visual Art
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Visual Arts and Performing Arts › Art, Technology, and Culture
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Generative Adversarial Networks and Image Synthesis
- Keywords
- generative AI in art, art and design, creativity, user satisfaction, image quality, copyright issues, cost concerns
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