Journal of Graphic Engineering and Design

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut ero labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco.

Search
GUIDE FOR AUTHORS SUBMIT MANUSCRIPT
Forthcoming
Original scientific paper

Integrating AI image generation into the designer's creative process for mascot creation

Full text article (PDF)
  • Peter Ardhianto,
  • Tiara Fabian Aquirel
Peter Ardhianto
Soegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang, Indonesia
Tiara Fabian Aquirel
Soegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang, Indonesia

Published 2026-04-21

abstract views: 82 // Full text article (PDF): 15


Keywords

  • artificial intelligence,
  • creative strategy,
  • graphic design,
  • character design,
  • conceptual design

How to Cite

Ardhianto, P., & Fabian Aquirel, T. (2026). Integrating AI image generation into the designer’s creative process for mascot creation. Journal of Graphic Engineering and Design. Retrieved from https://jged.uns.ac.rs/index.php/jged/article/view/2417

Copyright (c) 2026 © 2026 Authors. Published by the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Graphic Engineering and Design. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0 Serbia

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

AI-generated image tools are an innovation that can significantly impact the design process by increasing productivity and generating a wide range of complex design exploration results. Although AI-generated image tools have many advantages and diverse features, research is still needed to assess the suitability of the images produced in the ideation process carried out by designers. The purpose of this study is to compare and assess the influence of the ideation process carried out by student designers in a mascot creation project with and without the use of AI-generated image tools. The method for this study is an experimental design by compares the ideation process using AI-generated images with the ideation process without using AI-generated images. The design analysis of the final design was conducted by expert designers using a blind review technique. The results of this study do not yet show that the use of AI in the ideation process is superior to conventional methods, but it is known that AI-generated images tools can be a reference and a competent choice of ideation media to use. This research has implications for the method of extracting ideas in the mascot design process and also provides evidence that the use of AI in the ideation process should not be feared or avoided.

Article history: Received (September 25, 2025); Revised (December 5, 2025); Accepted (December 29, 2025)

PlumX Metrics

Dimensions Citation Metrics

Full text article (PDF)

References

  1. Adel, A. (2022) Future of industry 5.0 in society: human-centric solutions, challenges and prospective research areas. Journal of Cloud Computing. 11 (1), 40. Available from: doi: 10.1186/s13677-022-00314-5
  2. Alayrac, J.-B., Barr, I., Barreira, R., Bińkowski, M., Borgeaud, S., Brock, A., Cabi, S., Donahue, J., Gong, Z., Han, T., Hasson, Y., Lenc, K., Luc, P., Menick, J. L., Mensch, A., Miech, A., Millican, K., Monteiro, M., Nematzadeh, A., Reynolds, M., Ring, R., Rutherford, E., Samangooei, S., Sharifzadeh, S., Simonyan, K., Vinyals, O. & Zisserman, A. (2022) Flamingo: a visual language model for few-shot learning. In: Koyejo, S., Mohamed, S., Agarwal, A., Belgrave, D., Cho, K. & Oh, A. (eds.) Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 35, 36th Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2022), 28 November - 9 December 2022, New Orleans, Louisiana. New York, Curran Associates, Inc. pp. 23716–23736. Available from: https://proceedings.neurips.cc/paper_files/paper/2022/hash/960a172bc7fbf0177ccccbb411a7d800-Abstract-Conference.html [Accessed 22nd March 2026].
  3. Ardhianto, P. & Nababan, R. S. (2023) Artificial Intelligence Approach in Visual Design Ideation Process. In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Arts and Design Education, ICADE 2022, 22 September 2022, Virtual Conference. Dordrecht, Atlantis Press. pp. 112–117. Available from: doi: 10.2991/978-2-38476-100-5_17
  4. Ardhianto, P., Santosa, Y. P. & Pusparani, Y. (2023) A generative deep learning for exploring layout variation on visual poster design. International Journal of Visual and Performing Arts. 5 (1), 10–17. Available from: doi: 10.31763/viperarts.v5i1.920
  5. Cheng, P.-J. (2015) Dissimilarities of designer ideation by identified searching-retrieval behavior in referencing online-offline material. Bulletin of Japanese Society for the Science of Design. 62 (3), 3_85–3_94. Available from: doi: 10.11247/jssdj.62.3_85
  6. Cheng, P.-J. (2023) Design teams’ behaviors and idea development in using “IDEATOR”. In: De Sainz Molestina, D., Galluzzo, L., Rizzo, F. and Spallazzo, D. (eds.) International Association of Societies of Design Research Congress 2023, Life-Changing Design, IASDR 2023, 9 – 13 October 2023, Milan, Italy. Available from: doi: 10.21606/iasdr.2023.184
  7. Chiu, M.-C. & Hwang, G.-J. (2024) Enhancing students’ critical thinking and creative thinking: An integrated mind mapping and robot-based learning approach. Education and Information Technologies. 29 (17), 22779–22812. Available from: doi: 10.1007/s10639-024-12752-6
  8. Choudhry, M. D., Jeevanandham, S., Sundarrajan, M., Jothi, A., Prashanthini, K. & Saravanan, V. (2024) Future Technologies for Industry 5.0 and Society 5.0. In: Tyagi, A. K. (ed.) Automated Secure Computing for Next‐Generation Systems. Hoboken, Wiley, pp. 403–414. Available from: doi: 10.1002/9781394213948.ch20
  9. Fareed, M. W., Bou Nassif, A. & Nofal, E. (2024) Exploring the Potentials of Artificial Intelligence Image Generators for Educating the History of Architecture. Heritage. 7 (3), 1727–1753. Available from: doi: 10.3390/heritage7030081
  10. Ferguson, R., Barzilai, S., Ben-Zvi, D., Chinn, C. A., Herodotou, C., Hod, Y., Kali, Y., Kukulska-Hulme, A., Kupermintz, H., McAndrew, P., Rienties, B., Sagy, O., Scanlon, E., Sharples, M., Weller, M. & Whitelock, D. (2017) Innovating Pedagogy 2017: Exploring new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators and policy makers. Open University Innovation Report 6. The Open University. Available from: https://oro.open.ac.uk/52761/ [Accessed 22nd March 2026].
  11. Gonçalves, M. & Cash, P. (2021) The life cycle of creative ideas: Towards a dual-process theory of ideation. Design Studies. 72, 100988. Available from: doi: 10.1016/j.destud.2020.100988
  12. Hermawan, H., Subarkah, P., Utomo, A. T., Ilham, F. & Saputra, D. I. S. (2024) VTUBER PERSONAS IN DIGITAL WAYANG: A REVIEW OF INNOVATIVE CULTURAL PROMOTION FOR INDONESIAN HERITAGE. Jurnal Pilar Nusa Mandiri. 20 (2), 165–175. Available from: doi: 10.33480/pilar.v20i2.5921
  13. Jones, P. & Morrison, M. (2021) Mind-mapping in design culture: A tool for ideation in graphic design education. In: Design Culture(s) Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021, 8 – 11 June 2021, Rome, Italy. Cumulus Association. pp. 1724–1737. Available from: https://research.aub.ac.uk/id/eprint/334/ [Accessed 22nd March 2026].
  14. Kim, J. & Maher, M. L. (2023) The effect of AI-based inspiration on human design ideation. International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation. 11 (2), 81–98. Available from: doi: 10.1080/21650349.2023.2167124
  15. Kim, T. (2020) A design ideation method for novice designers. PhD thesis. University of Leeds. Available from: https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/26929/ [Accessed 22nd March 2026].
  16. Longhurst, B. (2024) AI & Graphic Design: what kind of skills are needed for graphic designers in the AI era? Thesis. LAB University of Applied Sciences. Available from: https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/855885 [Accessed 22nd March 2026].
  17. Mezmir, E. A. (2020) Qualitative data analysis: An overview of data reduction, data display, and interpretation. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences. 10 (21), 15–27. Available from: doi: 10.7176/RHSS/10-21-02
  18. Panke, S. (2019) Design Thinking in Education: Perspectives, Opportunities and Challenges. Open Education Studies. 1 (1), 281–306. Available from: doi: 10.1515/edu-2019-0022
  19. Povinelli, M. (2023) A Longitudinal Engineering Education Study of a Holistic Engineering Pedagogy and Holistic Design Thinking Methodology on Postsecondary Student Academic Success and Retention. In: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, 25 – 28 June 2023, Baltimore, Maryland. ASEE Conferences. Available from: doi: 10.18260/1-2--42416
  20. Purnomo, C. A. & Chen, H.-J. (2025) Tapping into teacher feedback in digital storytelling: Learning outcomes, emotions, and perceptions. Language Teaching Research. Available from: doi: 10.1177/13621688241307239
  21. Razzouk, R. & Shute, V. (2012) What is design thinking and why is it important? Review of Educational Research. 82 (3), 330–348. Available from: doi: 10.3102/0034654312457429
  22. Roblek, V., Meško, M. & Podbregar, I. (2021) Mapping of the Emergence of Society 5.0: A Bibliometric Analysis. Organizacija. 54 (4), 293–305. Available from: doi: 10.2478/orga-2021-0020
  23. Satrinia, D., Firman, R. R. & Fitriati, T. N. (2023) Potensi Artificial Intelligence dalam Dunia Kreativitas Desain. Journal of Informatics and Communication Technology (JICT). 5 (1), 159–168. Available from: doi: 10.52661/j_ict.v5i1.164
  24. Scolere, L. (2023) Connected Design Learning: Aspiring Designers, Pinterest, and Social Media Literacy. Journal of Interior Design. 48 (3), 191–206. Available from: doi: 10.1177/10717641231184214
  25. Sharples, M., de Roock, R., Ferguson, R., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Koh, E., Kukulska-Hulme, A., Looi, C.-K., McAndrew, P., Rienties, B., Weller, M. & Wong, L. H. (2016) Innovating Pedagogy 2016: Open University Innovation Report 5. The Open University. Available from: https://oro.open.ac.uk/47961/ [Accessed 22nd March 2026].
  26. Sigfrids, A., Leikas, J., Salo-Pöntinen, H. & Koskimies, E. (2023) Human-centricity in AI governance: A systemic approach. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence. 6. Available from: doi: 10.3389/frai.2023.976887
  27. Sreenivasan, A. & Suresh, M. (2024) Design thinking and artificial intelligence: A systematic literature review exploring synergies. International Journal of Innovation Studies. 8 (3), 297–312. Available from: doi: 10.1016/j.ijis.2024.05.001
  28. Thomson, T., Thomas, R. J. & Matich, P. (2024) Generative Visual AI in News Organizations: Challenges, Opportunities, Perceptions, and Policies. Digital Journalism. 13 (10), 1693–1714. Available from: doi: 10.1080/21670811.2024.2331769
  29. Usmani, U. A., Happonen, A. & Watada, J. (2023) Human-centered artificial intelligence: Designing for user empowerment and ethical considerations. In: 2023 5th International Congress on Human-Computer Interaction, Optimization and Robotic Applications, HORA, 8–10 June 2023, Istanbul, Turkiye. New Jersey, IEEE. pp. 1–7. Available from: doi: 10.1109/HORA58378.2023.10156761
  30. Xiao, W. (2025) Generative AI empowered visual design creativity generation. Australian Journal of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. 1–16. Available from: doi: 10.1080/1448837x.2025.2568796
  31. Yuan, J. E. (2025) Making virtual celebrity: Platformization and intermediation in digital cultural production. International Journal of Cultural Studies. 28 (1), 316– 331. Available from: doi: 10.1177/13678779241230564
  32. Zafar, F. (2024) Graphic Design and AI: Replacement of Human Mind? Journal of Arts and Linguistics Studies. 2 (2), 1063–1077.