AI-Led Design Innovation Workshop

​Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester, in partnership with the University of Exeter and the University of Texas at Austin, is delighted to invite you to an Innovation Workshop to explore the relationship between AI and Design.

​What is this workshop about?

​AI-led Design Innovation is an interactive, hands-on workshop for professionals working in or around service design, UI/UX, and product or engineering design. It offers a space to critically explore how data and AI can support and transform the design process. Together, we’ll examine how AI enhances creativity, efficiency, and insight—while also confronting its limitations, from reduced human oversight and creative control to ethical concerns and hidden biases. The goal is to deepen your understanding of how AI can truly empower design innovation, without losing sight of where it falls short.

​What are we going to do?

​The workshop features three dynamic, hands-on sessions. First, participants will explore how data and AI currently support their design work, mapping out both benefits and hurdles across the design process. After lunch, the focus shifts to the bigger picture unpacking the tensions between AI’s value creation and its potential downsides, like lost creativity or ethical risks. Finally, teams will present their insights, sparking discussion and shared learning across disciplines. By the end, you’ll leave with practical strategies, a broader perspective, and fresh ideas for using AI in design ethically, creatively, and with impact.

​Who can join?

​We’re calling on designers who are shaping the future design landscape with AI. Whether you work in service and business design, UI/UX, or product and engineering design, if you’re actively using AI and data in your design process or have done so in the past, this workshop is for you. Regardless of industries or sectors, we are inviting participants who satisfy the following criteria:

• ​Designers (or anyone involved in design practice) who work in or around:
  - Service/Business design (i.e., system designer, design researcher, user researcher)
  - UI/UX design: (app/web designer, UI/UX designer)
  - Product/engineering design (engineering designer, product designer, industrial designer, design engineer)

• ​Have previously used and/or are currently using AI and data within the design process

• ​Academics working in these spaces above

​What is in it for you?

• ​A comprehensive picture of current AI-led design practices
  Gain an overview of how AI can be integrated within the Double Diamond Design process, and explore various AI assistance scenarios tailored to each design stage’s objectives and purposes.  

• ​A deeper understanding of the challenges of using AI

​Learn about the challenges and limitations of using AI in design, such as accounting for indirect stakeholders in human-centred design, concerns over autonomy and creativity, and the social and environmental impact of bias-prone algorithms.

• ​Insights from fellow designers across disciplines

​Discover how AI is being applied in various design fields including product, service, and UI/UX design, and broaden your perspective on cross-disciplinary AI-led design practices.

• ​A look at what’s next in AI and design
  Discuss and get a glimpse into the emerging landscape of AI-led design innovation beyond your current practice.