ISSN: 2226-6348
Open access
In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital creativity, the integration of Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) has introduced both disruption and opportunity within design education. This study investigates how an AIGC-enhanced curriculum can be purposefully implemented to support the development of three critical competencies in interface design: prompt engineering, visual logic, and user empathy. Conducted as a qualitative case study at a vocational university in China, the 8-week course engaged 28 undergraduate students in a series of studio-based projects that embedded generative AI tools—such as Midjourney and Uizard—across ideation, prototyping, and reflection. Drawing on thematic analysis of student artifacts, field notes, interviews, and peer/self-evaluations, the findings reveal that students not only gained fluency in prompt-based design communication, but also demonstrated growth in visual reasoning and empathetic problem-solving. Moreover, learners reported a shift in mindset—from passive recipients of software training to creative explorers co-authoring with intelligent systems. These outcomes suggest that when thoughtfully integrated, AIGC tools can deepen conceptual understanding, support iterative design thinking, and reposition students as active agents in the design process. The study contributes to emerging scholarship on postdigital pedagogy and proposes a model for reimagining interface design education in the age of human–AI collaboration.
Brailas, A. (2024). Postdigital duoethnography: An inquiry into academic human-computer interaction. Postdigital Science and Education, 6(1), 20–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-023-00463-w
Bubeck, S., Chandrasekaran, V., Eldan, R., Gehrke, J., Horvitz, E., Kamar, E., ... & Zhang, Y. (2023). Sparks of artificial general intelligence: Early experiments with GPT-4. arXiv preprint arXiv:2303.12712.
Buchanan, R. (2019). Systems thinking and design thinking: The search for principles in the world we are making. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 5(2), 85–104.
Chen, C., Yuan, B., & Yin, R. (2024). Enhancing creativity in design education with AIGC: Opportunities and challenges. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00491-7
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2009). “Multiliteracies”: New literacies, new learning. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4(3), 164–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/15544800903076044
Dai, H. (2024). Innovation in interface design education in the era of AI: Integrating human-machine collaboration. Design Studies Review, 6(1), 51–68.
Fawns, T. (2022). Postdigital education in design: Human and machine agency in creative learning. Postdigital Science and Education, 4(2), 402–418. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-021-00292-3
Floridi, L. (2022). Artificial intelligence and its limits: Why AI is not a new digital mind. Philosophy & Technology, 35(3), 56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-022-00525-x
Garrett, J. J. (2011). The elements of user experience: User-centered design for the web and beyond. New Riders.
Goloujeh, M. G., Sullivan, A., & Magerko, B. (2024). Third-party interlocutors: Designing with AI to support user perspective-taking in education. Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 40(2), 215–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370024.2023.2235222
Haugsbaken, H., & Hagelia, M. (2024). Prompt literacy and AI writing: Bridging communication design and learning in creative education. Learning, Media and Technology, 49(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2024.2307613
Hogan, T., & Harney, S. (2022). Postdigital applied systems science education: Toward an experimental pedagogy. Postdigital Science and Education, 4(3), 709–729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-021-00289-y
Huang, Y., Lu, L., & Wu, J. (2024). Critical framing in AIGC-based design education: Preventing student overdependence. Educational Technology Research and Development, 72(1), 112–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10198-2
Jandri?, P., & Hayes, S. (2020). WeLearn: A postdigital perspective on learning, research, and education. Postdigital Science and Education, 2(2), 280–303. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-019-00092-2
Kim, S. (2023). AI and user interface education: From automation to augmentation. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 39(5), 421–437.
Maloy, R. W., & Gattupalli, A. (2024). Prompt engineering as new literacy in AI-integrated education. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 40(2), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2024.2281813
Norman, D. A. (2020). The design of everyday things (Revised & expanded ed.). Basic Books.
Park, M. (2023). Creative and critical entanglements with AI in art and design classrooms. Visual Arts Research, 49(2), 49–67. https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.49.2.0049
Rajcic, J., Rodriguez, J., & McCormack, J. (2024). Rethinking creativity in human–AI collaboration. Digital Creativity, 35(1), 13–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2023.2261098
Ren, J., Xiao, Y., & Li, C. (2023). AI-generated content and the future of design education. Computers & Education: Artificial Intelligence, 4, 100128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2023.100128
Riche, Y., Ko, A. J., Denny, P., & Rix, G. (2025). Iterating prompts to learn better: Student practices and design opportunities in prompt engineering. Proceedings of the ACM on Human–Computer Interaction, 9(CSCW), 123–145.
Sheng, W. (2024). Designing with machines: The role of generative AI in creative curriculum. Design Journal of Asia, 18(1), 89–104.
Wang, Y., Zhang, X., & Lin, D. (2024). Exploring computational creativity in Chinese interface design programs. Journal of Design Education, 27(2), 54–71.
Wang, Y. (2025). Integrating generative AI into interface design pedagogy: A classroom-based study. Asian Journal of Design Education, 3(1), 19–34.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Chen, Q., & Jin, D. (2025). AIGC-Enhanced Curriculum for Interface Design: Integrating Prompt Engineering, Visual Logic, and User Empathy. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 14(3), 419–429.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode