Impact of AI-generated imagery on foundation course design in industrial design education: An empirical study of curriculum value transformation

With the widespread application of AI image generation technology in higher education design fields, traditional design education models face the necessity of reevaluation. This study aims to explore how design aesthetic features (as objective product attributes) influence designers’ creative thinking and design expression (as subjective capabilities), and accordingly reassess the educational value of foundational design courses in the AI era. Using a comparative experimental method, the research recruited 25 first-year and 25 third-year industrial design students to create product designs using Midjourney, with 36 industrial design experts systematically evaluating the works. Results indicate that design aesthetic features significantly impact design expression more than design thinking, and the two student groups demonstrate notable differences in design element application: novice design students primarily express creativity through intuitive visual elements such as product patterns and product appearance, while advanced students more effectively utilize professional design elements like form contours and material textures, reflecting how design education facilitates students' transition from perceptual cognition to rational analysis. Additionally, the positive correlation between creative thinking and design expression strengthens with deepening design education, indicating a mutually reinforcing relationship. Based on these findings, the paper suggests that foundational design courses in the AI-generated imagery era need repositioning: color and expression courses should shift from basic skill training to high-level theoretical education, creative thinking courses significantly increase in importance, form and material courses maintain core value but need content updates aligned with AI characteristics, while human-computer collaborative design should become a new curricular direction. This study provides an empirical foundation for design education reform in the AI era, emphasizing the importance of understanding design essentials and cultivating innovative thinking.