How Novice Designers Use, Embed, and Make Sense of AI: Implications for AI-Integrated Design Education

Abstract

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes ubiquitous in design practice, understanding how novice designers learn to work with this technology is critical for Human-Centered Design (HCD) education. This study reports findings from a semester-long (16-week) diary study with 23 third-year undergraduate students in an HCD course, examining how novice designers engage with AI in their design processes, how they embed AI into their solutions, and how they make sense of designing both with and for AI. Findings reveal that students used AI primarily as a cognitive scaffold during user research and prototyping, developing collaboration literacy through iterative prompting and critical evaluation of AI outputs. Students’ experiences using AI, including navigating tensions around creativity, control, and authorship, directly shaped how they designed AI features in their solutions, which prioritized user agency and oversight over automation. Based on these findings, this work conceptualizes AI as both a cognitive scaffold and reflective mirror, supporting design work while prompting students to critically examine their own reasoning. We conclude with pedagogical implications for AI-integrated HCD education, highlighting the need for (i) stage-appropriate AI scaffolding; (ii) explicit instruction in prompting as a form of design literacy; (iii) supportive engagement with authorship concerns; and (iv) reflective practices connecting AI experiences to design decisions.