How Creatives Approach GenAI Image Generation: Tensions Between Structured Guidance, Self-Experimentation, and Creative Autonomy
Haidan Liu, Isabelle Kwan, Taiga Okuma, Jeffrey Loverock, Nicholas Vincent + 1 more
TLDR
This paper explores how creatives learn GenAI image tools, revealing a tension between structured guidance and the desire for creative autonomy.
Key contributions
- Interviewed artists (n=8) and surveyed hobbyists (n=159) on GenAI image tool learning.
- Found creatives use self-experimentation or tutorials but struggle with AI terminology.
- User study (n=17) showed creatives value guidance for AI literacy but prefer self-experimentation.
- Identifies a core tension: balancing AI literacy support with preserving creative freedom.
Why it matters
This research highlights a critical challenge in AI tool design: how to provide effective guidance without stifling creative expression. Understanding this tension is crucial for developing user-friendly GenAI tools that empower, rather than constrain, artists and hobbyists.
Original Abstract
As generative AI tools increasingly influence creative practice, they raise longstanding HCI questions about how creatives learn complex software and how they can be better supported. We conducted an interview study with artists and hobbyists (n=8) and a follow-up survey (n=159) to understand how this population approaches and seeks guidance for GenAI image tools. We found that creatives commonly use either self-experimentation or tutorials to explore GenAI tools, yet many struggle with confusing AI terminology. To gain further insight into creatives' learning experiences, we developed a research probe to elicit creatives' perceptions of structured guidance. Our user study with 17 creatives revealed that, even when creatives described the guidance as helpful for understanding AI, many still preferred self-experimentation, feeling that guidance could limit their creativity. Our findings highlight a central tension in supporting AI literacy for creatives: balancing guidance and promoting literacy while preserving creative freedom.
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