Artificial Intelligence in Communication Design in Portugal

A Case Study on the Perspectives of 10 Professional Designers from Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Abstract

When one debates innovation in the field of design, one necessarily debates technology. New technologies have brought changes that have had implications on the designer’s projectual practice. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of these technologies that is having a major impact on numerous sectors. We believe that in design there is still little research on how AI is used and perceived. The objective of this study is to understand how designers perceive and use AI in communication design in Portugal. Based on this premise, a qualitative methodology was applied, whose research plan is the case study. The instruments for data collection were interviews and questionnaires with designers from 10 Portuguese communication design firms and documentary research of the websites of these same firms.
The research revealed that design professionals have basic notions of AI, understanding its benefits and drawbacks. In general, they have positive opinions about the use of AI in their daily work, believing it will be important for the future of design. They use it for quality checks and analysis of user insights during the final stages of the design process, but most choose not to use it due to factors such as the high cost of software and hardware, the lack of specific tools in the national market, and the belief that AI does not provide the empathetic and human component necessary for design mastery. Respondents also reported having little knowledge about the skills needed to work with AI daily. The results are not intended to represent the whole landscape of communication design in Portugal, but to offer the perspective reported by the participants of this study.