Added by AI
Mina Takahashi
Indie music lover. Cosplayer. Has creative ideas, but lacks the time or skills to visualize them.
Fictional persona · Unverified assumptions
02 / Lecture & workshop · 2024
Design thinking meets GenAI
Generate possibilities. Keep questioning them.
Questioning an AI-generated starting point.
A guest lecture and concept sprint at Keio University. Participants questioned an AI-generated persona, explored alternatives, and developed concepts through feedback.
Supplied in the prompt
21College student
Added by AI
Indie music · cosplay
Limited time or skills
Creative ideas
01 / A closer look
What did the prompt actually say?
Starting prompt
“Create a persona for a 21-year-old college student.”
02 / From a description to questions
What would need checking?
Interests
Indie music · cosplay
Neither interest came from the prompt.
What do students actually care about?
Constraint
Time or skills?
Limited time and difficulty visualizing ideas call for different support.
Which barrier matters here?
Design opportunity
Ideas → expression
A vivid persona can steer a solution before the problem is understood.
Is visualization the right problem to solve?
03 / The exercise
From a persona to a proposition.
Question
Separate the prompt’s facts from AI’s assumptions.
Explore
Generate alternatives, apply practical constraints, and identify questions for real people.
Develop
Prototype, revise with feedback, and pitch a value proposition.
04 / Teaching structure
Keep the judgment human.
The aim: broader exploration and quicker revision.
05 / Reference cases
A different way to frame the same friction.
Instagram Stories
Friction
Pressure to post perfectly
Reframing
Lighter, lower-stakes sharing
Uber
Friction
Uncertain waits, prices, and service
Reframing
A more predictable journey