Session 6.03
Tracks
Track 3
| Friday, June 19, 2026 |
| 11:55 AM - 12:55 PM |
| McNamara Room |
Overview
From sketch to AI: using Vizcom to support contemporary design studio learning
Details
This session is suitable for: Beginner
Bring a laptop to this session – no specific software required.
Speaker
Anthony Franzè
Lecturer Product and User Experience Design
Queensland College of Art and Design, Griffith University
From Sketch to AI: Using Vizcom to support contemporary design studio learning
Presentation description
This session explores how the Vizcom application is used in design teaching at the Queensland College of Art and Design (QCAD), Griffith University, across Product Design, Interior Architecture, and Visual Communication to support studio learning aligned with contemporary design practice.
Vizcom is an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted visualisation tool that designers across industry are increasingly using to transform design sketches and prompts into refined concept renderings, visuals, and early-stage 3D models. In this session, we demonstrate how tools such as Vizcom can be integrated into contemporary design education to support conceptual development while still building on students’ sketching ability, design thinking, critical judgement, and creative authorship.
The presentation is structured in three parts. First, we introduce Vizcom and briefly situate AI visualisation tools within contemporary design practice.
Second, examples from our Product Design, Interior Architecture, and Visual Communication studios will show how students work with Vizcom to translate sketches and early ideas into more developed visual outcomes that can be reviewed, discussed, and refined. These examples will include concept generation, form exploration, mood and material direction, and the communication of design ideas and use scenarios.
The third part focuses on critical engagement with artificial intelligence outputs. Attention will be given to how students learn to critically evaluate AI-generated images, curate results, and make design decisions rather than simply accepting outputs at face value. The session will also reflect on students’ perceptions of these technologies, as well as broader questions of authorship, creative ownership, and how designers collaborate with intelligent tools through prompting, selection, refinement, and iteration.
The session focuses on how emerging visualisation tools can be meaningfully incorporated into design teaching. Attendees will leave with practical teaching approaches, example workflows, and strategies for supporting students as they learn to critically engage with AI outputs and develop their own design judgement.
Vizcom is an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted visualisation tool that designers across industry are increasingly using to transform design sketches and prompts into refined concept renderings, visuals, and early-stage 3D models. In this session, we demonstrate how tools such as Vizcom can be integrated into contemporary design education to support conceptual development while still building on students’ sketching ability, design thinking, critical judgement, and creative authorship.
The presentation is structured in three parts. First, we introduce Vizcom and briefly situate AI visualisation tools within contemporary design practice.
Second, examples from our Product Design, Interior Architecture, and Visual Communication studios will show how students work with Vizcom to translate sketches and early ideas into more developed visual outcomes that can be reviewed, discussed, and refined. These examples will include concept generation, form exploration, mood and material direction, and the communication of design ideas and use scenarios.
The third part focuses on critical engagement with artificial intelligence outputs. Attention will be given to how students learn to critically evaluate AI-generated images, curate results, and make design decisions rather than simply accepting outputs at face value. The session will also reflect on students’ perceptions of these technologies, as well as broader questions of authorship, creative ownership, and how designers collaborate with intelligent tools through prompting, selection, refinement, and iteration.
The session focuses on how emerging visualisation tools can be meaningfully incorporated into design teaching. Attendees will leave with practical teaching approaches, example workflows, and strategies for supporting students as they learn to critically engage with AI outputs and develop their own design judgement.
Biography
Anthony Franzè is a Lecturer in Product and User Experience Design at the Queensland College of Art and Design (QCAD), Griffith University, and a Postdoctoral Researcher in human–robot collaboration at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). An industrial designer and researcher, his work explores emerging relationships between humans, machines, and materials through robotics, extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence, and additive manufacturing. He contributes to national initiatives, including the Building 4.0 CRC, the Australian Cobotics Centre, and the Construction and Architectural Robotics Lab at QUT, and is affiliated with the Creative Arts Research Institute (CARI) at Griffith University.
