AI in Action: Swati Chopra on Creativity, Design and the Future of AI

Artificial intelligence is changing the creative landscape, and at Mount St. Joseph University, Associate Professor of Graphic Design Swati Chopra is helping students navigate that change with curiosity, creativity, and responsibility. For Swati, AI is not about replacing the designer, but rather serving as a tool that helps students and professionals explore ideas, experiment with possibilities, and approach creative challenges in new ways. Through her teaching and own creative practice, Swati encourages students to understand both the opportunities AI offers and the responsibility that comes with using it in design.

Q: How has artificial intelligence changed the way you approach graphic design?

Swati Chopra: AI has made my design process faster and more exploratory. It helps me test ideas, organize research, and look at multiple directions early in the process. But the designer still makes the important decisions. The thinking, judgment, ethics, and final creative choices still come from the person.

Q: What AI tools do you use most often in your own creative process?

Swati Chopra: I use tools like ChatGPT for brainstorming, research synthesis, writing support, and project planning. I also use Adobe AI tools and Midjourney to explore visual directions, develop mockups, generate promotional concepts, and brainstorm early ideas. I see AI as a creative assistant that helps expand possibilities, but not as a replacement for design skill, judgment, or originality.

Q: What's one misconception people have about AI in graphic design?

Swati Chopra: One big misconception is that AI can replace the designer. AI is here to assist, support, and expand the creative process, but it absolutely cannot replace human thinking, creativity, empathy, or judgment. Good design still depends on understanding people, context, culture, emotion, and meaning, and that is where the human designer remains essential.

Q: How do you encourage students to use AI ethically and responsibly?

Swati Chopra: I encourage students to be transparent about how they use AI and to treat it as a tool, not a shortcut. We talk about bias, originality, privacy, copyright, and the importance of critically evaluating AI outputs. Students must still own their final ideas and decisions.

Q: How has AI changed the assignments or projects you give your students?

Swati Chopra: AI has allowed me to create assignments that focus more on process, experimentation, and critical thinking. Students may use AI to brainstorm, compare directions, or speed up prototyping, but they also have to explain their choices, reflect on the tool's limitations, and show how their own thinking shaped the final outcome.

Preparing Students for the Future of Design

Swati Chopra is helping lead the way of AI in graphic design at the Mount with the launch of GRD 222: Design Thinking, AI, & the Future of Innovation.

GRD 222 is open to all majors and introduces students to human-centered design, creative problem solving, and the responsible use of AI. Students will learn how to research real problems, develop ideas, prototype solutions, and work with a campus or community partner. No prior design experience is required. The course is about using design thinking and AI together to create thoughtful, ethical, and practical solutions across many fields.

From the Classroom to a Career

Swati's approach to AI is already making an impact beyond the classroom. Catie Keefer, a graduating Graphic Design senior, recently accepted a position at Matthew 25 after an interview where she was specifically asked about her AI experience, the tools she had used, and how she applied AI to her design work. Catie credited her AI experience at the Mount as an important part of her preparation and thanked Swati for helping her build those skills: "I wanted to say thank you for exposing us to AI and how to use it in design, as that was a key player in why I got the offer."

Keeping People at the Center of Technology

As AI continues to transform creative industries, Swati believes human creativity, empathy, critical thinking, and judgment remain essential. Her approach reflects the Mount's broader focus on helping students use AI thoughtfully while considering its ethical and human impact. "AI is here to assist, support, and expand the creative process, but it absolutely cannot replace human thinking, creativity, empathy, or judgment." At the Mount, AI in Action means preparing students to embrace emerging technology while keeping people at the center.