BEIJING—ZCOOL, a leading Chinese design community, concluded its 2025 ZCOOL Design Week, a dynamic gathering that brought together nearly a thousand designers to explore the evolving role of creativity in the age of artificial intelligence. At the heart of the event was a central question: Will AI replace designers? The consensus emerging from the discussions was not one of replacement, but of transformation—where AI becomes a collaborator, not a competitor. The highlight of the week was the release of the annual Top 100 Design List, which showcased a new wave of innovation driven by AI. Projects across diverse domains—from film and stage design to consumer electronics and transportation—demonstrated how AI is reshaping creative possibilities. Standout entries included Dave Decides to Jump into the Sea, an AI-generated short film that won the Most Commercial Potential Award at the 15th Beijing International Film Festival’s AIGC Film Unit. Another notable project was the “Shining Hat” projection mapping show at the Osaka World Expo, a mesmerizing fusion of digital art and architecture powered by AI-driven visuals. The “Dream Recorder,” an AI-integrated bedside device blending hardware innovation with artistic expression, exemplified the growing trend of intelligent, emotionally responsive design. Meanwhile, the Pixboom Spark, hailed as the world’s first back-side illuminated high-speed cinema camera, pushed the boundaries of visual storytelling technology. On the frontier of mobility, the debut of a one-touch takeoff flying car—supported by Elon Musk—signaled a bold leap into the future of transportation design. To empower creators navigating this AI-augmented landscape, ZCOOL introduced a new AI design agent. This tool allows designers to build and customize intelligent workflows tailored to specific creative tasks, streamlining everything from ideation to final production. The event also unveiled several forward-looking industry predictions. Among them was the rise of “anti-AI creation”—a movement where designers intentionally reject AI-generated content to emphasize authenticity and human expression. Another emerging trend is the resurgence of “handcrafted design” as a premium, luxury offering in a world increasingly saturated with algorithmic output. Perhaps most transformative is the shift in how designers monetize their work: instead of selling finished designs or copyright materials, the future may lie in commercializing their generative inputs—such as custom AI models, prompt libraries, and creative frameworks. Global design leaders like Adobe and Figma are accelerating this shift, embedding AI deeply into their platforms. Industry data shows that AI adoption in the design sector reached 85.8% in 2025—an increase of 23.7% from the previous year. The rate of AI use in actual production projects and daily workflows has surged, signaling that AI is no longer a novelty but a core component of modern design practice.