IkigAI: Co-Reflection with AI to Enhance Career Direction Clarity in Design Education

As the design profession becomes increasingly diverse and fluid, many design students struggle to define a clear career direction. This paper investigates how a combination of generative AI and facilitated human reflection can support the development of career direction clarity. The study presents results from an explorative investigation of the IkigAI workshop, which combines the Japanese ikigai framework with GenAI as a co-reflective partner. The findings show that GenAI can support reflection, broaden role awareness, and stimulate identity exploration. A Career direction clarity emerges through a combination of conceptual insights and practical action, although the impact depends on individual and contextual factors.