ThematicPlane: Bridging Tacit User Intent and Latent Spaces for Image Generation

TL;DR

ThematicPlane is an interactive system that allows users to explore and manipulate high-level semantic concepts in image generation, enhancing intuitive control and supporting creative workflows.

Contribution

It introduces a novel thematic design plane interface that bridges tacit user intent with latent space manipulation in generative AI for images.

Findings

Participants used the system for creative exploration and iteration.

Users desired more explainable controls for better understanding.

The system fosters expressive, iterative creative workflows.

Abstract

Generative AI has made image creation more accessible, yet aligning outputs with nuanced creative intent remains challenging, particularly for non-experts. Existing tools often require users to externalize ideas through prompts or references, limiting fluid exploration. We introduce ThematicPlane, a system that enables users to navigate and manipulate high-level semantic concepts (e.g., mood, style, or narrative tone) within an interactive thematic design plane. This interface bridges the gap between tacit creative intent and system control. In our exploratory study (N=6), participants engaged in divergent and convergent creative modes, often embracing unexpected results as inspiration or iteration cues. While they grounded their exploration in familiar themes, differing expectations of how themes mapped to outputs revealed a need for more explainable controls. Overall, ThematicPlane fosters expressive, iterative workflows and highlights new directions for intuitive, semantics-driven interaction in generative design tools.