Professor Kim Youn Hee of the College of Liberal Arts at Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) won the Grand Prize, the highest honor, at the “2026 Korean Society of Design Science (KSDS) Spring International Invitational Exhibition.” The award was announced on Friday, June 26, and Professor Kim was recognized for the artistic merit and originality of her work “Algorithmic Silhouette,” which explores the theme of creative collaboration between AI and humans.

This international invitational exhibition was held from Friday, June 5, to Tuesday, June 9, at the coworking space of the Siheung Startup Center in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province. Organized by the Korean Society of Design Science (KSDS), the exhibition served as a forum for international exchange, bringing together domestic and international designers and artists to explore the potential for convergence between design, art, and technology. In particular, this year’s exhibition was organized into the “Human Artist” and “Collaboration Between AI and Artists” categories, highlighting both the scalability and artistic potential of artificial intelligence technology in the creative process.

“Algorithmic Silhouette” is an avant-garde sculptural sportswear piece that combines generative AI with human artistic direction. Based on architectural volume, modular structures, and dynamic silhouettes, it reinterprets sportswear as a sculptural object and proposes a visual language that expands the boundaries of fashion, sculptural art, and digital design.

This work was completed through a collaborative process that added the designer’s creative interpretation to the prompt-based AI image generation process. Through this, it demonstrates the potential of future fashion design where human intuition and AI algorithms coexist, and shows that generative AI can be utilized as a new tool for design creation.

Professor Kim Youn Hee stated, “AI is not a technology that replaces designers, but a collaborative tool that expands creativity,” adding, “We will continue to advance creative fashion design research and education utilizing generative AI and digital technology.”

This award aligns with Kookmin University’s mid- to long-term development strategy, “KMU VISION 2035: EDGE.” In particular, it serves as a significant example demonstrating the potential for convergence between the fields of design and AI+X—two of the university’s eight specialized areas—and reaffirms Kookmin University’s capabilities in AI-based creative convergence education and digital design research.

△ (From left) Professor Kim Youn Hee’s Grand Prize-winning work, “Algorithmic Silhouette”; Professor Kim Yoon-hee of Kookmin University