SAMSUNG Sketch to Image
Generative AI-driven Photo Editing
Role
Product Designer
Type
Company Project - Launched Service ( Mobile, Tablet )
Duration
7 months ( 2024.05- 2025.02 )
Team
2 Product Designers, 2 Product Managers, 10+ Engineers
Context
Use Sketch as the Primary Input
As image generation was taking off, I was one of the early designers to explore sketch as an input, giving users a more direct way to control what they wanted to create.
Trade-off
Precise Control, More Effort
Sketches let users define exactly where and how large they want something to be, but they also require users to draw it themselves. I explored how to make the most of sketching directly on a photo.
Research
What Do People Edit?
I looked at the types of photos people typically edit in their gallery. More than 85% of edited images were photos taken by the users themselves, and most edits kept the original subject intact.
Editing was more about enhancing the subject than creating something new.
Why Sketch?
Enhance the Subject
As the research showed, sketching lets users preserve the moment they captured and the main subject, while naturally adding playful elements exactly where they want them.
Define What to Change
AI can sometimes regenerate areas you did not intend to change. While text prompts apply to the entire image, sketches let users directly define the area they want AI to generate.
*AI has improved significantly since then.
Design Direction
Keep the Subject, Add What You Want
Based on our findings that users wanted to enhance the subject in their photos while keeping the parts they did not want to change intact, I designed a sketch-based image generation experience.
Patent
Control the AI Generation Area
I designed the experience to show the AI-generated area on the image after each completed sketch, allowing users to precisely define and adjust where AI would generate. I also filed a patent application for this interaction
Patent
Photo Assist AI Drawing Preview
US Design Application No.29/977,786
Role : Lead Inventor
Filing Date : 2024.12.10
Outcome
Usage More Than Doubled YoY
After Sketch to Image was introduced on the Galaxy S24 series, Photo Assist usage more than doubled year over year over the following three months. Users across multiple countries also shared videos of their Sketch to Image creations on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
[Source · ChosunBiz, 2025]
@ 2026 Grace Song
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