Hyerim Park portrait

Hyerim Park

Human–AI Interaction Researcher
PhD Candidate at BMW Group · HCI Group, University of Stuttgart

I am a fourth-year Industrial PhD candidate at BMW Group and a member of the HCI Group at the University of Stuttgart . My work focuses on designing interaction methods for generative AI in professional design practice. I develop intuitive AI systems that augment human creativity and professional capabilities. My research explores multimodal interaction techniques beyond text-only prompting, enabling designers to better express creative intent and improve efficiency, usability, and control across real-world 2D and immersive VR workflows.

Currently exploring research opportunities. Interested in roles across industry and academia in human–AI interaction/collaboration, human-centered design of AI-assisted systems, multimodal interfaces, interactive generative technologies, and user-centered empirical research.

Recent News

  • Apr 2026 I will present our paper “Interaction Methods in Generative AI Image Tools” at CHI 2026 (Barcelona, Spain). See publications
  • Mar 2026 I will present two papers at IUI 2026 (Paphos, Cyprus). See publications

About

My work lies at the intersection of human–AI interaction, generative AI, and professional design workflows across 2D and immersive VR interfaces. I identify user needs, develop interaction concepts, implement functional prototypes, and evaluate them through iterative design processes. I translate findings into actionable design implications and share them with research communities and interdisciplinary stakeholders in industry.

I investigate interaction design questions such as: How do designers work with generative AI tools in practice? What limitations do text-centric prompting paradigms create? How can visual and multimodal interactions enable more intuitive control and clearer expression of intent?

Beyond my dissertation’s focus on design workflows, I am interested in designing intuitive and trustworthy AI systems that augment human capabilities and support creativity and expertise. My goal is to develop human-centered AI systems grounded in real user needs.

Research Projects

Multimodal Image Refinement

A comparative study of multimodal prompts—combining text with scribbles and annotations—to support image refinement in generative AI tools.

Multimodal prompting Comparative study Visual prompts Design refinement

Evaluating Interactive GenAI Systems

Methodological guidelines for evaluating interactive generative AI systems in lab-based studies.

Evaluation methods User studies Guidelines Generative AI

Interaction Methods in Generative AI Image Tools

A review of trends and design opportunities across HCI and industry.

Generative AI Interface design Interaction methods Creativity support tools

Generative VR Texturing Tool

A research demonstrator integrating diffusion models into VR texturing workflows.

VR / Unity Research demonstrator Generative AI

Professional Designers & GenAI Image Tools

A thematic analysis of how professional designers use generative AI image tools and the challenges posed by text-centric prompting.

Thematic analysis Design practice GenAI image tools

Publications

  1. Interaction Methods in Generative AI Image Tools: A Review of Trends and Design Opportunities Across HCI and Industry
    Hyerim Park, Malin Eiband, Andre Luckow, Michael Sedlmair
    CHI 2026
    to appear
  2. Enhancing Generative AI Image Refinement with Scribbles and Annotations: A Comparative Study of Multimodal Prompts
    Hyerim Park, Phuong Thao Tran, Andre Luckow, Ceenu George, Michael Sedlmair, Malin Eiband
    PDF
    IUI 2026
    to appear
  3. Evaluating Generative AI in the Lab: Methodological Challenges and Guidelines
    Hyerim Park, Khanh Huynh, Malin Eiband, Jeremy Dillmann, Sven Mayer, Michael Sedlmair
    PDF
    IUI 2026
    to appear
  4. Exploring Visual Prompts: Refining Images with Scribbles and Annotations in Generative AI Image Tools
    Hyerim Park, Malin Eiband, Andre Luckow, Michael Sedlmair
    PDF
    CHI EA 2025
    extended abstract
  5. Design and Evaluation of a Generative AI–Driven VR Texturing Tool: A Design Science Approach
    Hyerim Park, Joscha Eirich, Andre Luckow, Michael Sedlmair
    PDF
    EICS 2025
  6. Designing for Visual Thinkers: Overcoming Text-Centric Limitations in GenAI Tools
    Hyerim Park, Malin Eiband
    PDF
    NordicCHI 2024
    workshop
  7. “We Are Visual Thinkers, Not Verbal Thinkers!”: A Thematic Analysis of How Professional Designers Use Generative AI Image Generation Tools
    Hyerim Park, Joscha Eirich, Andre Luckow, Michael Sedlmair
    PDF
    NordicCHI 2024
  8. SeatmateVR: Proxemic Cues for Close Bystander-Awareness in Virtual Reality
    Jingyi Li, Hyerim Park, Robin Welsch, Sven Mayer, Andreas Butz
    PDF
    Proc. ACM HCI (ISS) 2023

Academic Service

Program Committee / Associate Chair

  • C&C 2025
  • MuC 2025 (Short Papers)
  • CHI 2025 (EA)

Reviewer

  • CHI (2025–2026)
  • IUI 2025
  • C&C 2025
  • MuC 2023, 2025
  • MobileHCI 2025
  • DIS 2026