PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

The launch of DALL-E by OpenAI in January 2021 has generated considerable global interest in AI's impact on art and design. Midjourney, a prominent and widely adopted AI drawing tool, has become a key focus for many designers, who eagerly seek to explore and utilize its capabilities. Currently, scholars are more inclined to explore the algorithms and functions of artificial intelligence-based painting systems (AIBPS). However, there is still a research gap in understanding what individual factors or configuration elements influence the experience of using AIBPS by one of its mainstream audiences, the designer community. In the first phase, this research identifies innovative variables that may influence designers' use of Midjourney and develops hypotheses based on the Expanded Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM). The analysis of 322 questionnaires revealed important factors that drive the user experience. In the second phase, a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to further research the configuration effects of these factors. The results of the research indicate that Personal Innovativeness (PI), Perceived Enjoyment (PE), Perceived Performance (PP), Perceived Safety (PS), Perceived Cost (PC), and Perceived Inspiration (PINS) significantly influence designers' willingness to use Midjourney. At the same time, function developers need to reflect on the traditional concept of focusing only on usability and ease of use. The influence of these two factors is being weakened by other factors. Adding considerations to user PE or PS will make specific AIBPS software stand out in the market.