While research has previously investigated the potential influences that can affect the designs produced in concept generation, little research has been done explicitly targeting the manufacturability of early-stage concepts and how previous experience and the presenting of priming content in manufacturing affects this. The research in this paper addresses this gap in knowledge, specifically targeting differences in concept generation due to designer experience and presenting design for traditional manufacturing (DfTM) and design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) axioms. In this study, participants were asked to complete a design challenge centered on concept generation. Prior to this design challenge, a subset of students received priming content on DfTM and DfAM considerations. Participants’ final designs were evaluated for both traditional manufacturability and additive manufacturability. Results show that students with low manufacturing experience levels create designs that are more naturally suited for traditional manufacturing. Additionally, as designers’ manufacturing experience levels increase, there is an increase in the number of designs suited for AM. This correlates with a higher self-reported use of DfAM axioms in the evaluation of these designs. These results suggest that students with high manufacturing experience levels rely on their previous experience when it comes to creating a design for either manufacturing process. Lastly, while the manufacturing priming content significantly influenced the traditional manufacturability of the designs, the priming content did not increase the number of self-reported design for manufacturing (DfM) axioms in the designs.