Emotion & design: attractive things work better
interactions
Towards supporting evocation processes in creative design: a cognitive approach
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies - Special issue: Computer support for creativity
C&C '11 Proceedings of the 8th ACM conference on Creativity and cognition
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Motivation -- Our main objective was to explore the effect of context on designers' creative activities, especially on the emergence of sources of inspiration or ideas. In addition, we wished to suggest educational exercises and new computational systems aimed at stimulating creativity in design. Research approach -- Thirty-two professional designers were asked to individually design a new product according to a design brief. The design context consisted of images featuring a combination of two experimental factors: emotions and distance from the object to be designed. Findings/Design -- Results showed that it is possible to favour the evocation of sources of inspiration by professional designers. More specifically, the context conveying positive emotions and allowing designers to extend their idea search space significantly favoured the emergence of creative designs. Research limitations/Implications -- Only professional designers took part in this study. Thus, the positive impact of context was observed in participants who were already very knowledgeable about design. Originality/Value -- The present study helps to identify the contextual characteristics that favour creative design, notably by exploring the impact of emotions. In addition, our results suggest new directions for developing teaching methods as well as computational systems aimed at stimulating creativity in design. Take away message -- A context that conveys positive emotions stimulates the emergence of creativity. The beneficial effect of context is even greater when it combines positive emotions with examples that are at a remove from the object to be designed.