Visualizing Group Creativity
Information visualization provides an opportunity to gain insights from complex systems (Lima, 2011) like group creativity. In this qualitative study, graphic design students were recruited to engage in team idea generation. Themes from responses to interview questions were analyzed and developed into a coding system, which was applied to the verbal data from video recordings of the groups. Information visualization is used to further explore and find relationships in the data. This approach allows me to explore the processes of group creativity and idea generation, moving beyond individual notions of creativity. A better understanding of team idea generation will help graphic design students and practitioners in the classroom and field.
I gave the participant groups the task to come up with creative ideas for the packaging of a playground ball. This group of design students ultimately came up with three ideas represented by the individual idea threads. These ideas were a "Big Rubber Band," a "Mesh Bag," and a "Multi-Suction Pedestal."
This project was my graduate thesis project and was most recently presented as a poster at the 2015 UCDA Design Educators Summit.
Visualizing Group Creativity
Information visualization provides an opportunity to gain insights from complex systems (Lima, 2011) like group creativity. In this qualitative study, graphic design students were recruited to engage in team idea generation. Themes from responses to interview questions were analyzed and developed into a coding system, which was applied to the verbal data from video recordings of the groups. Information visualization is used to further explore and find relationships in the data. This approach allows me to explore the processes of group creativity and idea generation, moving beyond individual notions of creativity. A better understanding of team idea generation will help graphic design students and practitioners in the classroom and field.
I gave the participant groups the task to come up with creative ideas for the packaging of a playground ball. This group of design students ultimately came up with three ideas represented by the individual idea threads. These ideas were a "Big Rubber Band," a "Mesh Bag," and a "Multi-Suction Pedestal."
This project was my graduate thesis project and was most recently presented as a poster at the 2015 UCDA Design Educators Summit.
Graph detail
Big Rubber Band idea thread
Visualizing Group Creativity Poster presentation
Main Graph with three idea threads