Creativity Series Part IV:
In Part 3, we looked superficially at generative artificial agents and their functionality and compared them with generative natural intelligence. Generative means possessing the power or function to create, produce, generate, or reproduce something. GenAI is capable of this. If “something” then is original and useful, it meets the requirements of creativity according to our original definition. Generative artificial agents do not exclusively generate ideas, as we could see with the Alternative Uses Task. They also generate fully-fledged products: images, videos, texts, sounds, sound sequences, etc.
However, it is also a fact that an artificial agent never had to wash dishes to come up with the idea of developing a machine that saves generations a significant amount of time, stress, and perhaps even relationship break-ups caused by washing dirty dishes. An agent cannot independently build such a machine by enlisting the necessary experts and investors for it. An agent will not use the machine itself, talk to different people about it, encounter problems during the implementation process, iteratively improve the solution, design it, and evaluate it on multiple levels using various criteria.
All of this is part of the creative process to create a full-grown creative product. While there are assumptions of abrupt inspiration on the contrary others assume that a creative solution arises through long-lasting and continuous process. There are many models describing the creative process. Figure 1 shows a generalization of repeatedly mentioned steps troughout various proposed approaches in literature. Another well-known approach are the Five Stages of the creative process1:
- Preparation: gather information, input, insights; understand the task
- Incubation: allow ideas to simmer and develop subconsciously; this is when you keep your distance, take a break from actively thinking about and “sleep on it”
- Insight: the “lightbulb” moment when an idea comes to your immediate attention
- Evaluation: assess and refine the idea
- Elaboration: develop and implement the creative concept as refined
The creative process is not as clear and straight forward as displayed in figure 1. It usually is rather unstable and chaotic. The order in which these steps are processed may vary. Researchers e.g. defined problem-first and idea-first models of the creative process, while in the latter the problem definition takes place even after new ideas have already been generated. Some steps take more time, some are repeated or returned back to.2 Still, core processes statet in research show relationships and common necessary steps in the process can be identified.3
A generative agent starts to become creative when we give it a prompt – a “well-defined” task often including a specific problem definition and more or less context.
Most of the steps and skills associated with creativity still lie with us humans. However, generative artificial intelligence can help us generate ideas, think outside the box, and progress faster and more efficiently. In advance it can help you gather input and insights about the domain. A generative artificial agent can be our creative assistant in the creative process. We already find generative models and products in the market specialized for various industries, input formats, output formats, and workflows.4 The technological sector seems to be one of the main target groups in the generative artificial intelligence market.5 We would recommend everyone to take advantage of this.
Which idea we apply time, effort, and financial resources to remains up to us as humans and society. Discoveries, inventions, design, and innovation remain driving forces for our society and economy. It is therefore sensible to promote the use of generative artificial intelligence. It is self-explanatory that ethical, copyright, and data protection-related risks must be addressed. We will not go into these topics further here.
In our project work as UX/UI designers, consultants, developers, or architects, we can motivate ourselves with the help of creativity techniques to arrive at more answers to a problem, speed up the process or work creatively as a team. So-called creativity techniques are methods aimed at fostering creativity, generating ideas, developing visions, or solving problems. Some techniques are designed for individual use while others promote group creativity. There are techniques for the following steps in the creative process6:
- Understanding the problem
- Generating ideas
- Presenting ideas
- Selecting ideas
- Implementing ideas
Mind mapping – Understanding the problem
A mind map is a visual representation of thoughts on a specific topic. Main and subcategories are created, which are connected by lines. Topics are structured and presented clearly. Connections become easier to recognize. This helps to understand, organize, and solve complex topics and problems. The technique is used to plan projects or feature implementations, organize thoughts, and document them. It also helps in making decisions and optimizing existing processes.
Roleplaying – Understanding the problem
Roleplaying is a creativity technique where participants take on the role of another person or organization to gain new perspectives and approaches. The participant should put themselves in the position of another person to view challenges and problems from a different perspective. The technique can be conducted in a group or by an individual.
Brainstorming – Generating ideas
In this creativity technique, a group of people is prompted to spontaneously generate ideas for a task. It does not matter how far-fetched an idea may seem. Ideas are openly voiced and directly shared with all other group members.
Brainwriting – Generating ideas
Unlike brainstorming, ideas here are not openly thrown into the room. This method is often recommended for teams with introverted members. Ideas are individually noted by each participant on a piece of paper and then anonymously compiled.
Storyboarding – Implementing ideas
Storyboards are often used by influencers, filmmakers, but also UX designers. A storyboard is the illustrated version of a script, a web application, or a video campaign. To create a storyboard, the participant takes time to write down or sketch the steps that customers will go through or experience when using the product. This clarifies whether a solution is truly viable and if there are any logical inconsistencies.
This is just a small selection. There are many more creativity techniques such as reverse brainstorming, synectics, random input, or the Walt Disney method. Without creativity, we wouldn’t have Wi-Fi, fiber optic cables, the cloud, or containerization.
The most dangerous phrase in the language is, “We’ve always done it this way.” – Grace Hopper
In addition to the use of generative artificial intelligence and creativity techniques, we can encourage creativity by7:
- Appreciating the crucial importance of questions
- Viewing mistakes as learning opportunities
- Promoting freedom of expression, trust, and respect
- Providing sufficient resources, skills, and effective communication systems
To foster creativity within an organization, it requires an open communication flow, opportunities for self-initiated and risk-taking behavior as well as respect for diversity. Innovativeness in teams correlates with a positive team climate, team vision, support for innovation, team cohesion and participative safety.8 Creativity can often only be evaluated by experts. Just as we cannot understand the hype around certain artworks, most non-developers will react to code sections that solve a particularly complex problem from our perspective. Whether something is creative is often subjective and can only be judged by experts in a domain. Every form of creativity deserves respect, even if the product or process is only original, new, and useful for a specific group. Each of us has creative potential.
Treasure your curiosity and nurture your imagination. Have confidence in yourself. Do not let others put limits on you. Dare to imagine the unimaginable. – Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson
- https://www.psychologie.uni-heidelberg.de/ae/allg/mitarb/jf/Funke_2009_Creativity.pdf ↩︎
- Johnathan R. Cromwell, Teresa M. Amabile, Jean-François Harvey,
Chapter 3 – An Integrated Model of Dynamic Problem Solving Within Organizational Constraints,
Editor(s): Roni Reiter-Palmon, Victoria L. Kennel, James C. Kaufman,
In Explorations in Creativity Research,Individual Creativity in the Workplace, Academic Press, 2018, Pages 53-81, ISBN 9780128132388,
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813238-8.00003-6. ↩︎ - Mumford, M.D. & Mobley, M.I. & Uhlman, C.E. & Reiter-Palmon, Roni & Doares, L.M.. (1991). Process analytic models of creative capacities. Creativity Research Journal. 4. 91-122. ↩︎
- The Generative AI List of Lists: 5000 Models, Tools, Technologies, Applications, & Prompts | by Maximilian Vogel | Medium ↩︎
- U.S.: generative AI adoption rate in the workplace by industry 2023 | Statista ↩︎
- https://kreativitätstechniken.info/kreativitaetsmethoden/ ↩︎
- Developing the Cambridge learner attributes, Chapter 4, 2011, Cambridge University Press and Assessment ↩︎
- Creativity and Innovation: Basic Concepts and Approaches, Chapter 1, M. Tang ↩︎