Rate of Variety and its Relation to Creativity Factors

Abstract

Individual designers demonstrate different styles of ideation in conceptual design. These styles have been quantified and described primarily through protocol, think-aloud studies that examine a designer’s thought sequence during ideation. In this paper, we examine ideation style with an outcome-based approach, examining style on a continuum of rate of variety, or solution space exploration rate. We investigate the relationship between this exploration rate and creativity factors of quality and novelty using a quantitative study of problem-solving skills. We found a significant positive correlation between broad-search style and novelty and a significant positive correlation between detail-search style and quality of ideas. These correlations are in agreement with protocol studies found in literature. We also identified quantity of ideas as a possible confounding factor and discuss potential improvements to these types of studies.