Innovation and creativity are predictors of success in a knowledge-based. Yet the “fuzziness” and unpredictability of the creative workflow remains an obstacle for effective ICT support. Tools that require users to formalize and structure their ideas and working processes to a degree at odds with creative practice are frequently rejected. The IdeaGarden project therefore starts from an understanding of creative problem solving as a complex and situated knowledge practice rather than as a set of well-defined methods and techniques.
The project will develop a creative learning environment, capitalizing on the notion of visual information mash-ups as catalysts for creative working and learning. Adopting a practice-oriented approach will further the understanding of creativity in different settings and open up new perspectives for ICT support. This perspective will also give rise to new methods for seeding and cultivating creative knowledge practices in workplace and educational settings. To leverage the capabilities of current ICT systems, new interactions techniques will be devised that enable users to stay in control and collaboratively navigate the creative process, handling multiple types of resources. In addition, taking benefit of the “Linked Data” paradigm will provide new possibilities for creative search, the construction of knowledge as well as the reflection of the collaborative process.
The R&D work starts with research into creative knowledge work in industry (at LEGO and EOOS) and education (at the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design). Based on the careful analysis of creative practices, we will envision and implement working demonstrators. Formative evaluation combined with a two-round development process will ensure that the IdeaGarden system fits its users’ needs while summative evaluation will validate the overall utility of the approach to promote nonlinear, non-standard thinking and problem solving among experts and novices.