Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T20:38:45.608Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Creativity of products as meant by ordinary people: to what extent do novelty and usefulness matter?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

Aurora Berni
Affiliation:
Free University of Bozen|Bolzano, Italy
Yuri Borgianni*
Affiliation:
Free University of Bozen|Bolzano, Italy
Demis Basso
Affiliation:
Free University of Bozen|Bolzano, Italy

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

In the design literature, creativity of products is recognized as a combination of novelty and usefulness. However, this mainly applies to the engineering field and within a community of experts. This study investigates how ordinary people understand creativity embodied in products. In an experiment with 70+ participants, 8 products and 5 metrics were dealt with. Novelty resulted as the main predictor of creativity. Usefulness turned to play a minor effect on perceived creativity. It emerged that usefulness has to make ordinary people like a specific product in order to link it to creativity.

Type
Human Behaviour and Design Creativity
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2024.

References

Alexiou, K., Zamenopoulos, T., Johnson, J. H., & Gilbert, S. J. (2009), "Exploring the neurological basis of design cognition using brain imaging: some preliminary results", Design Studies, Vol. 30 No.6, pp. 623-647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2009.05.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bao, Q., Faas, D., & Yang, M. (2018), "Interplay of sketching & prototyping in early stage product design", International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 6 No. 3-4, pp.146-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2018.1429318CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becattini, N., Borgianni, Y., Cascini, G., & Rotini, F. (2013), "Does experience in design and innovation affect the perception of creativity?", In DS 75-7: Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED13), Design for Harmonies, Vol. 7: Human Behaviour in Design, Seoul, Korea, August 19-22, 2013, pp. 129-138.Google Scholar
Becattini, N., Borgianni, Y., Cascini, G., & Rotini, F. (2020), "Investigating users’ reactions to surprising products", Design Studies, Vol. 69, 100946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2020.05.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berni, A., Borgianni, Y., Basso, D., & Carbon, C. C. (2023), "Fundamentals and issues of user experience in the process of designing consumer products", Design Science, Vol. 9, e10. https://doi.org/10.1017/dsj.2023.8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borgianni, Y., Cascini, G., & Rotini, F. (2013), "Assessing creativity of design projects: Criteria for the service engineering field", International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol.1 No. 3, pp 131-159. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2013.806029CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borgianni, Y., Cascini, G., & Rotini, F. (2018), "Investigating the future of the fuzzy front end: towards a change of paradigm in the very early design phases?", Journal of Engineering Design, Vol. 29 No. 11, pp. 644-664. https://doi.org/10.1080/09544828.2018.1520971CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, B. T., Kristensen, T., & Reber, R. (2015), "Contributions of consumer-perceived creativity and beauty to willingness-to-pay for design products", International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 3 No. 3-4, pp. 164-176. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2014.981216CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christiaans, H. H. (2002), "Creativity as a design criterion", Communication Research Journal, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 41-54. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326934CRJ1401_4Google Scholar
Chulvi, V., Mulet, E., Chakrabarti, A., López-Mesa, B., & González-Cruz, C. (2012), "Comparison of the degree of creativity in the design outcomes using different design methods", Journal of Engineering Design, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 241-269. https://doi.org/10.1080/09544828.2011.624501CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cropley, D. H., & Kaufman, J. C. (2012), "Measuring functional creativity: Non-expert raters and the Creative Solution Diagnosis Scale", The Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol. 46 No. 2, pp. 119-137. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demirkan, H., & Afacan, Y. (2012), "Assessing creativity in design education: Analysis of creativity factors in the first-year design studio", Design studies, Vol. 33 No. 3, pp. 262-278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2011.11.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorineschi, L., & Rotini, F. (2021), "Novelty metrics in engineering design", Journal of Engineering Design, Vol. 32 No. 11, pp. 590-620. https://doi.org/10.1080/09544828.2021.1928024CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorineschi, L., & Rotini, F. (2023), "Uses of the novelty metrics proposed by Shah et al.: what emerges from the literature?", Design Science, Vol. 9, E11. https://doi.org/10.1017/dsj.2023.9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, C., Son, J., & McRoberts, L. B. (2015), "Comparison of novice and expert evaluations of apparel design illustrations using the consensual assessment technique", International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, Vol. 8 No.2, pp. 122-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/17543266.2015.1018960CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, M., Seepersad, C. C., & Hölttä-Otto, K. (2014, August), "Crowd-sourcing the evaluation of creativity in conceptual design: A pilot study", In Proceedings of the ASME 2014 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Volume 7: 2nd Biennial International Conference on Dynamics for Design; 26th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology. Buffalo, New York, USA. August 17–20, 2014. V007T07A016. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2014-34434CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, J., Forbes, H., & Schaefer, D. (2021), "An exploration of how creativity, functionality, and aesthetics are related in design", Research in Engineering Design, Vol. 32 No.3, pp. 289-307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-021-00366-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horn, D., & Salvendy, G. (2006), "Consumer-based assessment of product creativity: A review and reappraisal", Human factors and ergonomics in manufacturing & service industries, Vol. 16 No. 2, 155-175. https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20047CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, L., Boggess, M., & Shepley, M. M. (2022), "Comparing Expert, Quasi-Expert, and Novice Evaluations of Award-Winning Design Products Using the Consensual Assessment Technique", Creativity Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2022.2157591CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Im, S., Bhat, S., & Lee, Y. (2015), "Consumer perceptions of product creativity, coolness, value and attitude", Journal of Business Research, 68(1), 166-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.03.014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeffries, K. K. (2017), "A CAT with caveats: is the Consensual Assessment Technique a reliable measure of graphic design creativity?" International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 5 No. 1-2, pp. 16-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2015.1084893CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keshwani, S., & Chakrabarti, A. (2017), "Influence of analogical domains and comprehensiveness in explanation of analogy on the novelty of designs", Research in Engineering Design, vol. 28, pp. 381-410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-016-0246-zCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, M. H., Kim, Y. S., Lee, H. S., & Park, J. A. (2007), "An underlying cognitive aspect of design creativity: Limited Commitment Mode control strategy", Design Studies, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 585-604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2007.04.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kwon, J., & Kudrowitz, B. (2023), "Concept evaluation dilemma: Presentation effect on product concept evaluation in the new product development (NPD) process", International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 138-158. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2022.2146002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977), "The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data", Biometrics, Vol., 33 No. 1, pp. 159174. https://doi.org/10.2307/2529310CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lu, C. C., & Luh, D. B. (2012), "A comparison of assessment methods and raters in product creativity", Creativity research journal, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 331-337. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2012.730327CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, S. R., Hunter, S. T., Starkey, E., Ramachandran, S., Ahmed, F., & Fuge, M. (2021), "How should we measure creativity in engineering design? A comparison between social science and engineering approaches", Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 143 No. 3, p. 031404. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4049061CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ou, X., Goldschmidt, G., & Erez, M. (2023), "The effect of disciplinary diversity on design idea generation in dyadic teams", Design Studies, Vol. 86, p. 101184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2023.101184CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarkar, P., & Chakrabarti, A. (2011), "Assessing design creativity", Design studies, Vol., 32 No. 4, pp. 348-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2011.01.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toh, C., & Miller, S. R. (2019), "Does the preferences for creativity scale predict engineering students' ability to generate and select creative design alternatives?", Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 141 No. 6, p. 062001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4042154CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valgeirsdottir, D., Onarheim, B., & Gabrielsen, G. (2015), "Product creativity assessment of innovations: Considering the creative process", International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Vol. 3 no. 2, pp. 95-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650349.2014.954626CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wojtczukand, A., & Bonnardel, N. (2012), "Differences in creative design assessment", In DS 73-2 Proceedings of the 2nd International conference on Design Creativity, Vol. 2, Glasgow, UK, September 18-20 2012 pp. 211-219.Google Scholar
Yin, Y., Han, J., Huang, S., Zuo, H., & Childs, P. (2021), "A study on student: Assessing four creativity assessment methods in product design", Proceedings of the Design Society, Vol. 1, pp. 263-272. https://doi.org/10.1017/pds.2021.27CrossRefGoogle Scholar