Idea Squares: an AI-assisted design concept text generation tool for supporting the ideation process

Abstract

Although the recently developed AI technology has shown remarkable performance in tasks with clear goals, how AI can aid and interact with a human in cognitive tasks remains underexplored. We developed Idea Squares, an interactive text generation tool for ideation, and conducted an in-depth study composed of series of ideation sessions. Our findings suggest that Idea Squares is capable of supporting designers by 1) inspiring them through newly generated texts, 2) revealing unconsidered design factors, and 3) motivating them to keep on the ideation process. We acknowledge that AI could provide a pleasant surprise to designers in the ideation process and discuss how AI can interact with designers for creative tasks.