Abstract
At the core of creative thinking lies the dynamic interplay between divergent and convergent thinking, an ability especially critical in team co-creation within design education. As generative AI tools increasingly integrate into educational design settings, this study investigates the practical impact of such tools on team creativity by comparing two support models introduced at different design stages in empirical workshop settings. One group utilized AI during the ideation stage to assist with idea generation, while the other group employed AI in the concept storyboarding stage to support visual expression of ideas. Assessment using the Creativity Support Index (CSI) revealed that integrating AI tools during the ideation phase quickly provided abundant and diverse stimuli, significantly reducing cognitive load during divergent thinking and enhancing idea diversity. In contrast, the team using AI in the storyboarding stage benefited from improved visualization and refinement of concepts, facilitating clearer and more precise consensus during convergent thinking. However, this also introduced greater communication costs and collaboration complexity. This study highlights both the advantages and challenges of using generative AI tools at different stages of team creativity development and recommends strategically integrating AI tools to leverage their stage-specific strengths, ultimately enhancing overall creative performance from ideation to visual concept development.
Keywords
Generative AI; Team creativity; Design education; Ideation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.291
Citation
Chen, C.,and Wang, S.(2025) The Impact of AI Tools on Team Creativity: An Empirical Study in a Design Education Setting, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.291
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 12 - Design Education
The Impact of AI Tools on Team Creativity: An Empirical Study in a Design Education Setting
At the core of creative thinking lies the dynamic interplay between divergent and convergent thinking, an ability especially critical in team co-creation within design education. As generative AI tools increasingly integrate into educational design settings, this study investigates the practical impact of such tools on team creativity by comparing two support models introduced at different design stages in empirical workshop settings. One group utilized AI during the ideation stage to assist with idea generation, while the other group employed AI in the concept storyboarding stage to support visual expression of ideas. Assessment using the Creativity Support Index (CSI) revealed that integrating AI tools during the ideation phase quickly provided abundant and diverse stimuli, significantly reducing cognitive load during divergent thinking and enhancing idea diversity. In contrast, the team using AI in the storyboarding stage benefited from improved visualization and refinement of concepts, facilitating clearer and more precise consensus during convergent thinking. However, this also introduced greater communication costs and collaboration complexity. This study highlights both the advantages and challenges of using generative AI tools at different stages of team creativity development and recommends strategically integrating AI tools to leverage their stage-specific strengths, ultimately enhancing overall creative performance from ideation to visual concept development.