How a Creative Product Evolves: A Structural Analysis of Creative Trajectories in Graphic Design

The psychology of creativity has traditionally had a narrow focus on idea generation alone, even though creative work requires extensive processes of exploration of an initial idea in order to develop it into a final product. In the present study, we attempt to characterize the evolutionary trajectory of design work from inception to final product by analyzing the full progression of structural changes occurring over the course of a creative project. Graphic design students were tasked with brainstorming ideas for a business advertisement during an initial session, and then developing one of these ideas into a final advertisement across 6 daily sessions of exploration. Because this study is ongoing, we present a case study of a single designer's progression and the creative dynamics of its unfolding from initial sketch to final product.