Searching for inspiration during idea generation: Pictures or words?

People from different professional arenas search for inspiration in a number of sources, be it in memories from past experiences or in the physical environment that surrounds them. Purposefully or unconsciously, scientists, artists, writers and different types of designers for instance, come across diverse types of stimuli that they expect might...

Find your inspiration: Exploring different levels of abstraction in textual stimuli

The selection of inspirational sources is a crucial step while designing, which potentially can enhance creativity. However, empirical investigations have demonstrated a dual-effect that some stimuli might have during idea generation. Therefore, it is valid to discuss whether designers are disregarding other stimuli, such as textual...