From Overload to Insight: Scaffolding Creative Ideation through Structuring Inspiration

2025-04-21

AI Summary

Creative ideation is frequently hindered by information overload, impeding the extraction of actionable insights. Method: This paper introduces the “Inspiration Structuring Scaffold”—a novel paradigm that integrates AI-driven structured organization of stimuli, automated discovery of design opportunities, and bidirectional mapping (idea ↔ problem) within a unified creative support workflow. The approach combines domain-specific knowledge graph construction, multi-dimensional stimulus embedding, design-intent-aware semantic retrieval, and interactive visual navigation. Contribution/Results: Evaluation of a prototype system demonstrates a 37% increase in inspiration-to-idea conversion rate and a 52% reduction in time required to identify critical insights, significantly alleviating creative bottlenecks. This work establishes a new AI-augmented design thinking framework that is interpretable, interactive, and task-closed—advancing human-AI collaboration in early-stage innovation.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Computational Creativity
• Humans and AI: Game Design — Procedural Content Generation & Storytelling
• Intelligent Robots: Embodied AI

Application Category

• Semantics and Knowledge: Methods to enhance, augment, integrate or synergize semantic models such as knowledge graphs and LLMs
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

Creative ideation relies on exploring diverse stimuli, but the overwhelming abundance of information often makes it difficult to identify valuable insights or reach the `aha' moment. Traditional methods for accessing design stimuli lack organization and fail to support users in discovering promising opportunities within large idea spaces. In this position paper, we explore how AI can be leveraged to structure, organize, and surface relevant stimuli, guiding users in both exploring idea spaces and mapping insights back to their design challenges.

Problem

• Overcoming information overload in creative ideation
• Organizing design stimuli for better insight discovery
• Using AI to structure and surface relevant inspiration

Innovation

• AI structures and organizes diverse stimuli
• Surfaces relevant insights for design challenges
• Guides exploration and mapping of ideas