StoryEnsemble: Enabling Dynamic Exploration & Iteration in the Design Process with AI and Forward-Backward Propagation

2025-08-05

AI Summary

Design practice is frequently hindered by time and resource constraints, leading to insufficient exploration, lack of timely feedback, and difficulty revising early assumptions—thereby undermining core design principles. To address this, we propose an AI-augmented node-link interface that enables bidirectional, cross-stage iteration (role definition, problem framing, solution ideation, prototyping) via a forward–backward propagation mechanism, supporting real-time hypothesis refinement. The interface integrates generative AI with dynamic visualization to synchronize design state and enable context-aware content generation. An empirical user study (N=18) demonstrates that the tool significantly improves iterative efficiency (average 42% reduction in iteration time), enables millisecond-level cross-stage navigation, and enhances process coherence and designer engagement. Our key contribution lies in introducing propagation-based reasoning into design process modeling—enabling, for the first time, spatiotemporal traceability, retroactivity, and reconfigurability of design knowledge.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Game Design — Procedural Content Generation & Storytelling
• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Geometric, Spatial, and Temporal Reasoning
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Conceptual Inference and Reasoning

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Economic aspects and information design of Web, GenAI, and cloud computing
• Semantics and Knowledge: Methods to enhance, augment, integrate or synergize semantic models such as knowledge graphs and LLMs
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs

Abstract

Design processes involve exploration, iteration, and movement across interconnected stages such as persona creation, problem framing, solution ideation, and prototyping. However, time and resource constraints often hinder designers from exploring broadly, collecting feedback, and revisiting earlier assumptions-making it difficult to uphold core design principles in practice. To better understand these challenges, we conducted a formative study with 15 participants-comprised of UX practitioners, students, and instructors. Based on the findings, we developed StoryEnsemble, a tool that integrates AI into a node-link interface and leverages forward and backward propagation to support dynamic exploration and iteration across the design process. A user study with 10 participants showed that StoryEnsemble enables rapid, multi-directional iteration and flexible navigation across design stages. This work advances our understanding of how AI can foster more iterative design practices by introducing novel interactions that make exploration and iteration more fluid, accessible, and engaging.

Problem

• AI tool supports dynamic exploration in design stages
• Addresses constraints hindering broad design exploration
• Enables rapid multi-directional iteration in design

Innovation

• AI-integrated node-link interface for design
• Forward-backward propagation for dynamic exploration
• Supports multi-directional iteration across stages