Infrastructures for Inspiration: The Routine Construction of Creative Identity and Inspiration

2025-02-11

AI Summary

This study examines how online platforms shape visual artists’ creative identity construction and inspiration practices through everyday interaction mechanisms. Drawing on thematic analysis of 22 semi-structured interviews with artists, augmented by a critical reading of platform logic, it identifies a structural tension between “disciplinary practices” (e.g., habitual creation tools) and “serendipitous inspiration” (e.g., passive algorithmic recommendations) embedded in platform infrastructures. The research systematically identifies three core functional categories: disciplinary tools supporting creative routines, algorithmic recommendation systems facilitating inspiration seeking, and micro-community spaces enabling identity negotiation. Building on this, it proposes an original analytical framework that integrates inspiration mechanisms into platform design and governance. The findings advance theoretical understanding of platform-mediated creative labor and offer actionable insights for platform developers, policymakers, and artist communities navigating digital transformation. (149 words)

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Computational Creativity
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Computer Vision: Computational Photography, Image & Video Synthesis

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Algorithmic accountability and transparency on the web
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Economics and fairness of platforms and recommendation systems
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Web data quality in the era of algorithmically-generated content

Abstract

Online, visual artists have more places than ever to routinely share their creative work and connect with other artists. These interactions support the routine enactment of creative identity in artists and provide inspirational opportunities for artists. As creative work shifts online, interactions between artists and routines around how these artists get inspired to do creative work are mediated by and through the logics of the online platforms where they take place. In an interview study of 22 artists, this paper explores the interplay between the development of artists' creative identities and the, at times, contradictory practices they have around getting inspired. We find platforms which support the disciplined practice of creative work while supporting spontaneous moments of inspiration, play an increasing role in passive approaches to searching for inspiration, and foster numerous small community spaces for artists to negotiate their creative identities. We discuss how platforms can better support and embed mechanisms for inspiration into their infrastructures into their design and platform policy.

Problem

• Online platforms influence artist inspiration
• Creative identity shaped by digital interactions
• Platform design affects artistic community dynamics

Innovation

• Online platforms mediate inspiration
• Support disciplined and spontaneous creativity
• Foster community spaces for identity negotiation