Surprise2Refine: Axis-Centered Exploration-To-Refinement for Agent-Assisted Creative Scaffolding

2026-08-12

AI Summary

This work addresses the mismatch between existing AI-powered design tools—which rely on static or continuously expanding design spaces—and the dynamic needs of designers, who require broad exploration followed by focused refinement. To bridge this gap, the authors propose an axis-centered workflow that dynamically expands and contracts the design space to support structured exploration and refinement. They implement this approach in a prototype system, Surprise2Refine, introducing a novel axis-centric interaction paradigm that enables the design space to adaptively evolve according to creative intent. This enhances users’ sense of control and traceability throughout the creative scaffolding process. A controlled study with 14 designers demonstrates that the system significantly improves perceived user control, facilitates tracing of scaffolding pathways, and yields design outcomes rated as more creatively compelling.

Abstract

Designers require different design spaces across creative stages: broad during exploration, and targeted during refinement. Yet existing agent-driven tools assume a fixed or continuously expanding space, leaving designers to manage and navigate it themselves. Informed by a formative study with five designers, we propose an axis-centered workflow that adaptively broadens and narrows the design space to support structured exploration and refinement. We implemented this workflow in Surprise2Refine, a prototype that allows users to build and reshape an nxn design space through a set of axis-centered interactions as their creative intent evolves. A within-subjects study with 14 designers shows that Surprise2Refine enhances users' sense of control, supports tracking of scaffolding paths, and improves the perceived creativity of design outcomes. We further distill design insights to guide future agent-assisted tools for creative scaffolding.

Problem

• design space
• creative scaffolding
• agent-assisted design
• exploration and refinement
• adaptive interaction

Innovation

• axis-centered workflow
• adaptive design space
• creative scaffolding
• agent-assisted design
• exploration-to-refinement