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SurfingforInspiration:DigitalInspirationalMaterialinDesignPracticeKOCHJanina*;LÁSZLÓMagdaa;LUCEROAndrésaandOULASVIRTAAnttia

aAaltoUniversity,Finland*Correspondingauthore-mail:janin.koch@aalto.fidoi:10.21606/dma.2017.352

Overthelastdecade,manynewopportunitieshaveemergedtosupportcreativityandproblem-solving indesignby finding inspirationalmaterialsvia the Internet.OnlinedesigncommunitiessuchasthoseofBehanceandPinterestshowcaseportfoliosanduser-madeartwork,andtheyoffersupportfordesigners’day-to-dayworktofindandcollect inspirational material. However, very little is known about how thesecommunities affect inspiration-relatedpracticesof professional designers andhowdesignersviewthem.Thispaperpresentsnewdataonthepracticesdesignersemploywhen seeking digital inspiration sources online and reflecting on, tracking, andmanaging them in today’sWeb design. Current practice and views on sources ofinspirationweredescribedbasedonresponsesfrom51professionaldesigners.TheresultssuggestthattheInternethasbecomeaprevalentsourceforideasindesign,yet designers experiencemounting issues of trust and relatedness with regard toonlinesources.Therefore,encouragingbothshouldbeconsideredaguidingprinciplefortoolsaimedatsupportingdesignerswithintherealmofdesignpractice.

Inspiration;OnlineDesignPlatform;DesignPractice

1 IntroductionThispaperinvestigatestheeffectsoftheproliferationofonlinedesigntoolsandtheassociatedcommunitiesthathaveemergedoverthelastdecade.PreviousresearchhasapproachedonlinesourcesforWebdesignasanopportunitytodesignbeyondbordersandtogainimpactglobally(Tan&Yuen,2015).Here,wecomplementthisperspectivebyaskinghowthesesourcesarestartingtoaffectdesignthinking,especiallywithregardtoseekinginspirationalmaterialforcreativity,reflection,andproblem-solving.

Thegrowingnumberofdesignsolutionsonline,coupledwithdesigners’increasingglobalconnectedness,hasledtothedevelopmentofservicesandplatformsdedicatedtosupporting

inspiration,discourse,andinformation-seeking.Forinstance,Ember1allowsdesignerstosaveWeblinks,images,anddocumentswithannotations,allinonelocation.

Withtheadventofonlinesocialdesignplatforms,suchasBehance2,Pinterest3,andDribbble4,thespectrumofdesignsourcesavailablechangeddramatically,affordingthecreationofonlinesamplegalleries,curateddesigndata,andvisualsearchtechnologies–enablingdesignerstofindinspirationthroughexamplesaspresentedinfigure1-4.Thisdevelopmentisofinterestforthedesignresearchcommunity.Ononehand,theseservicesmayaidinteam-basedworktocollectandorganisesourcesofinspiration,workthatcanbetime-consuminganddifficult(Porcheron,Lucero,&Fischer,2016),byprovidingsourcesofdesigninspirationandtherebyimprovingefficiencyandefficacyinproblem-solving.Ontheotherhand,someoftheseonlineplatformsprovideonlylimitedexchangeandfeedbackpossibilities,eventhoughcollaborativecreativityisacentralaspectofdesign(Keller,Pasman,&Stappers,2006;Tan&Yuen,2015).Hence,theimportantquestionarisesofhowdesigners’practiceschangeinthecontextoftheseonlinedevelopments.

1.1.1 InspirationinDesignPractice

Inthispaper,welookatdesigners’evolvinginspiration-seekingpractices.Webeginbydiscussingthekeyterms‘practice’and‘inspiration’,aspreparationforoutliningourempiricalresearchquestionsinthenextsection.

Green(2009)providedacomprehensiveanalysisofdefinitionsof‘practice’,categorisingthemintofourgroupsbythesenseoftheterm.Whilehegroupedthemintocategories,hefoundalltocoverthreemainaspects:experiences,activities,andcontextsofpractice.Forthenotionof‘practice’appliedinourstudy,weextendtheconceptalongthesethreedimensionsbeyondtheindividual.InlinewithGoodmanetal.’sunderstanding(2011),weincludeaswell‘technicalsystems,organizationalstructures,tools,andknowledge’.

Weparticularfocusinthispaperoninspiration.Designershaveseveralwaystofindinspiration(Lucero,2015),includingbrowsingmagazinesandtheWeb,readingbooks,visitingtradefairs,andmeetingpeople.Otheractivities,suchastakingshortbreakstoperformphysicalactivitiesbothwithinandoutsidethedesignstudio(e.g.,playingdartsorfootballattheoffice,ridingabicyclethroughtown,orwalkingadog),servethepurposeofhelpingthedesignerforgetaboutworkforawhile,hencecreatingroomtoapproachdesignproblemsfromadifferentperspective,withafreshmind(Lucero,2015).

Inspirationdependsontheindividual-specificexperiencesofeachdesigner,whichispartlyrepresentedbytheirpreviouswork,butmainlyinfluencedbyexternalinspirationalinput.Lookingatsimilarproductsandotherdesignexampleshelpsdesignersdiversifytheirthinking(Gomesetal.,2006).Conversely,creativethinkersoftenrelymoreonnon-relatedinputtoextendtheirvantagepointontheproblem(Ansburg&Hill,2003).

Ourfocusisespeciallyonexternaldesignexamplesassourcesofinspiration.Accordingly,‘inspiration’inthispaperreferstodigitalsourcesthatcandirectlyandindirectlyinfluencethefinaldesignbyservingasastartingpointforthedesign,aprecedent,anelementforreuse,apattern,andaprimarygeneratorfornewideas(Eckert&Stacey,2000). Itservestheunderstandingofthecontextaswellasofthetargetedmoodorfunctionalitybeyondtheimmediatesphereofthedesigner’sexperience(Tan&Yuen,2015).

Designershabituallyseekinspirationfrompre-existingrelateddesigns(Bonnardel,1999).Inthiscontext,Siangliulueandcolleagues(Siangliulue,Arnold,Gajos,&Dow,2015)havehighlightedthat

1Seehttps://hackdesign.org/toolkit/ember(2017).2Seehttps://www.behance.net/(2017).3Seehttps://www.pinterest.com/(2017).4Seehttps://dribbble.com/(2017).

thecreativityineachindividualexampleisasimportantasthediversityoftheoverallsetofexamplesforthequalityofthewholeinspirationalset.Designexamplesmaybeeitherone’sownprevioussolutionsornewlydiscoveredfromothers.Whiletheyinspirenewapproaches,theyalsoprovidesolutiontemplates,structureideas,andsourcesofconceptsforchangingperspectives(Eckert&Stacey,2000).ThesesolutiontemplatesrelatetoLawson’sgambitsdescribingpatterns,likeUIpatterns,containingcertainpropertiesandcapabilitiestosolverecognizabledesignproblems(Lawson,2004).Incontrast,understandingabstractconceptsorschemataenableexpertdesignerstoidentifyanddescribedesignsituationswhereacertainsolutiontemplatecanbeapplied.However,Lawsonconcludedthatdesigners‘needtohavestudiedasubstantialbodyofprecedentstodevelopschematathatenablethemtorecognizeunderlyingstructuresindesignsituations’(Lawson,2004).Thisrequiresextensivelearningfromprecedentdesignsolutions,yetfindinganappropriateexampleisnotalwaysstraightforward.Consequently,designerstendtocreatelocalrepositoriesofinterestingexamplesforlateraccess(Herring,Chang,Krantzler,&Bailey,2009).Onthedownside,suchrepositoriestendtogrowandbecomeunmanageable,canbeperceivedasineffective(Herringetal.,2009),andquiterapidlygrowoutdated.Thisrequiresdesignerstoconstantlyseekfornewappropriateinspirationbeyondknownideas.Currenttoolsandsystemscansupportdesigners’worktostructure,retrieve,andbroadenhigh-qualityexamplesetsandcanofferinspirationsourcesrecommendedbyothers.

1.1.2 OnlineDesignPlatforms

In2006,Kelleretal.identifiedsixconsiderationsfordesigningcollectiontoolsinthelightofdesigners’commonpracticesofcollectingvisualmaterialforinspirationandreferencing(Kelleretal.,2006).Theseincludethatatoolshould1)supportcollectingasanongoingprocess,2)affordmergingofphysicalanddigitalmaterial,3)supportserendipity,4)supportvisualinteractionandselectionofmaterial,5)encouragechangesininteractionandideachains,and6)encouragesocialvalueswithinthecollectionofinspirationalmaterial.

Recentyearshavewitnessedtheproliferationofonlinedesignplatforms,includingBehance,Dribbble,Niice5,Pinterest,andothers.WhiletheseplatformsfulfilsomeofKeller’sabove-mentionedcriteria,littleresearchhasbeendoneontheirimpactoneverydaydesignpractice.

Theseplatformscurrentlyallowdesignerstocollectnewideas,andsome(e.g.,Behance)supportthevisibilityofone’sworkthroughadditionalinformationsuchasthedesign’spurpose,designercontactdetails,andeventargetgroupsandapproaches(Dekaetal.,2015).Theinterconnectionwithpreviousworkallowstheobservertogetabetterpictureofthegeneralstyleandqualityofthework.Overviewpagesincluderankings,andindicationsofthemostpopularsuggestions,whichfurtherfavourthediscoveryofnewunexpectedmaterial–i.e.,serendipity(Kelleretal.,2006).Finally,design-relateddiscussionheldviacommentsectionsandstreamlinedwithsymbols(ashorthandthatsimplifiestheinteraction)encouragessocialcommunityvalues.

Eventhoughthoseonlineplatformsofferalargerepertoireofinspirationandinformation,littleresearchhasbeendonethusfarontheiruseinprofessionaldesignpractice.Thestudiescomingclosesthaveaddressedartists’useofDeviantArt(Salahetal.,2012)orpubliccollectingandcuratingofinspirationinthePinterestservice(Gilbert,Bakhshi,Chang,&Terveen,2013;Scolere&Humphreys,2016).Theresearchgapisespeciallyimportantbecausefindingagoodinspirationalexampleforprofessionaldesignusecanbechallenging,andacriticalgulfmayexistbetweenonlinetoolsanddesigners’currentneeds.

1.1.3 StoringandManagingInspirationalMaterial

Anotherdimensionofdesignpracticeisstoring,organising,andmaintaininginspirationalvisualmaterialtostimulatecreativity(Keller,Visser,vanderLugt,&Stappers,2009).

5Seehttps://niice.co/(2017).

Earlierwork(Kelleretal.,2006)hascharacteriseddesigners’inspirationalmaterialaseitherphysicallyordigitallystoredinfolders.Digitalmaterialisoftenarrangedbyproject,date,orpurpose.Retrievinganimagefromthedirectorystructuredemandseithermanuallyfindingitintheappropriatefolder,whichmaynotbeobvious,orusingasearchablekeyword.Hence,digitalmaterialwithinspirationpotentialhasbeenusedrathermoreforaspecificpurpose–suchasaplannedcollageormoodboard(Lucero,2012)–thanforexplorativeinspiration-seeking.Onlineinspirationsourceshavebeenmentionedasplacesto‘lookup’materialmorethanstoreorkeeptrackofit.However,thisbehaviourmostlikelyhaschangedinthewakeoftechnologicaldevelopments,asmorerecentworkonPinterestsuggests(Gilbertetal.,2013).

Figure1:Emberallowsscreenshots,Websiterenderings

thatincludesourcecodeanddocumentstobeannotated

andmanipulated

Figure2:Dribbblepresentsdesigners’portfoliosina

gallery,whichcanbefilteredbyitems’recency,popularity,

andfeatures–suchasuseofanimation

Figure3:Evernoteorganisesdesignideasasasearchable

collectionofscreenshotsandarticlesthatcanbeannotated

Figure4:Behancedisplaysprojects,alongwiththeauthors,

contactdetails,socialrecommendations,adescriptionof

features,designmaterial,andexamples

2 ResearchQuestionsRogers(2004)highlightedaneedforunderstandingcurrentdesignpracticeifoneistodevelopnewtools,theories,andmethodsofsupportingeverydaypractice.Nonetheless,recentstudieshavenotyetassessedthepotentialimpactofdigitalisationofprocessesandmaterialsonthewaydesignerswork.Ourmaininterestisrelatedtocurrentpracticeinfinding,using,andstoringinspirationalmaterial.Weaimtoincreasetheunderstandingofcurrentpracticeandconcernsrelatedtoseekinginspirationalmaterial,inordertodefineguidelinesfortoolsandsystemsaimedatsupportingdesigners.

Consideringtheseobjectives,weidentifiedthreemaininspiration-seekingdimensionsandexpressedthemasthefollowingresearchquestions:

1. Finding:Whatinspirationalmaterialdodesignerssearchforonline?Wheredotheylookforthismaterial?

2. Reflection:Whatconcernsariseinlookingforinspirationalmaterial?Whatguidestheselectionorapplicationofinspirationlaterintheprocess?

3. Keeping:Howisonlinematerialorganisedforlaterretrieval?Howhaveadvancesintechnologyaffectedtheorganisationofpreviouslyretrievedmaterial?

3 StudyMethodologyOurgoalwastoreachabroadrangeofprofessionals,withdifferingcultural,professional,andexperientialbackground,forsolicitingtheirviewsonpractices.Akeyaimwastoidentifytheirconcernsandcriticismswithaneyeonpossibleimprovementsanddevelopmentsoftoolsthatarebetteralignedwithcurrentpractice.Ourmethodologicalchoicesbuildonpreviousresearchusingsurvey-basedmethodstounderstanddesignpracticesanddesignthinking.Rogers,forexample,presentedasurvey-basedstudywhereinsheidentifieda‘gapbetweenthedemandsofdoingdesignandthewaytheoryisconceptualised’asoneofthemainissueswithcurrentsystemandtooldesignfordesignpractice(Rogers,2004).Otherspublishedfindingsfromsurvey-basedstudiesaimedatimprovingtheunderstandingofuser-centreddesignpracticewithincompaniesandtheproblemsthatoccur(Gunther,Janis,&Butler,2001;Vredenburg,Mao,Smith,&Carey,2002).

TheWeb-basedsurveypresentedhereemployed53questionsoncurrentdesignpractice,withspecialfocusontheparticipants’usageofinspirationintheirday-to-day.Atthebeginningofthesurvey,weintroducedthecontextasa‘researchstudyregardingthedecisionprocessbehinddesigningfortheWeb’.Thesurveyincluded19multiple-choiceandLikert-scalequestionsand34itemsinfree-textform6.

Wefirstcollecteddemographicdataanddesignrelatedbackgroundinformationastheyearsofexperienceininteraction/service/UI/UX/webdesignorsimilarornumberofprojectsinparallelandperyeartoevaluatethedesignexpertiseoftheparticipant.Thesurveywasdividedintotwomainsections:ageneralreflectionondesignhabitsandinspiration-seekingand,second,apartfocusingonacurrentprojectoftherespondent’schoice,formoreconcreteanswers.Thisdivisionprovidestwoperspectivesoneachparticipant’sbehaviour–thetools,processes,andsourcescurrentlyusedonamoregenerallevelandreflectionsonrecentpracticenarrowedtoaspecificproject.

Thegeneraldesignhabitsweresituatedinthepracticeof‘workingonwebinteractiondesignprojects’.WefocusedonthesubcategoriesReuseofownworkbyasking‘Underwhichcircumstances

wouldyouuseyourownworkasinspiration?,’andSeekinginspirationbyusingopenquestionslike‘Whenyouareconfrontedwithanewtypeofproject,whatkindofinspirationdoyoulookfor?’andthewaythesearemanaged,storedandretrieved.WefurtherlookedintothepreferredChoicesoftoolse.g.byasking‘Forwhatpurposedoyouusepaperprototypes?’withinthedesignprocess.

6Thefullsetofquestionscanbefoundathttp://userinterfaces.aalto.fi/inspiration-in-design.

Inthesecondpart,weaskeddesignerstochoose‘analreadyfinishedWebinteractiondesignproject

fromtherecentpast’.Wefurtherencouragedtherespondentsto‘reviewtheproject[since]itmight

helpyoutoanswerthefollowingquestions’.Thesecondpartofthesurveybeganwithadescriptionofthatprojectforcontextualisingthefollowinganswers,includingself-reflectiononthesatisfactionandqualityoftheproject.Wethenlookedatsourcesofinspirationalinfluencesbyprobingtherespondentwithquestionslike‘Whatkindofinspirationdidyoulookforinthisproject?’.Further,weinvestigatedthepracticeofselectingamongalternativesofconcepts,wireframes,andlayoutincludingcriteria,challenges,andstakeholdersinvolvedintheselectionprocess.

Forsampling,weusedsocialmediatoreachdesignprofessionals.WedistributedanadvertisementviaonlinecommunitiessuchasIxDA7andLinkedIn8.Thetargetgroupconsistedofdesignerswithatleasttwoyears’workexperience.Weinformedrespondentsthesurveywasvoluntary,andtheirdatawouldberecordedanonymously.Nocompensationwasprovided.

Tworesearchersanalysedthedatasetforrespondents’suitability.Ofthe61peopleresponding,weremovedeightwhodidnotmeetthesecriteriaandtwobecauseofincompleteanswers,foratotalof51respondents.Thenbothresearchersindependentlyanalysedandcategorizedtheremainingdatawithoutpriorpredefinedcoding.Inasecondsteptheseemergedcategorieswerediscussedandgeneralizedintothemesasrecommendedininductivethematicanalysis(Braun&Clarke,2006).

4 Results4.1 RespondentBackgroundsMostofthe51respondentswerebetween31and40yearsold,andresidedinEurope.Aslightmajorityofrespondentsweremale(31/51),whichisexpectableinviewofthehighernumberofmenamongpractitionersintheWebdesignfield(ALA,2009).SeeTable1formoredetailsonrespondents’demographics.

Table1:DemographicDataforRespondents(51inAll)

Inkeepingwiththetargetgroupforthissurvey,oursampleconsistedmainlyofUX/UIdesign(27/51)andinteractiondesign(13/51)professionalswithanaverageofeightyearsofexperience.Anoverviewoftheirself-reportedprimaryjobandamountofexperiencein‘interaction,graphic,service,UI,UX,orWebdesign’isshowninTable2.

Table2:ProfessionalBackgroundoftheRespondents

Profession YearsofExperienceCharacteristics UX/UIDesigner Interaction

DesignerGraphicDesigner

Other 2-6 7-12 13-18

NumberofRespondents

27 13 6 5 21 20 10

Therespondentsreportedworkingononetosixprojectsinparallelandbetweentwoand55projectsperyear.NearlyhalfofthemchoseacorporateWebsitedesignasanexampleofarecentlyfinishedproject(22/51),whileafewpickedapersonalWebsite(5/51).Otherresponsesreferredto7Seehttps://ixda.org/(2017).8Seehttps://www.linkedin.com/(2017).

Age-Range Gender Region

Characteristics 20-30 31-40 41-50 Male Female Europe Asia SouthAmerica

NorthAmerica

Africa

NumberofRespondents

16 28 7 31 20 34 7 6 3 1

an‘artprojectWebsite’(P50)ora‘Webserviceredesign’(P30).Theindustrythespecificprojectswereconductedinrangedfromfinance(P19)toeducation(P16)andhealthcare(P33).

4.2 FindingInspirationInouranalysis,wecomparedinspirationalusebetweenpreviousworkcreatedbytherespondentsandworkretrievedonline.Itisworthnotingthat,whilewespeakofinspirationingeneral,themeaningcanbeframedinmultipleways,whichdependsonthestageinthedesignprocess:(visual)referencepoints,designpatterns,orguidelines.

Table3:StrategiesforUsingRespondent-createdandExternalWorkforInspiration(MultipleAnswersPossible)

Respondent-created

External

Usage 47/51 50/51

SolutionTemplate 25/47 44/50

Learning 6/47 1/50

Look-and-FeelReferences 1/47 12/50

LackofResources 3/47 0/50

4.2.1 UsingPersonallyCreatedExamplesforInspiration

Therespondents’answersreflectpredominantlyareuseoffunctionsandinteractionconceptsfromone’sownwork,aspresentedinTable3.

Almostalldesignersreportedinspiration-relateduseofworktheyhadpreviouslycreated(47/51).Onerespondent(P34,aUXconsultantwith15yearsofexperience)mentionedthat‘similarsolutionscanalwaysbeappliedandusuallyare.Problemsareveryrarelyunique’.Wefoundtwocommonreasonstouserespondent-createddesignsforinspiration:1)reuseofthepreviousdesignasasolutiontemplateand2)itsuseasalearningcase.

1)FindingSolutionTemplatesAmongOne’sOwnDesigns

Complexdesignproblemsrequireintensiveresearchandevaluation,whichencouragesdesignerstoturntoexistingsolutions,approaches,andmethods.Wefoundthatpreviousdesignexamplesarelikelytobeusedasinspirationiftheywereaimedatasimilarindustry,targetgroup,ormeetingsimilarinteractionrequirements.Thoseexampleshelpdesignerstoworkmoreefficiently(13/51);forinstance,‘iftheUIwillhaveastructuresimilartotheoldone,theoldprojectinspiresmetoreusethecomponentsanddesignmethodology’(P24,Student/Designer,2yrs)andfor‘avoidingreinventingthewheel’(P4,UXdesigner,6yrs).Amongotherreasonscitedforusingpreviousdesignsolutionswasbrand-designconsistency.

2)ToLearn,ExaminingExamplesOneHasCreated

Usingone’searlierdesignsasalearningcasewasthesecondmostcommontheme(6/51).Thisincludes‘successfulandunsuccessfulcases,tolearnwhatreallyworksandwhatdoesnot’(P26,Graphicdesigner,8yrs).Designisundergoingrapidchangesduetodevelopmentsintechnologyandrequiresconstantlearningandadjustingfromdesigners.Rejecteddesignsforadesignprocesscouldserveasstudyobjectsinlaterprojects.A‘goodideathatstayedinthedrawer’(P50,Creativedirector,16yrs)canbeagoodstartingpointforbrainstormingandnewideationprocesses.

4.2.2 UsingExternalExamplesforInspiration

Wecanhighlighttwomainaspectsofusingonlinedesignexamples,identifiedby50ofthe51respondents:usingonlinedesigns1)asasolutiontemplateand2)forlook-and-feelinspiration.

1)FindingSolutionTemplatesOnline

Findingonlineinspirationforsolutionstodesignproblemswasthemainreporteduse(44/51).Identifyingpossiblestructuresandimprovementswasmentionedasthemainintentionbehindretrievingonlineinspirationmaterial.Onerespondentexplained:‘FirstIlookatsimilarWebsitesandItakenoteofthethingsthatworkandlookgood.ThenIlookfor[a]completelyoff-topicsite’(P27,Frontenddeveloper,8yrs).Comparisonofdesignsolutionsinthesameindustryhelpdesignersformgeneralideasaboutstructuresfornewdesigns.Incontrast,sixrespondentsmentionedunrelatedWebsiteswithpotentialtotargetthesameaudienceandneedsasbeingusedtowidenthedesignspacevianewstructuralinspiration.

Further,35ofour51respondentsreportedhavingusedonlinedesignexamplestofindtrends,and9/51lookedspecificallyforexistingUIdesignpatternsforaddressingnewdesignproblems.Thisisimportantbecausedesignexistsnotinisolation,butratheramidstcontinuouschangesintrends,technologicalpossibilities,anduserneeds.Weidentifiedastrongroleofonlinedesignexamplesources(e.g.,designlibraries)andonlinecommunitiesaidingwiththisneed.Withintheanswersweobservedaneedforvalidationofone’sowndesign,forinstancerespondentsmentioned‘bestdesignpractices’(P36,UXdesigner,4yrs)(4/51).Thisinvolvesreferringtosourcessuchaswell-knowncompanydesigns(e.g.,Apple’s)andhighlightsfromdesigncommunities.

2)FindingLook-and-FeelInspirationOnline

Aboutaquarteroftherespondents(12/51)wereseekinglook-and-feelinspirationpromptedbyotherWebdesigns.‘UsuallyIlookforvisualinspirationandlessUX’(P20,UX/UIdesigner,4yrs)wasarecurringanswer.Respondentsreportedsearchingforimagesandvisualinspirationthatconveythelook-and-feeltargetedwiththenewdesign,fromsourcessuchasPinterest,Dribbble,andBehance(7/51).

4.3 ConcernsRelatedtoInspiration4.3.1 ConcernsAboutUsingOne’sOwnExamplesforInspiration

Usingone’sworkasinspirationwaslinkedtothreemainconcerns:theinspirationhastobe1)welltested,2)exceptional,and3)unique.

1)TheNeedforReliability

Onekeyconcernwasthecredibilityofthework,includingknowledgeofthetargetgroup,asonedesignerdescribed:‘itwastestedproperlyandprovedtobeworkingwellwiththeusers’(P44,seniorUXdesigner,4yrs).Athirdoftherespondents(17/51)self-reportedtrustintheirowndesignsolutionsasareasonforpreferredreference.

2)Self-createdInnovationStandards

Anotherdriverwasadesireforimprovedsolutioninnovativeness.Reusingone’sowndesignideasismorecommonplacewhentheserepresentan‘unconventionalmethodandapproachtodesign’(P10,UXdesigner,2.5yrs)orseemtobe‘highlyinnovative’(P25,UXdesigner,2yrs).

3)TheInspiration’sUniqueness

Afewrespondentsreportedtoavoidownworkasinspirationalsource(4/51).Thereasonspresentedwerediverse,butmostwererelatedtotheuniquenessofdesignproblemsandtotheneedfor‘inspiration,asinwaystocreatesomethingfreshandimprovingon[whatcame]earlier,com[ing]fromothers’(P36,UXdesigner,4yrs).

4.3.2 ConcernsSurroundingUseofExternalExamplesforInspiration

Weobservedtwomainconcernsandreflectionslinkedtousingonlinedigitalmaterial:1)themissingreasoningbehindtheobservedexampleand2)theneedofcredibility.

1)TheLackofReasoningBehindOnlineDesignSolution

Sixofthe51respondentshighlightedattemptstoreflectonthereasoningbehindacertaindesigndecisionrepresentedonline.Thismayberelatedtocompetitors,asin‘[we]havetobebetterthanthat,understandwhythey'vedoneitlikethat’(P4,UXdesigner,6yrs)or‘Istudythemtounderstandwhatworks,[to]usesimilarmethodswithmyownadjustmentstobuildaconcept’(P35,designer,7yrs).

2)TheNeedofCredibility

Thesecondconcernisreflectedinstatementssuchas‘usuallyIlookforvisualinspirationandlessUX,becauseevenifIcheckacompetitorIcanneverbesurewhatkindofresearchtheydid[…]oriftheytargetadifferentgroupofusers’(P20,UXdesigner,4yrs).Otherrespondentsreportedthattheyfirst‘testedthemandusedthem’(P18,interactiondesigner,15yrs)forevaluatingthequalityofsolutionspresentedonline.

4.4 StoringInspiration4.4.1 StoringOne’sOwnExamplesforInspiration

Inthecontextofusingexamplestheyhadcreatedthemselves,34ofthe51respondentsreportedstoringpreviousworkandearlierversions,aswellastrackingthecurrentuseofdesignstheyhadcreated.Ofthese34,24wereusingprivatefile-organisationschemes,asinonerespondent’saccount‘Ikeepadigitalarchiveorganisedbyclient,thenproject,thenbythephaseoftheproject’(P29,Seniorleaddesigner,14yrs).Theselocalfilesalsoincludescreenshots,reviews,anddocumentationofthedesignprocessconducted.Further,designersmentionedusingpublicportfoliosasawaytostoretheprevious(best)worktheyhadcreated(5/51),self-managed,andonpublicplatformssuchasBehance.

4.4.2 StoringExternalExamplesforInspiration

Wecontinuedbyaskingrespondentswhetherandhowtheywerekeepingtrackoforsavingexternalsourcesofdigitalinspiration.Ofthe51respondents,33answeredthattheysaveinspirationalmaterialforlaterretrieval.Themostcommonwaytostoresourcesofinformation(12/51)wasviaonlinedesignplatforms:Behance,Pinterest,Evernote,etc.Theseplatformsallowuserstomarkanelementasinteresting,afterwhichitwillbeaddedtothemainarea,fromwhichitcanberetrievedlateron.However,somementionedalsonon-design-relatedtools–Pocket9,Feedly10,andothers–forsavinginterestingWebsitesorothermaterialontheirpersonaldevices.Bookmarksandlinkswerethesecondmostcommonway(11/51)tosavereferencestoinspirationalmaterialsuchasWebsitesorimages.Thesecanaccumulaterapidlyandbecomehardtohandleatoverviewlevel,asonerespondentindicatedbyreferringtothemas‘Bookmarks.Lotsofthem’(P52,Creativedirector,16yrs).Nearlyascommonplacewerelocalfiles/folderswithscreenshots(4/51)ornotes(6/51)aboutonlineinspiration.

5 DiscussionWeintendedtoidentifywithinthisworkhowdesignersfind,reflecton,andstoredigitalinspirationalmaterialinthecontextoftheincreasingdigitalisationofdesignpractice.WefocusedonWebdesignpracticeinthisstudy,becauseitrepresentsalargeproportionofcurrentdesignpractice.However,theresearchmethodchosenallowedustogainmoregeneralinsightintovariousindividual-specificdesignpractices,whichextendovervariousbranchesofthedesignprofessionandamountofexperiences.Thesomewhatlimitednumberofparticipantsnotwithstanding,ourresultspointtosomecoherentbehaviourandconcernsintherealmofonlinedesignpractice.

9Informationisavailable(2017)athttps://getpocket.com/.10Seehttps://feedly.com/i/welcome(2017).

5.1 FromPhysicaltoDigitalSourcesofInspirationWithourstudy,weaimedtoidentifyhowinspiration-seekingpracticeshavechangedfromthosefoundinearlierresearch.Weidentifiedthattheproliferationofonlinedesignplatformshascausedtheroleofonlinesourcestoshiftfrom‘look-up’sourcesalonetocomprehensivetoolsforfindingandstoringinspirationalmaterial.Further,wesawachangeinperceptionsofonlineinspiration.WhileKelleretal.’s(2006)subjectsreportedthatlookingatotherproducts‘wasconsideredtobe“notverycreativelystimulating”(LS)’andthattheseare‘“unethicaltosteal”(PR)’,ourresultsshowthatmostdesignersnowadaysfindpotentiallyinspiringvisualmaterialandsolutionsonline.Thiswasacommonthemeinourresultsindependentlyofdesignfieldornumberofyearsofexperiences.Possibleresourcesforthischangearetheincreasedonlineavailabilityandaccessibilityofinspirationaldesignmaterial,therapidchangein(Web)designtrends,andtheavailabilityofdesigntoolsandpatternsshapinganewdigitalcommunityofpractice.Morequalitativestudiesonindividualdesignprocessesareneededtoidentifytheunderlyingintentionsandreflectionsonthisbehaviour.

5.2 SupportingTrustinOnlineDesignPlatformsOneofthemainfactorsweobservedasguidingtheuseofinspirationaldesignsourcesistrust.Onlinesourcesareoftenpoorlydocumentedandreferenced.Further,theircredibilitywithregardtofollowingofgooddesignpracticesandthevalidityoftheappliedsolutionconceptsintheusecasepresentedisnotclear.Therefore,designersfrequentlyturntotheirowndesignsolutionsforinspirationiffacedwithsimilardesignproblems.Thisisduetothecertaintyofthesebeingwell-testedsolutionsandtheavailabilityofbackgroundinformation,includingthetargetgroupandinitialrequirements.Retrievingallthisinformationforonlinedesignexamplesisseldomeasyandforcesthedesignerstointerpretthequalityofacertaindesignthemselves.

Someofthemorepopulardesignplatforms,includingBehanceandDribbble,offerattemptstorespondtothisneedbyencouragingtheauthortoaddfurtherinformationaboutthedesigner,designandthedesignprocess.Thisservesareciprocalneed:ononehand,itallowsdesignerstoshowcasethequalityoftheirworkprocesses,and,ontheother,itletsotherdesignersfollowtheideasandprocessesbehindacertaindesign.Incontrast,sometoolstosupportinspirationaldesignpractice(forinstance,Ember)donotprovidesuchfunctionality.Here,thematerialcollectedcanbeextendedonlybypersonalinterpretations,intheformofnotes;theplatformhasnosupportforfurtherdescribingelementsofeachdesign.

5.3 ReflectingRelatednesswithOnlineDesignPlatformsAnotherguidingfactorwasrelatedness,theclosenessofanexampletothedesignathand.Inourstudy,theusecasesforone’sowndesignexampleswereoftenrelatedtothenewdesign–forsimilarsolutionandlearningpurposes.ThisisinlinewithLawson(2004),whichhighlightedtheneedofknowingandunderstandingalargerepertoireofdesignsolutionstoidentifysolutionpatterns,hereferstoasgambits,withinexistingdesignsituations.Usingsuchrelateddesignsolutionswascriticisedbyafewdesigners,whostatedthatanewdesigncanonlycomefromnewandfreshinspirationsourcesoutsideone’smentalspace.Inlinewiththat,morethanhalfoftheparticipantsmentionedtheintentiontofindexamplesaddressingsimilarproblemsforsolutioninspirationonline.AsmentionedbyGomesetal.(2006)andFord(1999),designersneedadynamicareabetweendivergentandconvergentsolutionstodesignproblems,whichcanberepresentedherebywell-knownsolutions(one’sownmaterial)andsolutionscreatedbyothers.Again,onlinesourcesareoftenpoorlydocumented,andtheirencodedrequirementshavetobeevaluatedandinterpretedforappropriatenessbythedesignersthemselves.Whilesomeonlinedesignplatformssupportattachingfurtherinformationsuchaspurpose,targetgroup,andintentionsforthedesignpresented(e.g.,Behance,PinterestandDribbble),thisisstillonlyrarelyobserved,eventhoughmostoftherespondentshighlightedtheuseofonlinesourcesforthispurposeandreportedconcernsaboutthebackgroundinformationavailable.Incontrast,protectingone’sownuniquesolutionsasacompetitiveadvantage(asreferredtointhe‘Results’section)aswellascustomerstrategieswould

beobviousargumentsagainstsuchpubliclypresentedinformation.Thegrowingdigitalcommunityofpracticeinwhichdesignerslearn,exchangeideas,andgetinspiredwhilealsocompetingagainsteachotherforclientswillhavetostrikeabalancebetweenthesetwoneedsifitistoincreasethebenefittothewholecommunity.

5.4 StoringInspirationsOnlineOneofourobservationsinvolvedthepopularityofusingonlinedigitalportfoliosanddesignplatformsforstoringinspirationalmaterial,alongsideanincreaseduseofdigitaltoolsingeneral.Thisisconsistentwiththehypothesisthatthedesignprocessisadaptingtothedigitalisationofinspirationalresources.Thelattertendencywasstrongerthanfoundinearlierstudiesofthetopic.Whereasdigitaldesignmaterialsusedtobestoredprimarilyforspecificpurposes,thetechnologicaladvancesinwhatsystemsallowdesignerstoaddanytypeofinspirationalmaterialquickly(bysavingdesignstocollectionsasinBehance),grouptheitems(forexample,viaboardsinthePinterestservice),andloadoffline(inEmber)changedthisperception.Itsupportstheactivecollectionofinspirationalmaterialbyloweringthehurdleofstructuringthematerialfirst.Kelleretal.’sparticipantsalsomentionedtheeffortfulretrievalofdigitalinspirationalmaterialasanobstacletousingdigitalstorageoptions.However,currentonlinetoolsandplatformsoffergalleryviewsofthecontentaccumulated–specifiablebytopicoranotherdefinition–foreasiersearchingandretrievalofmaterial.Thefunctionalitytherebynotonlyallowsdesignerstoretrievecollectedinspirationmoreeasilybutalsosupportsserendipitousencounterswithmaterial.Examplesareshowninfigure1,2,and4.Inaddition,someplatformssupportprivateprofiles(e.g.,Behance),withwhichuserscanuploadmaterialtheywanttostoretogetherwithotherdigitalmaterial.Theuploadscanbedigitalmaterialordigitalisedphysicalmaterial.ThesefeaturesspeaktothefirstfourcriteriafordesigninginspirationalcollectiontoolsthatKelleretal.(2006)presentedandallowdesignerstointegratedigitalinspirationalmaterialmoreeasilyintotheircurrentworkpractice.

5.5 TrustandRelatednessasCriteriaforInspirationalToolsInpreviousresearch,fromtheircontextualenquiryintodesignpractice,Kellerandcolleaguesreportedsixelementsasnecessaryconsiderationsfordesigninginspirationaltools(Kelleretal.,2009).Whilecomputeranddigitalmaterialwasconsideredmoreasameansofstorageandas‘look-up’inspiration,ourresultsshowthatthesepracticeshavechangedinrecentdecades.Hence,theseguidelines,whilestillvalidaspresentedabove,shouldbeupdatedinlinewiththecurrentneedsofdesignpractice.Therefore,weproposeextendingthelistofconsiderationsfordesigningcollectiontoolswiththefollowingrequirement:

7)Supporttrustandrelatedness

Byaugmentingadesignsolutionandmaterialwithadditionalinformationsuchasauthor,purpose,method,andapproachused,designersareabletobetterunderstandandevaluatethequalityofagivendesignasinspirationfortheircurrentpurpose.

6 ConclusionForthispaper,weaimedtoidentifychangesindesignpracticerelativetothatpresentedinearlierstudies,withafocusondigitalisation-promptedchange,especiallywithregardtodigitalinspiration.Welookedatthechangesininspiration-seekingandmaterial-savingpracticesandatconcernsrelatedtothesepractices.Comparingourfindingsonthistopictoearlierresults,weidentifiedincreaseduseofonlinematerialthatinspiresvisualandproblem-solvingstrategies.Thisdevelopmentisnotuncriticisedbythedesigncommunity.ForexampleSantos(2016)pointsoutthatcentralizingdigitaldesignsourcesinplatformslikeDribbble,couldcreateageneralideaof‘gooddesign’resultinginanincreasingnumberofhomogeneousdesignsolutions.Thepositiveandnegativeattentionthisarticlereceivedreflectsthecriticaldiscussionaccompanyingtheshifttowardsdigitaldesignmaterial.

However,thediversityofreactionsmightratherreflecttheuseofinspirationalmaterialdependingonindividualdesignexpertiseaselaboratedinLawsonandDorst’s(2005)model.Withintheinitialexpertiselevels,fromanovicetoacompetentdesigner,firstrules,guidelinesandexamplesarefollowed,thenunderstoodandfinallyabstractedasdesignschematarepresentingcomplexideas.Thisrequiresdesignerstocollectalargerepertoireofdesignsolutionstoidentifysuchsolutionpatterns,whichLawson(2004)calledgambits,withinexistingdesignsituations.Theseskillsenabledesignertocreatesituateddesignsolutionsthroughstrategicthinking.Thefollowinglevelsofexpertisediverseintheiroriginalityandinnovativenessofsolutionsdependingontheabilitytoincreaseandabstractpresenteddesignsolutionprecedentstothecurrentdesignsituationandthepersonalityandambitionoftheindividualdesigner.Theroleofinspirationalmaterialanditsimpactonthefinalresulthencedependsratheronthedesigner’sabilitytocontextualizeapresenteddesignsolutionandtosituateitinthesolutionspacethanthematerialitself.

Increasingthedesigners'repertoireandunderstandingofprecedentsolutions,schemataandgambits(Lawson,2004)wouldhencesupportdesignerstoextendtheirexpertise.Thiscorrespondtoourresultwhereweidentifiedageneralneedforadditionalinformationaboutdesignsthatgobeyondthevisualaspect.Hence,weofferanextensiontoKelleretal.’sguidelinesfordesigninginspiration-collectiontoolswiththerequirementofsupportingtrustandrelatedness.Thiscouldrefertoadditionalinformationsuchastheauthororworkprocessbutalsoencompassthetargetgroupsandintendedpurposeofadesign.Whilethatwouldsupportlearningandexchangewithinthiscommunityofpractice(Wenger,McDermott,&Snyder,2002),designersusingonlinedesignplatformsarenotonlyvirtualcolleagues;theyarealsocompetitorsfororiginalityandwork.Identifyingsolutionsthatcouldstrikeabalancewithinthisdichotomyofinterestsisapromisingdirectionforfutureresearch.

Understandingdesigners'needs,alongwithconcernsrelatedtodesigningeneralandcollectionofinspirationmaterialinparticular,couldalsoinformmoresophisticateddesigntools.Thetrendofdevelopingdesign-supportingsystemsislikelytogeneratemoreandmoresystemsandmachinesthatactascollaboratorsoncommonprojects,actingtogetherwiththedesigners.Forinstance,inrecentwork,Woodburyandcolleagues(Woodbury,Mohiuddin,Cichy,&Mueller,2017)presentedaparametricmodellingtoolthatenablesamachinetosuggestdesignalternativesintheformofagallery.However,forextendingcurrentworkandbuildingfullylegitimatedesignpartnersinsuchaninteractivescenario,scholarssuchasKoch(2017)havehighlightedtheneedforabetterunderstandingofthedesignprocessfordevelopmentofintelligentcollaborativemachines.WhileRogers(2004)underscorestheneedformoredesign-practiceknowledgeinHCI,Kochinterpretsthisknowledgeandlooksatthedesignskills,knowledge,andbehaviourrequiredforanindependentlyacting,collaborativedesignsystem.Thispaperisastepinapromisingdirection.Inaworldwithburgeoningdiversityofinspiration,sourcesofit,andconnectedness,theneedforcredibilityandrelatednessofinspirationsourcesisamoreimportanttopicthaneverbefore.

7 AcknowledgementsThisprojecthasreceivedfundingfromtheEuropeanResearchCouncil(ERC)undertheEuropeanUnion’sHorizon2020researchandinnovationprogramme(grantagreement637991).

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AbouttheAuthors:

JaninKochisaPhDcandidateinHCIatAaltoUniversity.Herresearchinterestliesinhuman-computercollaborationforcreativetasks.Inparticular,sheisinterestedinhowtodesignsystemsthatcanactivelyparticipateinthedesignprocess.

MagdaLászlóholdsamaster’sdegreeinHuman-ComputerInteractionandDesignandtwobachelor’sdegrees,oneinComputerEngineeringandoneinBusinessAdministration.Duringherstudies,shepublishedherfirstpaperwithinthefieldofMultimodalInteraction.

AndrésLuceroisAssociateProfessorofInteractionDesignatAaltoUniversity.HehasabackgroundinVisualCommunicationDesign(MA),User-SystemInteraction(PDEng),andHuman-ComputerInteraction(PhD).Hisresearchinterestsincludehuman-computerinteraction,design,andplay.

AnttiOulasvirtaisAssociateProfessorofuserinterfacesatAaltoUniversity.Hehasabackgroundincognitivesciencesandhuman-computerinteraction.Hisresearchinterestsincludecomputationaldesign,modellingofhuman-computerinteraction,andinteractivetechnology.