Creating Creativity for Everyone: User Interfaces for Supporting Innovation

A challenge for human-computer interaction researchers and user interface designers is to construct information technologies that support creativity. This ambitious goal can be attained by building on an adequate understanding of creative processes. This paper offers the four-phase genex framework for generating excellence: Collect: learn from previous works stored in digital libraries Relate: consult with peers and mentors at early, middle and late stages Create: explore, compose, and evaluate possible solutions Donate: disseminate the results and contribute to the digital libraries Within this integrated framework, this paper proposes eight activities that require humancomputer interaction research and advanced user interface design. A scenario about an architect illustrates the process of creative work within a genex environment.