Analyzing Creative Processes: Qualitative Methods Meets Visual Analytics

Creative processes are nuanced and dynamic. They differ from person to person, based on task and environment. It is important to characterize aspects of the creative process, the actions performed, as a way to gain insight about building better applications and pedagogy. Qualitative methods can help provide rich understanding of creative processes, but require as many as 10 hours of work to transcribe each video hour. Quantitative methods are fast, but often lack the same depth. This research proposes to enable and amplify bottom-up approaches from qualitative methods using techniques in a human-in-the-loop visual analytics system. By first better understanding creative processes, we can improve the design of applications that impact the quality of life of designers, analysts, and content creators.