THREE DRIVEN APPROACHES TO COMBINATIONAL CREATIVITY

Creativity is a crucial element of design, and a human attribute that has aroused significant attention. However, few studies have focused on the factors and motivations that drive creativity. The aim of the study is to investigate the driving forces behind combinational creativity for developing original creative products. We propose three driven approaches to combinational creativity, the problem-driven approach, the common-driven approach, and the inspiration-driven approach, based on previous research projects on design process, design strategy, and design cognition. A test involving two-hundred practical products has been conducted to validate the three approaches by means of expert evaluation. The test results have indicated the validity of the three driven approaches. The three approaches proposed in this study have provided an understanding of how combinational creativity is driven in design, which could lead to a better comprehension of human creativity in design. The study enables indication that the three approaches can be applied by designers to aid in the production of creative designs for and in resource-limited societies.