Creativity of ‘process’ and ‘product’: the impact of tools?

This paper examines the relationship between creativity domains and computing tools. It reports on the findings of a design computing experiment with 2 groups of subjects while they were engaged with a problem solving design task using two types of CAD tools, non-parametric and parametric-algorithmic. The paper aims to address two questions. Does a more creative process by implication 'correlate' with and yield a more creative product? And does the 'type' of CAD tool deployed by the user impact on the creativity of their product? The findings revealed that creativity of the process correlated significantly with each measure of 'product' creativity, namely: novelty, technical goodness and aesthetic appeal. Factor loading on components confirmed two constructs, one for product creativity and another for process. Additionally a difference in CAD tools produced no statistical 'variance' in creativity of 'product' or process. A regression equation to predict product ratings from creativity process ratings is also presented