A collaborative interface for managing design alternatives

Generating and managing multiple ideas is a fundamental part of the creative process for both individual and teams of designers. To be useful for early design, computer tools must effectively support this common practice. This paper proposes a demonstration of a new collaborative interface for managing ideas in computer-based design tools. The core of the interface provides interactive spatial maps for creating, organizing, and reflecting on ideas. The interface was also substantially revised in response to lessons learned from a study comparing its use to the use of other tools for managing multiple ideas during early design work. The revised interface allows designers to tag and filter the idea space, arrange ideas in three distinct views, and efficiently compose and decompose content from multiple ideas.