Design Thinking and Creativity: An Empirical Study on Their Correlation

Abstract

In the design field, creativity and design thinking are crucial attributes for professional designer. The current study attempts to examine these relationships through an empirical approach. Two studies were reported. In the first study, we found that everyday creativity was correlated with execution, collaboration, reasoning and reflection of design thinking (r .32 - .35). In addition, scholar creativity was related to ideation (r = .24) and reasoning and reflection of design thinking (r = .31). The second study demonstrates that creativity was only related to reasoning and reflection (r = .30). Furthermore, creative personality was related to reasoning and reflection (r = .50), ideation (r = .51), and collaboration (r = .27). Several limitations were found and implications of studies were discussed.

Keywords: Creativity, Design thinking, Design education, Taiwanese undergraduates, MANOVA

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/12-2-01

Publication date: January 31^st 2022