Supporting creativity with powerful composition tools for artifacts and performances

Modern software such as word processors, slide preparation/presentation tools, or music composition packages are designed to produce artifacts or performances. Now, some designers are expanding their goals to include creativity support into their software. This essay builds on the genex framework for creativity, which has four phases and eight activities. It focuses on the composition activity by considering tools to support initiation, revision, and evaluation. Some existing tools provide partial support that suggests ways in which to develop more ambitious low, middle, and high level tools. The goal is to enable more people to be more creative more of the time.