A Collaborative AI-Driven Platform to Foster Social Creativity in Graphic Design Education

Abstract

This study presents the development and evaluation of CoDesign, a web-based collaborative platform embedded with an AI-chatbot, designed to support the creative process among Education students enrolled in a graphic design course. Grounded in the Cognitive and Social Apprenticeship (COCIAL) model, CoDesign addresses the limitations of generic tools like Facebook and Padlet by offering features such as real-time communication, creative feedback, task coordination, and design archiving. A mixed-methods approach was employed to assess the platform’s effectiveness. Over the course of one academic semester, students submitted three iterations of their design work, receiving AI-only feedback initially, followed by a combination of AI and lecturer input. Quantitative findings from 30 students revealed a significant increase in satisfaction scores when transitioning from AI-only support to AI combined with lecturer facilitation. Qualitative thematic analysis further indicated that students perceived the chatbot as useful in fostering idea generation, emotional engagement, and iterative refinement; elements closely aligned with creativity-supportive learning. These findings highlight the potential of CoDesign to scaffold creative thinking and collaborative interaction, with scalability for broader implementation in teacher education and design-based pedagogy.