Comparison of the brain activations of experienced and novice designers engaged in initiating imagination

Designers often engage in imaginative activities and their performance largely reflects their unique distinct experiences. Few studies have examined the relationship between creative imagination and designer experience. Thirty visual designers were invited to participate in this study, which examined the differences in the brain activities of Experienced Designers (EDs) and Novice Designers (NDs) engaged in initiating imagination stimulated by abstract images. The following results were obtained. (i) The prefrontal and bilateral frontotemporal brain regions were activated during the idea generation task for the novelty indicator. (ii) The right frontal and temporal regions were activated during the idea evaluation task for the novelty indicator. (iii) During the idea generation task for the productivity indicator, noticeable activations in the right-biased middle frontoparietal region was observed. (iv) During the idea evaluation task for the productivity indicator, noticeable activations in the prefrontal and frontal regions were detected.