The shift toward working from home (Yang et al., 2022) presents new design opportunities for UI designers, who depend heavily on communication and collaboration during daily brainstorming meetings (Van et al., 2023; Lee, 2024). However, engaging in online brainstorming sessions poses significant challenges, particularly around inactive participation, such as prolonged silence, as revealed by user research. This lack of engagement is critical since brainstorming quality relies on active participation, where team members benefit from sharing ideas and inspire one another. Interviews show that this disengagement often stems from fears of awkwardness or concern about being judged, especially when participants are unsure of others’ reactions. Consistent with existing literature, this silence is primarily due to the lack of non-verbal interactions, a key component in in-person brainstorming (Maeda et al., 2022). Moreover, the technological constraints of remote meetings further limit communication, with a heavy reliance on text and verbal cues that amplify the sense of distance between participants (Branch et al., 2023; Maeda et al., 2022). Although AR and VR technologies have made strides in addressing these gaps, their high cost makes them impractical for home offices. Additionally, both user research and Maeda et al. (2022) noted that working from home comes with unpredictable disruptions, such as interruptions from family or unstable internet connections. These issues are not adequately tackled by existing platforms like Miro, Zoom, or Teams. Therefore, creating a fresh non-verbal collaborative experience that promotes active engagement during online brainstorming at home represents a design opportunity that CreatiFlow seeks to address.
CreatiFlow supports heart sending and thumbs-up signals as non-verbal interactions between participants. These signals are commonly used for positive feedback, such as expressing approval or agreement. While platforms like Zoom and Teams also offer similar reactions, they do not support direct interaction between users through these signals. CreatiFlow takes this a step further by utilising these signals as a reward, encouraging users to engage more actively after recognising positive feedback from others. This helps alleviate the fear of being judged and fosters greater participation. To further promote engagement and prevent awkward silences, CreatiFlow introduces a point system where users can earn points from receiving hearts and thumbs-up signals. These points can then be redeemed for virtual decorations to customise their avatars, adding a playful element to participation. Recognising that working from home can involve distractions and interruptions, CreatiFlow includes an innovative leave mode that automatically summarises and records missed discussions. This feature helps users quickly catch up on the conversation and re-engage in the brainstorming session. By incorporating these features, CreatiFlow creates a more dynamic and inclusive online discussion environment, reducing the impact of home-based distractions.
CreatiFlow is a web-based online meeting platform that supports access from various devices. To be fully functional, it requires a ultra sonic sensor. It offers two core and innovative features: non-verbal interactions and the leave mode. During brainstorming meeting, participants can use non-verbal interactions like heart and thumbs-up clicks as a form of engagement. These actions serve as rewards for active participation and provide instant feedback. If a participant steps away, the leave mode automatically activates when the sensor detects their absence. During this mode, key messages uploaded by other participants are summarised in a pop-up window, helping the returning participant quickly catch up with the group’s brainstorming progress. After the meeting, the accumulated heart and thumbs-up clicks convert into points, which can be used to purchase decorations for customising the participant’s avatar, adding a fun and engaging element to the overall experience.
User testing yielded high satisfaction, confirming the usability and value of the platform. Users reported feeling less pressure compared to traditional meeting systems and mentioned that interactive features like sending hearts helped bridge emotional gaps, making them more eager to participate. However, feedback indicated that the navigation needed to be more intuitive. In response, we adjusted the layout, moving key features from the bottom right to the top right for easier access. Users also suggested adding visual aids to the catch-up messages to improve their ability to quickly grasp key points, which is something we plan to address in future updates.
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