Cardographer Analyser
Cardographer Analyser (CDGA) is an open-source web application designed to enhance creativity and expand thinking during card-based ideation on digital whiteboards (Miro). CDGA extends the Cardographer platform developed by the Mixed Reality Lab at the University of Nottingham, adding real-time data analysis capabilities.
Research
Through a review of literature and existing applications of card-based ideation and computer-aided design, this project identifies key limitations of current tools—both physical and digital. These include expertise barriers, limited conceptual space within individual cards, and the inability of cards and frames to surface relevance and coherence across design concepts. For detailed findings, see my dissertation: "Extension to Cardographer: Enhancing digital card-based ideation through real-time data analysis and visualisation".
Design
CDGA provides tailored data analysis panels and visualizations aligned with how users think during concept card brainstorming. Users can explore relationships between selected cards, evaluate the creativity of card combinations, and assess alignment with the design problem from multiple perspectives.
Through real-time analysis and visualization, CDGA transforms concept cards into rich information objects that surface conceptual relationships. Session data management features also facilitate knowledge sharing, lowering participation barriers for users across different expertise levels.
The latest version features an AI Assistant powered by OpenAI's GPT-3, offering text and image prompts on concept cards and product design to spark additional inspiration.
Deployment
CDGA is open source. Installation instructions and source code are available via the GitHub repository. Documentation includes an online user manual and a Discord community.
As my HCI graduate project, I'm pleased that the Cardographer research project will formally integrate CDGA in its next release. Future development plans include AI-powered card matching—text-based usage suggestions and image-based inspiration prompts.