Applying intuition in co-creating design teams : Building creative capacity by cultivating trust through shared intuitive practices

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School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Bachelor's thesis
Ask about the availability of the thesis by sending email to the Aalto University Learning Centre oppimiskeskus@aalto.fi

Authors

Date

2025

Department

Major/Subject

Design

Mcode

Degree programme

Bachelor's Programme in Design

Language

en

Pages

48 + 1

Series

Abstract

Intuition plays a vital role in individual decision-making within design and creative processes. Yet, many professionals report the need to rationalise their intuitive choices in order to maintain credibility in team or client-facing environments (Raami, 2015). While intuition has been studied as a form of expert knowledge at the individual level, its collective dimension and its relationship to trust remain less explored, especially in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary team settings. This thesis investigates the intersection between shared intuitive practices and psychological safety in co-creative collaboration. Drawing on my own experience as a designer and facilitator, the research explores how intuitive, symbolic, and low-threshold group activities can support trust-building and the emergence of collective intuition. The study combines semi-structured interviews with professionals in design-adjacent fields and a facilitated intuitive painting workshop. The data is thematically analysed through a qualitative, phenomenologically informed approach, with attention to how participants describe the relationship between group trust, vulnerability, and intuitive access. The findings indicate that psychological safety is not only a precondition for shared intuitive action but also an outcome of engaging in such practices. This circular relationship appears to reinforce itself: when teams engage in low-pressure, intuitive activities, they create a sense of mutual presence and openness, which in turn strengthens trust and allows deeper intuitive engagement to emerge. Shared intuitive activities of low task-significance can therefore provide pivotal momentum in gaining team trust while simultaneously increasing the potential for applying intuition in critical moments of the co-creative process. However, cultural norms around rationality, professional identity, and group dynamics continue to pose barriers to their broader integration. This research lays a foundation for developing practical tools and future studies that treat intuition not only as personal insight, but as a relational and trainable capacity within collaborative work. It offers early empirical evidence that symbolic group practices may play a meaningful role in how we create together and how we relate as teams, communities, and systems.

Description

Supervisor

Chun, Namkyu

Thesis advisor

Chun, Namkyu

Keywords

intuition-research, co-creation, design, psychology, trust, intuitive action

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202507135591

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[kand] Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu / ARTS