How Visualization Designers Perceive and Use Inspiration

Abstract: Inspiration plays an important role in design, yet its specific impact on data visualization design practice remains underexplored. This study investigates how professional visualization designers perceive and use inspiration in their practice. Through semi-structured interviews, we examine their sources of inspiration, the value they place on them, and how they navigate the balance between inspiration and imitation. Our findings reveal that designers draw from a diverse array of sources, including existing visualizations, real-world phenomena, and personal experiences. Participants describe a mix of active and passive inspiration practices, often iterating on sources to create original designs. This research offers insights into the role of inspiration in visualization practice, the need to expand visualization design theory, and the implications for the development of visualization tools that support inspiration and for training future visualization designers.