Co-creative platforms: The next step in creative freedom

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• July 4, 2023

Insight highlights

Co-creative digital platforms are emerging as a space where participant contributions shape the platform's value and direction, as seen with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This blend of technology and creativity is facilitated by virtual and augmented realities (VR/AR), which provide limitless possibilities for individual creative contributions. This co-creative approach is also spilling over into traditional sectors, as brands increasingly encourage customers to participate in the creative process, lending a personalized touch to their products and services.

Co-creative platforms context

A co-creative digital platform is a shared space created by at least one group of participants other than the platform owner. These contributions define the value of the entire platform and its direction. This feature is why non-fungible tokens (NFTs) such as digital art don’t have any value without the dynamic relationship between a platform and its users.

Helena Dong, creative technologist and digital designer, told Wunderman Thompson Intelligence that technology is increasingly becoming a driving force behind creativity. This shift has unlocked new opportunities for creations to exist beyond the physical world. About 72 percent of Gen Z and Millennials in the US, the UK, and China think that creativity is based on technology, according to Wunderman Thompson Intelligence’s 2021 research. 

This creativity-technology hybridization is further encouraged by emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented realities (VR/AR), which enable people to dive fully into simulated environments where everything is possible. Because these systems don’t have physical limits, anyone can design clothes, contribute art, and build virtual audiences. What was once considered a “fantasy” world is slowly becoming a place where real money is exchanged, and creativity is no longer limited to a few chosen individuals.

Disruptive impact

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, metaverse and social networking site IMVU has grown 44 percent. The site now has 7 million active users each month. Most of these users are female or identify as female and fall between 18 and 24. The purpose of IMVU is to connect virtually with friends and potentially make new ones, but shopping is also a significant draw. Users create personal avatars and dress them in clothes designed by other users, and credits are bought with real money to purchase these items. 

IMVU operates a virtual store with 50 million items made by 200,000 creators. Each month, $14 million USD is generated by 27 million transactions or 14 billion credits. According to director of marketing Lindsay Anne Aamodt, fashion is at the heart of why people create avatars and connect with others on IMVU. One reason is that dressing an avatar in a digital space gives people access to anything they want. In 2021, the site launched its first-ever fashion show, incorporating real-world labels, such as Collina Strada, Gypsy Sport, and Mimi Wade. 

Interestingly, this co-creative mindset is spilling into real products and services. For example, London-based Istoria Group, a collection of different creative agencies, has increasingly encouraged its clients to collaborate with potential customers. As a result, perfume brand Byredo’s new fragrance was launched without a name. Instead, consumers receive a sticker sheet of individual letters and are free to stick on their customized name for the perfume.

Implications of co-creative platforms

Wider implications of co-creative platforms may include: 

• Companies reevaluating design and marketing principles. Companies may begin experimenting with forms of customer outreach beyond traditional focus groups and surveys, and instead, explore deeper co-creative customer collaborations that generate fresh ideas and products. For example, major brands may build co-creative platforms to encourage their customers to modify existing products or suggest new ones. 


• Increased customization and flexibility for personal products and devices, such as phones, apparel, and shoes.


• More virtual fashion platforms allowing people to sell their avatars and skin designs. This trend can lead to digital fashion influencers and designers having millions of followers and partnering with real-world labels.


• NFT art and content becoming more popular than ever, selling more than their real-world counterparts.

Questions to comment on

• If you have tried designing in a co-creative platform, what do you like most about it?


• How else do you think co-creative platforms will give more creative power to the users?