This is a 75-minute workshop about physically prototyping products, services, and experiences. Workshop attendees selected a design challenge, which was structured in a way to teach them about the value of prototyping their design ideas earlier in the overall design process—especially for highly complex problems. I facilitated this workshop twice at AIGA Seattle's "Into the Woods" conference at Sleeping Lady Lodge in Leavenworth, WA on October 15-16, 2010.

1. designing
with the body
david sherwin, frog design
AIGA Into the woods / 10.15.10–10.17.10
t: @ chAnGeorder / e: dksherwIn@msn.com / BloG: chAnGeorderBloG.com
designing with the Body workshop ©2010 david sherwin. All rights reserved.

2. whirling dervishes by @huygens / 131835229 cc license share remix on flickr

3. let’s say hello

4. “the players mill about the room.
At some point the workshop leader
asks them all the greet each other
by shaking hands.
Greet one person and move on,
greet another and so on…
then endow each of the greetings
with an element…”
—learnImprov.com

5. greet everyone like you are:
1 robinson crusoe
2 a world-famous chef
3 in love
4 sean connery
5 a carrot
6 tipsy
7 a waiter/waitress
8 hAl 9000
9 a bowling ball
15–20 seconds each

6. this is a
workshop about
prototyping

7. using low-fi tools
Paper, markers, tape
the actions of our bodies
the stories that we tell
the artifacts we create
And our imaginations

8. for design improv
our inspiration is the medium of improv,
which is rooted in dynamic, physical
interaction between people*
* so forget Adobe cs5, the Internet, all that falderal

9. improv
is practice
for creative
collaboration

10. “…I tend to focus on the definition
of structures for improvisation,
simplicity in complexity
and freedom of will.
“without rules, you’ve got no
target for which to aim for.
without flexibility, you haven’t
the freedom to redefine the target.”
—duane king, BBdk & founder of thinkingforaliving.org

11. “…I tend to focus on the definition
of structures for improvisation,
simplicity in complexity
and freedom of will.
“without rules, you’ve got no
timeframe
People
target for which to aimspace
for.
emotional energy
without flexibility, youmaterials for making
haven’t
the freedom to redefine the target.”
caffeine/chocolate
Bio breaks
—duane king, BBdk & founder of thinkingforaliving.org

12. client
topic of focus
Audience
“…I tend to focus on the definition
required actions
desired result
of structures for improvisation,
deadlines
simplicity in complexity
and freedom of will.
“without rules, you’ve got no
target for which to aim for.
without flexibility, you haven’t
the freedom to redefine the target.”
—duane king, BBdk & founder of thinkingforaliving.org

13. “…I tend to focus on the definition
of structures for improvisation,
simplicity in complexity
emotions
and freedom of will. Ideas
observations
“without rules, you’ve got no Insights
Anxieties
target for which to aim for. Prototypes
without flexibility, you haven’t
the freedom to redefine the target.”
—duane king, BBdk & founder of thinkingforaliving.org

14. so, let’s improvise!

15. pick a challenge:
Sense of smell
1
Sense of hearing
2
Proprioception
3

16. you picked:
Touch Screen of Deaf Rock
teams of 3–4 people 2

17. create a novel exhibit experience at your local
children’s museum that lets deaf people feel
different kinds of music.
the exhibit should also accommodate hearing children and
parents who want understand what it’s like to experience
different kinds of music physically, not just aurally. what music
would you want to share with these audiences? how would
you prompt deaf children to interact with the exhibit?
15 minutes to ideate in groups
15 minutes to prototype the exhibit At sIZe
15 minutes to role-play walking through the exhibit & refine
Only 1 minute to present your exhibit idea to everyone
Touch Screen of Deaf Rock
teams of 3–4 people 2

18. you picked:
TechnoYoga
teams of 4–5 people 3

19. You’ve been tasked with creating an application
that wirelessly communicates with your yoga mat
and tracks what poses you’ve attempted over the
course of your daily and monthly practice.
design this application’s interaction model and the mat that
would go along with it. walk us through how you would interact
with the mat and/or application over a session and afterwards.
15 minutes to ideate in groups
15 minutes to prototype the application and mat At sIZe
15 minutes to role-play using the application and mat & refine
Only 1 minute to present your idea to everyone
TechnoYoga
teams of 4–5 people 3

20. let’s debrief
what did each group discover as they designed?
what would you change for next time?
on a future project, would you do this at work?

21. “Prototyping is practice for people
who design and who make things…
it’s a design philosophy.
when you prototype, you allow
your design, product, or service
to practice being itself.
And as its maker, you learn more
about your designs in this way then
you every could in any other way…”
—dave Gray, Xplane, from Prototyping:
A Practitioner’s Guide by todd Zaki warfel
clockwise from bottom left: yandle 2505471168, psd 2247745929, lodefink 2578195625 cc license share remix on flickr

22. QuestIons?
david sherwin slides for this workshop
dksherwin@msn.com will be posted to:
@changeorder changeorderblog.com
the challenges in this workshop are from
Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges
to Sharpen Your Design Skills
from how design Press
http://bit.ly/cwtheBook
designing with the Body workshop ©2010 david sherwin. All rights reserved.