At their best, a design workshop ignites creativity and collaboration. Designers are empowered :muscle:, stakeholders are psyched :raised_hands:, teams are aligned :handshake:, and design projects can take a big leap forward. At their worst, workshops are just really long meetings. The keys to a triumphant workshop are both tactical (which exercises work best for which groups, how do we capture all the ideas) and philosophical (why are we here? why do we want to work in this way?).  Leading design workshops is a vital skill, but it often isn’t taught in design programs or formalized in the workplace. In this talk, you will learn how we run workshops, and why I’m so passionate about them as a means to inspire and align. Be prepared to leave the session with an actionable blueprint to run your own workshop tomorrow!

1. FriOct18/9:30am
WHAT TIME IS IT?
BenjaminShown
WHO’S TALKING?
DesignDirector+
PartneratBlinkUX
WHAT’S HIS GIG?
@benkshown
INSTAGRAM/TWITTER/LINKEDIN
andTipsforthe
BestWorkshopEver
ofaGoodWorkshop
Philosophies,Strategies,
TheLife-ChangingMagic

2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
WWW.REALRENTDUWAMISH.ORG
Duwamish

3. native-land.ca

4. GOOD MORNING! MY NAME IS

5. I’m a design director,
graphic designer,
husband, dad, tall guy,
Hoosier, Bay Stater,
conference speaker.
WHO AM I?

6. MY TALK IS ABOUT
Thelife-changing
magicofagood
designworkshop

7. MY TALK IS ABOUT
Philosophies,
strategies,andtips
forthebest
workshopever

8. 1.
FortWayne,Indiana

10. St.Louis,Missouri
Boston,Massachusetts
Washington,DistrictofColumbia
NorthAdams,Massachusetts
Leiden,Holland
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

11. 7.
UniversityofWashington
Seattle,WA

13. 8.
MuseumofPopCulture
Seattle,WA

19. 9.
MicrosoftEnvisioning
Redmond,WA

21. 10.
Tectonic
Seattle,WA

25. 11.
BlinkUX
Cambridge,MA

27. BlinkSanFrancisco BlinkSanDiego

28. BlinkSeattleHQ

31. Design working
session
User journey
brainstorm
Naming
workshop
User research
workshop
Design kickoff
workshop
UX alignment
workshop
Product roadmap
brainstorm
Strategy
workshop
Design
critique

32. Design working
session
User journey
brainstorm
Naming
workshop
User research
workshop
Design kickoff
workshop
UX alignment
workshop
Product roadmap
brainstorm
Strategy
workshop
Design
critique

34. Toalignschedulesand
setupmeetings.
WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?

35. Toalignschedulesand
setupmeetings.
WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?

36. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Toprovideyourboss
asoapboxtopresent
theirideas.

37. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Toprovideyourboss
asoapboxtopresent
theirideas.

38. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Togetspecificon
potentialsolutions.

39. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Togetspecificon
potentialsolutions.

40. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Toarriveatclear
directionfortheproject.

41. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Toarriveatclear
directionfortheproject.

42. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Toprovideyourbossasoapboxtopresenttheirideas.
Toalignschedulesandsetupmeetings.
Togetspecificonpotentialsolutions.
Toarriveatacleardirectionfortheproject.

43. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Surfacelotsofideas,
perspectives,issues,
concerns,andplotholes.
1
4

44. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Movepastexpected
directionsandtrendy
solutions.
2
4

45. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Empowerpeoplewho
arenottypicallypartof
thecreativeprocess.
3
4

46. WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
Begintoestablishtrust
andcamaraderie.
4
4

47. Surfacelotsofideas,perspectives,
issues,concerns,andplotholes.
Empowerpeoplewhoarenottypically
partofthecreativeprocess.
Movepastexpecteddirectionsandtrendy
solutions.
Begintoestablishtrustandcamaraderie.
WHY HAVE A DESIGN WORKSHOP?
4.
3.
2.
1.

48. SIX KEY ACTIVITIES TO A GREAT DESIGN WORKSHOP
1. SpeakYourMind
2. Continuums
3. PriorityCircles
4. DesignAudit
5. Keywords
6. InspirationalImages

49. SpeakYourMind

52. 1.
WHATDOES
SUCCESSLOOK
LIKE?
2.
WHAT’SAHERO
QUOTEFROM
ACUSTOMER/
USER?
3.
AGLOWING
REVIEWOF
YOURFUTURE
PRODUCT

53. 4.
REDFLAGS/
OFFLIMITS
5.
WHATDON’T
WEKNOW?
6.
WHAT’S
THEWORST
THATCOULD
HAPPEN?

56. Continuums

60. RICH/LUSH
DESKTOP
OPEN/AIRY
MOBILE

61. LEAN FORWARD
EDUCATIONAL
LEAN BACK
INSPIRATIONAL
UNIVERSAL
SERIOUS
PERSONALIZED
PLAYFUL

62. LITERAL
EVOLUTIONARY
ABSTRACT
REVOLUTIONARY

63. Scientific Creative
Generalists Specialists
Playful Serious
Evolutionary Revolutionary
Differentiated Familiar
Type Imagery
Consumer Enterprise
Emotional Informational
Safe Provocative
Continuums

64. PriorityCircles

66. MUST HAVE NICE TO HAVE OUT OF SCOPE

67. MUST HAVE NICE TO HAVE OUT OF SCOPE

68. Create the next-gen vision
Develop a common design language
A demo-able experience,
no need to fake product for marketing
A common Taxonomy across
products and functionality
Product does not hinder but
accelerates what customer needs
MUST HAVE NICE TO HAVE OUT OF SCOPE
Designtheproductso
usersunderstand
Empowerengineeringtobe
useranddesign-centric
Designforaconsumer,
notjusttheadmin
Deliverbest-in-classproduct
experiencesforeachvertical
Salesmotionsareeasierand
don'trequirehightouch-points
Pivotawayfromsurvey-centric
everything
Adesignlanguagetoclearlyconvey
our3rdpartymethodology
PriorityCircles

69. DesignAudit

72. Keywords

76. InspirationalImages

94. More
Moodboard
Examples…

95. Pacific Snappy Resilient Precise Durable
MOODBOARD
16 STIBO SYSTEMS / DESIGN REVIEW #3 BLINK

96. Ledger
MOODBOARD
Snappy Resilient Precise Durable
17 STIBO SYSTEMS / DESIGN REVIEW #3 BLINK

97. Mason
MOODBOARD
Snappy Resilient Precise Durable
18 STIBO SYSTEMS / DESIGN REVIEW #3 BLINK

98. Instrument
MOODBOARD
Snappy Resilient Precise Durable
19 STIBO SYSTEMS / DESIGN REVIEW #3 BLINK

99. YOU
ARE
HERE
4HBO VISION
FLAGSHIP MAGNETIC CINEMATIC CURATED CRAFTED BOLD CONFIDENT PREMIUM
WORKSHOP RECAP

100. 4HBO VISION
FLAGSHIP MAGNETIC CINEMATIC CURATED CRAFTED BOLD CONFIDENT PREMIUM
WORKSHOP RECAP

101. 4HBO VISION
FLAGSHIP MAGNETIC CINEMATIC CURATED CRAFTED BOLD CONFIDENT PREMIUM
WORKSHOP RECAP

102. CLEAN ROBUST CREDIBLETOM COLLINS
22AWS + TECTONIC KEYWORDS + MOODBOARDS

103. 10/16/2014 7–9 P
Storefront for Art and
Architecture in New York City
ENGAGING APPROACHABLE BOLDPALOMA
03
No.
E–Z
better materials
bring better business
25AWS + TECTONIC KEYWORDS + MOODBOARDS

104. APPROACHABLE CLEAN CREDIBLE BOLDMANHATTAN
24AWS + TECTONIC KEYWORDS + MOODBOARDS

105. ENGAGING VIBRANT CLEANMEZCAL NEAT
23AWS + TECTONIC KEYWORDS + MOODBOARDS

107. Trust+camaraderie1.

108. Trust+camaraderie1.
Sweatthesmallthings2.

109. Trust+camaraderie1.
Sweatthesmallthings2.
Revisit+refer3.

110. I’d love to get my
hands on some of those
workshop assets.
ARE YOU THINKING

111. I’d love to get my
hands on some of those
workshop assets.
ARE YOU THINKING
benjamink.com/workshop

112. 7SpeakYourMind 12Continuums 150Keywords
8.5×11 / speakyourmind.pdf 11×17 / continuums.pdf 8.5×11 / keywords.pdf
1.
WHATDOES
SUCCESSLOOK
LIKE?
Accessible Authentic
Adorable Bare-bones
Alluring Blunt
Ambitious Brawny
Artful Bright
Austere Brilliant
RICH/LUSH
DESKTOP
OPEN/AIRY
MOBILE
benjamink.com/workshop

113. BenjaminShown
DESIGN DIRECTOR + PARTNER
benjamink.com
WWW
@benkshown
INSTAGRAM/TWITTER/LINKEDIN
BlinkUX
UX RESEARCH + DESIGN
blinkux.com
WWW
@blink_ux
INSTAGRAM/TWITTER/LINKEDIN