Building Creative Confidence through Sketching

• What we'll do
A Sharpie and a piece of printer paper are the best, fastest, and cheapest tools we have for prototyping products or experiences. And yet our project partners – or even we ourselves – find ourselves paralyzed when asked to draw. As Tom Kelley of IDEO notes in his book “Creative Confidence,” we forget that back in kindergarten, we were all creative.” Yet for many of us, that creative bravery gets lost along the way. That kid who’s excited by the idea of a new box of crayons becomes an adult who is terrified by the idea of sketching ideas on a whiteboard. Rapid, low-fidelity prototyping is a core practice in Design Thinking -- to take advantage of the value of these quick and dirty prototypes, we must first be willing and able to sketch them out. This 90-minute workshop will give you first-hand experience with a tool kit that can inspire your project partners to join you in picking up that Sharpie and sketching out ideas. Taking a cue from the “design charette” workshop format, we’ll work through a series of sketching activities that are equally applicable to product or service design, and that can help you unlock the creative potential of your project partners. And we’ll talk about the importance of collaborative sketching as a tool for creating both alignment and buy-in (the “IKEA Effect”) across the team. Along the way, we’ll touch on the essential tools in a sketching toolkit and the basic skills you need to rapidly capture ideas.

What You Will Learn
This workshop will offer actionable tips and frameworks for Design Thinking enthusiasts of all ability levels. While we may lack confidence in our own sketching abilities, this workshop approach turns that disadvantage into an advantage -- one that breaks down the barrier between Designer and partner, reduces intimidation among team members, and helps rapidly drive toward clarity, consensus, and a common vision.

Why You Should Attend
While many of us have likely spent time in informal collaboration at the whiteboard with dry-erase marker in hand, the additional structure and techniques provided in this workshop can help you raise your sketching game regardless of your artistic ability level. Just as important as the ability to sketch quickly and clearly is the skill in bringing your project partners along on the journey in ways that make them feel included and invested in the outcomes. The framework of this workshop can be easily replicated in the workplace to maximize sketching and collaboration in a tight timeframe.

• What to bring
Workshop Details
6:30-6:45 – Networking

6:45 – 7:00 – Introductions

7:00 – 7:15 – Overview – “I can’t draw, and so can you!”

7:15 – 7:25 – Warm-up sketching 7:30 – 7:45 – Design Studio Round 1 – “Crazy 8s” (individual sketch, w/ feedback)

7:45 – 8:00 – Design Studio Round 2 – Remix & Iterate (indiv. sketch w/ feedback)

8:00 – 8:30 – Design Studio Round 3 – Rapid Collaboration (group sketching)

8:30 – 8:45 – Group presentations 8:45 – 9:00 – Feedback & debrief

• Important to know
About Our Presenter:
Rob Colenso is a product manager, user experience strategist, and design thinking evangelist who has worked in sectors including higher education, financial services, retail e-commerce, and media. He is also a terrible artist -- a fact that proves to be a super power when trying to convince his project partners to pick up a pen and paper for collaborative sketching. "I can't draw, and so can you!"

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Parking / Directions:

• After turning off of Park Meadow, you will see 2 buildings in front of you in an "L"; the OGSystems building is the one that is closest to you as you are driving in. Park in any open, unmarked space or in a visitor space.

• Enter the building on the first floor. A greeter will be waiting to let you into the space (or use the buzzer); proceed past the receptionist desk and turn left (do NOT go to the second floor). Proceed past "the pub" and through the garage door into "ideaSpace."