In this hands-on, interactive session, Len will share some basic principles of the design studio method, share how you can use the design studio method to rapidly generate ideas for your own digital products, and then facilitate a mini design studio challenge that is sure to leave you with practical skills to apply to your work and bonded with meetup attendees.

1. The Design Studio Method

2. so, “Design Thinking”

3. Discover Define Develop Deliver
ambiguity
time

4. divergent thinking

5. what is “design studio?”

6. •gather & understand requirements
•think about the way things should be
(rather than the way things are)
•generate concrete ideas (and lots of them)
•pre-vet ideas
•build consensus
DESIGN STUDIO
GOALS OF

7. illuminate | create | pitch | critique

8. STEP 1ILLUMINATE
• Elevator-pitch the product
• Discuss the business
opportunity/goals
• Illustrate the problem we are
trying to solve
• Present the value proposition
• Examine competitive products
• Define a User Journey
• List out features

9. what problem are we here to solve?

10. •Define the users, user types, personas
•What are the goals users need to achieve
•What is the user’s path through
•Uncover the complex views and
interactions
USER JOURNEY
ILLUMINATION EXERCISE

13. •Write down key features - 1 per post-it
•Pain points (for existing products)
•Put on wall / read aloud to group
•Collectively sort into ‘epic’ categories
•Place in 2⨉2 grid
FEATURE MATRIX
ILLUMINATION EXERCISE

15. importance
level of effort
high importance
low effort
high importance
high effort
low importance
low effort
low importance
high effort

16. importance
level of effort
high importance
low effort
high importance
high effort
low importance
low effort
low importance
high effort
the sweet spot
nah
it depends
it depends

17. STEP 2CREATE
• We create via sketching
• Sketching is just thinking on paper
• Sketching puts what’s in your head on
paper (concrete)
• Gives us an opportunity to react to your
thoughts
• You can do this!

19. •No photoshop
•No code
•No powerpoint
•No Jira
•We’re all equally uncomfortable!
WE SKETCH?
WHY

20. •Appropriate level of fidelity (low)
•Just enough detail to capture the idea
and be able to pitch it
•No erasing (just cross it out!)
SHARPIES?
WHY

21. •For each feature we deemed important:
- 4-6 sketches in 5 minutes
- How does this solve the problem
- Each cell: individual idea
or storyboard
SKETCHING
CREATION EXERCISE

22. STEP 3PITCH
• Sketches are just placeholders for
the pitch
• The pitch is your opportunity to
communicate your idea to the team
• Sell it! Let us inside your head

23. •Tape sketches to the wall (L-R)
•3 minutes: walk us through
•How does your idea solve the problem
or make the feature useful?
•The floor is YOURS
(no questions or cross-talk)
PITCH
THE PROCESS

24. STEP 4CRITIQUE
• “Critique” is not negative!
• Critique makes good ideas better
• Critique is not feedback
• Feedback: “I liked…” “I didn’t like…”
• Critique: “This works because…” “This
could be better…”

25. •2 minutes
•For each sketch/page:
· 2 reasons it is effective
· 1 thing it could do better
ROUND ROBIN
CRITIQUE EXERCISE 1

26. •3 Dot stickers are distributed / person
•Dot for each sketch that solves the
problem best in your mind
- Dot for a particular feature that stands
out
•WHY you voted for a sketch
DOT VOTING
CRITIQUE EXERCISE 2

27. LET’S TRY IT