Workshop Design & Facilitation
I am passionate about design education: helping people understand how to design meaningful innovations. Through my workshops, I strive to help participants not only understand design principles but also apply them to solve real-world challenges. Below are some of the design workshops I’ve had the opportunity to develop and facilitate, where I guided participants through hands-on learning experiences:
-
Inclusive Innovation Workshop - Empowering diverse voices to drive innovation through inclusive design practices.
-
Design Fiction Workshop - Envisioning future possibilities through storytelling, prototyping, and speculative design.
Each workshop allowed me to explore different aspects of design thinking, guiding participants through a process that emphasizes creative problem-solving, collaboration, and practical application of innovative concepts.
Workshop 1.
Inclusive Innovation Workshop:
EDIA & Design Thinking
Details
-
Timeline: May 2023 - Present
-
I co-designed and co-facilitated three inclusive design thinking workshops for engineering students.
At the core of this workshop was an inspiring Design Challenge that helped attendees design and create better solutions for people by learning and embracing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) to shape the future of design and innovation 💡
Aimed to foster more inclusive engineering culture by co-designing a workshop with University students to appreciate diverse identities and incorporate equity principles into their work. The workshop, attended by 55 participants, introduced concepts of self-identity and positionality, followed by a human-centred design sprint based on equity-based co-design principles. Participants developed personas and brainstormed solutions to design challenges, enhancing awareness of the value of diverse perspectives.
My team and I co-designed and co-facilitated this workshop which was delivered in various settings throughout the year. We are group of diverse individuals from undergrad and graduate students, UX Researcher, Product Designer, & Assistant Professor.
Impact
1. Awarded Funding:
This project was awarded $5,000 and the 2023 recipient of the McMaster Okanagan Special Project Funding, which funds health and well-being project ideas.
Social Media Post about our First Workshop Delivery in September 2023!
2. IDEA Conference Recognition:
Workshop co-designed by myself and my team facilitated at reputable conference. IDEA Conference is an impressive event about all-things equity and inclusion in engineering that takes place annually with joint efforts from various organizations including Women in Engineering Society.
Michelle Liu - Advocate and Expert in EDIA in Engineering praising our workshop at event.
3. Contributed to Scholarly Work:
I also co-authored as first author in a paper about our work, contributing to knowledge dissemination and and scholarly work. The paper was published in the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) Conference Proceedings 2024 (more details in Research Section of this portfolio).
Present Day
We are currently exploring ways to incorporate this initiative at an organizational level by collaborating with businesses and adapting our Inclusive Innovation workshops specifically for the tech industry. Our goal is to create potential consulting opportunities that can support this work financially. To adapt the workshop for industry needs, we are refining the materials, including the integration of relevant industry scenarios, to ensure they resonate with our new target audience.
Workshop 2.
Design Fiction Workshop
Details
Driven by a deep passion for storytelling, I believe that effective design communication hinges on crafting thoughtful narratives that resonate with both stakeholders and users. Storytelling not only helps convey complex design concepts but also allows us to deeply understand the stories of users - their needs, motivations, and challenges. This understanding is essential to designing meaningful solutions.
As part of this exploration, I am currently developing and refining a Design Fiction workshop that blends Futuristic Thinking with Scenarios, Storyboards, and Prototyping artifacts. The workshop delves into the intersection of storytelling, ambiguity, innovation, and design, empowering participants to envision and prototype future possibilities in creative and impactful ways.
-
Timeline: January 2024 - Present (work in progress)
-
Workshop Refinement: Currently honing workshop materials and running a pilot study.
-
Community Engagement: Collaborating with high schools, post-secondary organizations, and libraries to foster broader engagement and reach.
Through these workshops, I aim to inspire participants to embrace uncertainty and explore speculative futures, using storytelling as a powerful tool to communicate their visions and design solutions that address emerging challenges.
More details to come.
Want to learn more about my workshops, or just have a coffee chat? Feel free to connect with me, I love meeting new people (See Details Below)!