Creative Thinking Workshop Activities

Get inspired today by a world 20 years away.

Sometimes it helps to start from the end. This exercise will help you align with your team on an audacious vision for your project - one that you can work backward from.

Players alternate fortunate/unfortunate events in a single story. 
Fortunate Me variation for coaching
Also called Good News Bad News

Name all the bad ideas to make room for good ones. Coming up with the perfect solution right off the bat can feel paralyzing. So instead of trying to find the right answer, get unstuck by listing all the wrong ones.

In this activity, the group will be asked to express a defined quality through drawing. The result will be a mixture of perceptions, and will open the conversation around a particular topic.

Find new opportunities by testing the limit of what's possible? Sometimes getting unstuck means zooming out and then dreaming big. Here's your opportunity to get fantastical. Don't worry about viability or resources, worry about saving the world.

Test your communication and interpretation skills with Blind Drawing!

Build personas of ideas, products or experiences.

Imagine your product is a person. What's its name? What would its ideal date night be? Does it prefer the beach or the woods? This exercise is a playful way to nail down the essence of your idea, product, or service. Use it in ideation or as a way to hone an existing concept.

Build on your ideas by looking at them from someone else's perspective. What would your favorite actor think of your concept? Would your president or prime minister endorse it? What if you were to switch hats with another organization? How would they change or build on your idea?

Try on a relentlessly positive, can-do attitude before tackling the big stuff. The proverb goes "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Practice the art of positive thinking to unlock creative ideas. Use this as a warm-up before brainstorming or to energize your team meetings.

Use picture cards in topics as described below.

Stretch your imagination with some help form everyday objects.

Spark creativity by forcing yourself to see objects you know well from different perspectives or imagine new users for them.

Become immersed in your user's life. Break out of your designer bubble and immerse yourself in the environment you're working to create solutions that feel both fresh and relevant.