Designing the Experience
How to use the Design Thinking framework to plan your next workshop
Creativity has always been a lifeline for me, no matter how stressful or upside-down life might feel. As I write this, I am struggling with the state of the world and the very direct effects it is having on my life, so coming back to this blog and creating something for you is a balm. I hope that you also find it a bit of a healing salve in these difficult times.
I’m in workshop-design mode, and it feels a bit like cooking, a bit like choreography, and a bit like building a tiny theme park. I’m designing the collaborative performance workshop + exhibition called The Body as User Interface for the 18th Ammerman Center Triennial on Arts and Technology. This year’s theme is “All Too Human.”
Participants in the workshop won’t just be listening; they will be co-creating the experience. We’ll be exploring the body as the “screen.” Movement as data. Attention as the medium. Interaction as interface. And yes… it means I’m applying the Design Thinking process to the workshop planning.
Many people I speak with about Design Thinking lack imagination in how the methods can be applied to creative and innovative projects beyond the commercial product and service design examples that have been widely showcased. So, here’s how to design a compelling live workshop using the five phases of Design Thinking, written from inside my own messy, exciting build process.
PHASE 1: EMPATHIZE
(aka: “Who’s in the room, and what do they need to immerse themselves in the process?”)
What I’m doing right now:
I’m imagining the Ammerman room like a mixed-species ecosystem: artists, technologists, educators, researchers, introverts, extroverts, skeptics, brave weirdos, and people who are thinking: “Please don’t make me do anything embarrassing.”
So I’m designing for:
safety + consent
curiosity + caution
brilliance + fatigue
“I want to participate” + “I don’t want to perform”
Your quick version:
Ask 3 humans (or your future participants) these three questions:
“What would make this workshop a success?”
“What would make you tune out?”
“What would make you feel safe enough to try?”
Write one sentence: “They’re walking in with ___, so they need ___ first.”
My example: “They’re walking in with curiosity and self-consciousness, so they need to know that it is a safe place to play and experiment.”
PHASE 2: DEFINE
(aka: “What is the actual transformation? Not the topic.”)
What I’m doing:
I’m not designing a workshop about “embodiment” or “screens.” I’m designing a shift.
My current transformation line:
“By the end, participants can notice how their body is an intelligent interface and redesign one tiny interaction for more play, presence, consent, and agency.”
That sentence is my north star. If an activity doesn’t serve it, it doesn’t make the cut.
Your quick version:
Fill this in:
“By the end, people can __________, even if __________.”
Then choose ONE thing they will leave with:
a map / a draft / a decision / a prototype / a plan / a script / a checklist
If they leave with nothing in their hands (or notes), it’s easier to forget.
PHASE 3: IDEATE
(aka: “Give yourself permission to get delightfully weird.”)
What I’m doing:
I’m brainstorming workshop “moments,” not content chunks.
I’m making a list of possible moves like:
a fast, surprising opening (micro-demo > long intro)
a gentle participation ramp (solo → pair → small group)
an embodied prompt that creates an immediate “ohhhhh”
a simple “interface redesign” activity (tiny change, big insight)
a closing ritual that locks it in (and sends people back into life differently)
My rule: I need at least 10 options before I’m allowed to pick one.
Your quick version:
Set a 7-minute timer and generate 15 activity ideas.
Make three piles:
safe + simple
spicy
bold (optional/opt-in)
You want range. You can always dial it down later. You can’t dial up boring.
PHASE 4: PROTOTYPE
(aka: “Make the ugly version. Today.”)
What I’m doing:
I prototype my workshop the way I prototype a user experience: with sticky notes and ruthless honesty.
I write each segment on a card and lay it across time.
Then I ask one essential question: “How can I seamlessly transition participants through doing something every 8-10 minutes?”
I redesign until the movement flows.
I also prototype the prompts early, because if the prompt is confusing on paper, it will be chaos out loud.
Your quick version:
Put your agenda on cards.
Circle every participant action moment.
If there’s a long “sit-and-listen desert,” add an activity oasis.
Draft your prompts in plain language with a clear “done” definition.
Prototyping is where the magic gets practical.
PHASE 5: TEST (or launch!)
(aka: “Pilot the riskiest 20 minutes with real humans.”)
What I’m doing:
I’m not testing the whole workshop first. I’m testing the parts most likely to wobble:
the on-ramp into participation
the “weird” embodied prompt
the moment where insight turns into a tangible output
Then I ask:
“Where did you feel lost?”
“Where did you feel most alive?”
“What should I cut?”
Testing isn’t about approval. It’s about friction removal.
Your quick version:
Grab 2-5 people. Run the hardest section. Fix the sticky parts. Repeat.
OR just run the workshop and learn while doing.
THE “DON’T MAKE IT DULL” WORKSHOP RECIPE
Here’s what I’m using as the intention framework:
Hook fast.
Make it safe to participate.
Create one small win early.
Let people make something.
End with transfer: 1 decision + 1 action within 48 hours.
That’s it. That’s the spell.
This same framework can be applied to meetings, classes, groups, and more. It just takes a bit of imagination.
Hi there! I’m Pattie Belle Hastings.
But you can call me PB. I am a speaker, facilitator, designer, artist, content creator, and professor. I facilitate teams and groups as well as design & lead workshops and courses on creative industry topics. I would love to design and facilitate your company’s creative breakthroughs.
