Experience Design Workshop Day 1

We are working in a multi-storey building in the harbor district. It has an industrial / loft atmosphere with wooden floors, glass, and steel. The workshop room looks out over the water in the harbor, with a freighter or two. When the windows are open, we hear the calls of seagulls.

There are 21 participants from all over the world; a wide range of professions, experiences, and perspectives. Most of them are around 30, and I‘ve heard that this is a typical makeup. Where are the (older) managers and decision-makers?

The opening is strong, and throughout the day the moderators systematically work with experiential elements. They focus on having experiences, on creating an experience together. All of the senses are addressed – with short pieces of music, colors, scents, and associations. Even the drink during the morning break follows this principle (lemon juice with ginger, cayenne, and other spices – interesting, to be sure).

To begin, we are seated around tables in groups of four with one laptop open on the table. This is followed by a compilation of the four videos in which our loved ones (partners, families) answered the question of what each of us brings to the world. What a surprise that turns out to be – very moving!

We work on concrete cases, very rapidly, in changing groups. The timeframe is deliberately kept extremely tight, which forces us to throw any hint of perfectionism overboard and work with the first thing that comes to mind. It’s amazing to see what useful results this produces.