Make your Design Sprint unforgettable.

So you’re facilitating a Design Sprint and your searching for a great way to give your workshop that extra kick that lets it stand out from all other workshops participants had in the past? In this article you can read an idea on how you can accomplish this.

Before going into detail, there are 3 reasons why this solution is worth your try.

Give extra clarification on the concept of a Design Sprint

The Design Sprint is a method used for solving problems through ideation, prototyping and testing ideas with end-users. The unique part here is that the whole process, which normally can take months, is pushed together into a week. This means that it’s an intense couple of days and dedication of participants is very important.

Stimulate the creativity of the participants

People attending a Design Sprint are often not used to drawing, thinking outside the box etc. That’s why giving them examples, making them feel comfortable and bring in fun elements is important.

Make the experience unforgettable

Participants give up a couple of days to help the team. Therefore it’s important that they have a great experience (besides a successful outcome of course). This will also help the team in the process after the sprint. Plus they will be great ambassadeurs for the next time you want to convince a client to do a Design Sprint, which is very important for you.

The solution

A good way to give your Design Sprint the wow-factor is by putting the entire workshop into a theme. And as the name of the method say ‘Sprint’, let’s use the sport -running- for it. A few ways you can integrate this running-theme into your Design Sprint:

1 – Hand out a goodie bag to every athlete at the start of the sprint. 

All team members are now athletes and thus need a personal ‘sports bag’. Depending on the budget this can be as simple as a paper bag or a nice drawstring- or tote bag. What would be even nicer is a fanny pack like a real runner. This handout can include:

2 – Decorate the space as a gym

Nowadays lots of offices have deskbikes or gym balls to sit on. Why not move them to the workshop space? Even if nobody uses them, it’s still nice decoration. And if someone decides to use it, as we all know, it’s healthy and exercise is stimulates the brain. A few cheap things that are less frequently found at the office but are nice additions to the decor:

3 – Healthy snacks

Every workshop needs snacks and drinks, because nothing is more demotivating than feeling hungry or a lack of sugar. So match that buffet to the running-theme:

4 – Everyone’s a winner

The workshop days are intense and ask effort from every athlete. When it’s time to send the team home give them a nice reminder. Of Course there won’t be one single winner but have a look at what contestants of a marathon get as a reminder of the accomplishment. Some ideas:

Brand it baby!

There are lots of websites where it’s easy to order personalized goodies like bags, bottles, snacks and much more. By putting your brand on things you can make it look even more professional. Maybe just your logo or go even further by making a visual specifically for your Design Sprint.