Workshop Exercises: Define

Design Principles

Define what drives design decisions to ensure a consistent experience

Illustration of Design Principles
Run a Design Principles play

Timing: Planning

Run time
30-45 minutes

Group size
4-12

Why: Align on shared values and decision-making guidelines to address product experiences inconsistencies

When: Ideally performed as part of narrowing down your problem definition

This workshop exercise is part of the Workshop Patterns printed card deck.

A collection of workshop exercises that will help you ditch dull meetings and facilitate with confidence. It will help you master the design process and have more productive time with your team. The card deck will be ready for purchase in the end of 2025 and is now undergoing rigorous testing.

Reserve your deck!

Instructions for running this play

  1. Introduce the Challenge. Explain the purpose of having design principles and their impact on the product.
  2. List principles. Conduct a 5 minute Silent Storming exercise to list as many principles as they can, one principle per sticky note. Promote succinct but specific principles, like “Effortless”, “Insightful”, “Attentive”, and “Humble”.
  3. List principles, round 2 (optional). Show examples of what design principles other design-driven companies have used as well as inspirational words that you might have prepared. Run another 5 minute Silent Storming.
  4. Share & Group Principles. Have participants Playback their suggested principles and Affinity Map them as each is presented.
  5. Vote. Participants Dot Vote for the strongest principles that they believe should guide the project or product. Multiple votes on a principle are allowed.

Tips to perfect this play

Master and adapt the play to fit your context and needs.

Tip: Validate the principles

Validate the design principles in user testing and test whether users report the same words in describing your project or product

This workshop exercise is part of the Workshop Patterns printed card deck.

A collection of workshop exercises that will help you ditch dull meetings and facilitate with confidence. It will help you master the design process and have more productive time with your team. The card deck will be ready for purchase in the end of 2025 and is now undergoing rigorous testing.

Reserve your deck!

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Ice Breakers

Relieve initial group awkwardness and establish a safe space

Educate

Broaden knowledge or insight regarding the behavior or situation to inform decisions.

Demonstrate

Show practical examples or models of the desired behavior for clear guidance.

Alert

Highlight current actions and their reasons, bringing unconscious habits to awareness.

Train

Develop necessary skills and competencies to enable effective action.

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