Design is rooted in context. The stories we use to describe a context can make a seemingly nebulous problem tangible or can ground an idea in reality. During this masterclass we will discuss a scenario-based approach for embedding real-life contexts and stories throughout the final stages of research and early stages of the design process.

This flexible technique can support different activities at different stages of design:

• Communicating the context (people, process, environment) surrounding a problem
• Aligning stakeholders around the problem area
• Contextualise conversations around the opportunity and solution
• Communicate a solution's value and ultimate purpose

You will learn when to use scenarios and how to create and adapt them to suit your changing needs. You will also learn practical tips and advice in order to help you apply this technique effectively.

We disagree with colleagues all the time, every day. Sometimes in a very small way, so resolving the conflict is easy. And sometimes the disagreement is much larger, so resolving the conflict can be really difficult.

In this masterclass, Trenton will walk you through Team Sterka’s PLEASE framework. The framework gives you all the practical tools you need to resolve conflict. You’ll learn to achieve win-win outcomes that everyone buys into, and to make other people love solving problems with you.

Specifically, the masterclass will show you how to:

• Raise an issue in a way that doesn’t get the other person’s back up
• Use advanced listening skills to get to the root cause of the other person’s needs
• Strongly assert your needs in a non-threatening way
• Collaboratively come up with win-win outcomes that everyone buys into

Trenton’s remote workshops are always high-energy and super-interactive. Expect lots of group work, roleplays, live demos, interactive polls and group chat - all based around the challenges you face day-to-day. Strictly no lectures and no slides.

A secret experienced writers know well is that the good stuff comes after your first draft. Much of writing is ultimately re-writing — taking those notions, sketches, bullet points, and rough drafts and working them like dough into something worth baking.

In this interactive session, you’ll get hands-on experience with a set of "editing lenses" you can use to improve the clarity, impact, and thoughtfulness of nearly any piece of writing. Bonus: They’re also good for catching silly mistakes before a client sees them. Whether you write customer-facing UI copy or just the occasional project update memo, this masterclass is sure to add a few tools to your writing toolbelt to make it easier.

Cynicism is easy. Hope takes work. Trust bridges the distance between them, and designers have a unique opportunity to foster it. Consumers and citizens alike have lost confidence in services, science, government, brands, interfaces—and in themselves, when they need to assess information or make decisions. But designers, writers, and marketers are well-positioned to beat back cynicism by how we educate users. Discover how your choices in content and design can empower people and renew their sense of trust. We’ll dig into a broad range of examples in publishing, retail, government, and software to explore a bold vision for the future. You’ll leave with a tactical, three-part framework to nurture user confidence, renew trust in your organization—and even strengthen society itself.

Activities:

• Act as creative director to rework the content and design decisions to maintain customer loyalty over time and across channels

• Discuss how to determine the right volume of information to build trust—and how it’s linked to user confidence

• Explore what it means for brands to “prototype in public” and use vulnerability as a strength that turns customers into fans

When designers focus primariy on users, we become susceptible to having a narrow point of view. When tackling complex design problems, the user is just a single player in a series of causal and correlating events. How do you go beyond human-centered design to approach systemic problems? In this session, you’ll be introduced to the tenets of systems thinking, the core methods that you as a designer can integrate into your practice, and creative ways to think beyond direct user experiences.

Not all stories are the same. When you’re trying to influence decisions, you need to become less verbose while sharpening your message. While the narrative storytelling structure has served designers well over the years, there’s one critical situation where that structure falls flat—the decision-making meeting. In that meeting, nobody wants to be inspired or sit through your 70 page deck. They want to know the rationale and argument behind your recommendation. And you want to create some much needed tension so your colleagues pay attention. In this workshop, you’ll learn a pragmatic structure used in board rooms across the world and leave with the confidence to apply that structure on Monday.