Design Thinking Sprint: Building Innovative Solutions with Lego® Serious Play™

Design thinking is an innovative problem-solving approach that puts people’s needs and experiences at the forefront of the design process. It emphasizes empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing to create solutions that truly meet users’ needs. Lego Serious Play [LSP] is a powerful methodology that uses Lego bricks as a tool for creative expression, exploration, and communication. By combining the two, organizations can unleash their teams’ creativity and collaborate to develop innovative solutions to complex challenges.

The “Design Thinking Sprint: Building Innovative Solutions with Lego Serious Play” workshop is a two-day immersive learning experience that provides participants with a hands-on opportunity to apply the principles of Design Thinking while incorporating the playful and creative nature of Lego Serious Play. Through a series of collaborative exercises, participants will gain practical skills and techniques to build prototypes, test ideas, and present solutions that address real-world challenges. They will also learn how to apply Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play in their own work and leave the workshop with a renewed sense of creativity and a practical toolkit to tackle complex problems.

 Objective

1. Understand the principles and stages of the Design Thinking process, including user research, ideation, prototyping, and testing.
2. Explore the benefits of using Lego Serious Play as a tool for creative expression and communication in the design process.
3. Learn how to conduct user research and empathize with users to identify their needs and pain points.
4. Develop ideation techniques using Lego Serious Play to generate innovative solutions to complex challenges.
5. Learn how to rapidly prototype and test ideas using Lego Serious Play to validate assumptions and iterate on designs.
6. Learn how to effectively communicate solutions using visual and tangible prototypes created with Lego bricks.
7. Explore how to refine and iterate prototypes based on feedback from users and stakeholders.
8. Learn how to plan and implement innovative solutions using Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play.
9. Foster collaboration and communication skills through team-based exercises using Lego bricks.
10. Develop a practical toolkit to apply Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play in participants’ own work to create innovative solutions that meet user needs.

Outline

Day 1:

• Introduction to Design Thinking and its principles
• Understanding the Design Thinking process and its various stages
• Conducting user research and empathy mapping
• Ideation techniques using Lego Serious Play
• Rapid prototyping and testing using Lego Serious Play
• Who should attend

Day 2:

• Review of the previous day’s work
• Refining and iterating prototypes
• Presenting and communicating solutions effectively
• Evaluating and refining prototypes based on feedback
• Implementation planning and next steps

 Methodology

The “Design Thinking Sprint: Building Innovative Solutions with Lego Serious Play” workshop follows a highly interactive and hands-on approach. Participants engage in a series of exercises to apply the principles of Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play to real-world challenges. The workshop is structured around the stages of the Design Thinking process, including empathizing with users, ideating, prototyping, and implementing solutions. Participants work in teams and collaborate with each other to develop solutions to complex challenges. The facilitators provide guidance and feedback to help participants apply the principles of Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play effectively. By the end of the workshop, participants will have gained practical skills and tools to apply Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play in their own work, and to build innovative solutions that meet real user needs.

Who should attend?

This workshop is ideal for anyone who wants to develop their problem-solving skills and learn how to apply Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play to real-world challenges. It is particularly relevant for:

1. Designers, product managers, and innovators who want to learn how to create solutions that truly meet user needs.
2. Leaders and managers who want to foster a culture of innovation and collaboration in their organizations.
3. Marketing and communications professionals who want to develop new and effective ways to communicate complex ideas.
4. Educators who want to learn how to apply Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play in the classroom to foster creativity and problem-solving skills in students.
5. Anyone who is interested in exploring new approaches to problem-solving and wants to learn how to use Lego Serious Play to unleash their creativity and build innovative solutions.

The workshop is suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners of Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play, and no prior experience is required.