Sketching Success: Unleashing Creativity and Efficiency in UX with a Workshop
In 2023, Included Health organized its annual EPDD Summit, bringing together various teams within the organization to discuss current company health, the company vision, and participate in link and learn workshops. The summit aimed to inform employees at all levels about key marketing initiatives, goals, and changes while fostering internal engagement, team building, and increasing employee satisfaction and retention. As part of this initiative, a workshop on using sketching to enhance cross-team communication around design concepts and decisions.
Recognizing the power of sketching as a tool for effective cross-team communication, I designed a two-hour workshop that addressed the anxiety many non-designers experienced when asked to sketch. The objective was to create an empowering, inviting, educational, and fun environment where participants could learn how to use simple shapes to illustrate entire user experience (UX) flows or communicate design decisions effectively.
The syllabus developed for the workshop included step-by-step demonstrations of how basic shapes could be utilized to convey complex design ideas visually. The intention was to equip participants, who primarily consisted of engineers, managers, and project managers, with a new set of tools to communicate with the design team and others more effectively.
As the only non-executive leading the a workshop I was Extremely pleased that the workshop generated a high level of participant engagement and enthusiasm. Although the workshop intentionally excluded designers, the attendees, comprising engineers, managers, and project managers, embraced the opportunity to sketch wireframes and found it to be a valuable experience. They not only gained confidence in using sketching as a communication tool but also expressed a sense of empowerment in their ability to collaborate more effectively with the design team and other stakeholders.
Participants unanimously agreed that the workshop was cathartic and provided a valuable ending to the two-day summit. The interactive nature of the workshop and the newfound skills acquired made it an enjoyable and memorable experience. Many expressed a desire to continue incorporating sketching exercises into their regular team communication practices, recognizing the benefits it brings to cross-team collaboration.
The success of the workshop highlighted the potential for using sketching as a means to bridge communication gaps between different teams within an organization. By providing non-designers with the tools and confidence to express their ideas visually, companies can foster a more inclusive and collaborative work environment. The positive feedback from participants serves as a testament to the value of incorporating creative and interactive workshops into organizational events, such as the EPDD Summit, to drive employee engagement, skill development, and overall satisfaction.