Designing Together

Thank you for joining us! This final episode is about reflecting on the Challenge, sharing your feedback and thinking about your next steps. The Challenge will be here for you to come back to whenever you or your community may need it. Head to the Designing Together website to download the decks, and please keep us posted! Bo & Jess

It's Day 10! You did it! In this final episode, we explore space. How people feel in a space shapes confidence, participation, and creativity. And the same space can feel welcoming to one person and intimidating to another. As you are journeying through the cards, and maybe starting to think about testing the tools in your next workshop or seminar, the invitation is to work with this prompt: "How might that space feel to someone entering it for the first time? What's one thing you could do to make it more welcoming?" Once you had a chance to listen, reflect, and try, head to the ⁠Designing Together LinkedIn Group⁠ to share your reflections and hear from others. Thanks for listening and completing the Designing Together Challenge!

Welcome back to the penultimate Day of the Challenge! Today, we are looking at the balance between WHY and HOW. When we focus only on how, the work becomes mechanical, process without purpose. When we live only in why, the vision stays inspiring but nothing moves. Designing together asks for both. Staying connected to what matters, while taking practical steps that bring it to life. The invitation today is to work with the prompt: "What would it look like to bring your how and why into conversation today? What’s one small practical step that genuinely honours your deeper purpose?" Once you had a chance to listen, reflect, and try, head to the ⁠Designing Together LinkedIn Group⁠ to share your reflections and hear from others. Thanks for listening!

Welcome to Day 8! We are getting so close to completing the Challenge now. Well done! Today, we are working through that feeling of uncertainty, being stretched, and the discomfort of not knowing the answers when designing together. Inspired by the Design Squiggle by Damien Newman, the invitation is to embrace the messiness of the process. Work with the prompt: "Where am I currently feeling discomfort or uncertainty in my work or learning?  What might this discomfort be telling me about what I'm learning, not what I'm failing at?" And don't forget to download the visual and try it out in your next workshop or seminar. Once you had a chance to listen, reflect, and try, head to the ⁠Designing Together LinkedIn Group⁠ to share your reflections and hear from others. Thanks for listening!

Welcome back to Day 7! Today, language matters! The words we use when we design together shape how people feel, who feels included, and what kind of work becomes possible. The invitation is to notice one word or phrase you regularly use when designing, teaching, or collaborating. Then work with the prompt: "Who does it include, who might it exclude, and what assumptions does it carry?" Once you had a chance to listen, reflect, and try, head to the ⁠Designing Together LinkedIn Group⁠ to share your reflections and hear from others. Thanks for listening!

Welcome back to Day 6 where we are looking at openness to new ideas. When we leave our ego at the door; when we listen and lead with humility; when we take good care of how we give and receive feedback. The invitation is to work with the following prompt: " When was the last time you defended an idea? Instead of exploring it further, what were you protecting?" Once you had a chance to listen, reflect, and try, head to the ⁠Designing Together LinkedIn Group⁠ to share your reflections and hear from others. Thanks for listening!

We are halfway through the Challenge! Welcome back to Day 5 where we are looking at the pressure to be perfect. Design thinking doesn't demand perfection; it just asks us to start.  The invitation in this episode is to reframe our imperfect first steps and simply start where we are. Take a few deep breaths and work with the prompt: "What's one thing that's been putting you off because it doesn't feel perfect yet? What would happen if you simply started?" Once you had a chance to listen, reflect, and try, head to the Designing Together LinkedIn Group to share your reflections and hear from others. Thanks for listening!

Welcome back to Day 4! Today, we are looking at the ABC of design thinking: Always Be Capturing. Design thinking depends on what we notice before we know what will matter. What we choose to write down becomes future design material, but it also signals respect to those who generously share their insights with us. The invitation in this episode is to try out a few tools and cards from the deck, but also think back to the last collaborative conversation to reflect on the prompt: "What did I choose to capture, and what did I let disappear?" Once you had a chance to listen, reflect, and try, head to the Designing Together LinkedIn Group to share your reflections and hear from others. Thanks for listening!

Welcome back to Day 3! We are looking at making time for designing together and deeper work, exploring timeboxing as a technique. The invitation is to timebox and work with a Designing Together card, and then reflect on a prompt: "What became possible because we made time for this?" Once you had a chance to listen, reflect, and try, head to the Designing Together LinkedIn Group to share your reflections and hear from others. Thanks for listening!

Day 2 is challenging our understanding of expertise v experience. When designing together, your expertise is your experience, not your job title or seniority. The invitation is to reflect on the prompt:  " What would change if you walked into your next meeting or next project, or your next design session, believing that everyone in the room, including you, is bringing essential expertise through their lived experience?" Once you had a chance to listen, reflect and try, head to the Designing Together LinkedIn Group to share your reflections and hear from others. Thank you for listening!

Welcome to the Designing Together Challenge! Day 1 is challenging you to reflect on why you do what you do. Asking 'why' is a key part of the design thinking process and shows up in the Designing Together decks more than once. The invitation is to work with the prompt: “We design together because…”. Once you had a chance to listen, reflect, and try, head to the Designing Together LinkedIn Group to share your reflections and hear from others. Thank you for listening!

This short meditation, led by Bo, is intended as a mindful pause when getting started with the Designing Together cards.

Welcome to the Designing Together podcast! This first episode of the show is an invitation from Bo & Jess, the creators of the Designing Together cards, to join an exciting 10-day Designing Together Challenge, starting 21st Jan 2026.