ABOUT
Russ Unger is an Experience Design leader. He is co-author of the books: A Project Guide to UX Design, Designing the Conversation and Speaker Camp for New Riders (Voices That Matter). Russ is also working on a design leadership book for Rosenfeld Media that is due out soon.
The Workshop Workshop
3 hours workshop leader | Category: Design Practice & Process | Target Audience: Mid-level designers, or designers who need to add workshops and facilitation to their toolkit.
You have attended workshops, you have seen them masterfully commanded by other people, and you really want to get a handle on doing this workshop thing yourself. This workshop is the workshop that will help you create and facilitate a workshop of your very own, in whatever workshop fashion you decide upon.
Russ Unger will help you identify the path unlocking the workshop achievement in whatever platform you choose. There will be activities where you will experience the true nature of “trial by fire” or “getting your feet wet” (whichever metaphor you prefer). That is correct: You will be leading your very own workshop within The Workshop Workshop, and presenting your findings and results back to the rest of the workshop attendees.
Bring your most comfortable pair of shoes, your favorite writing utensil, and be ready to lead and participate in your own workshops–in a safe space.
Three key takeaways:
- You will learn how to plan your agenda, structure your workshop, and identify the tools that are needed to help you along the way.
- Preparation is only a small portion of The Workshop Workshop; you will also learn to feel more comfortable with your material–and yourself–in front of a group of people who are relying upon you to be their guide.
The 3 Cs of Design – Charters, Critique, and Culture
30 min keynote talk | Category: Design Practice & Process.
I’ve worked for a lot of idiot managers in my career. And then, one day, after I had become a design manager myself, it finally dawned on me: Now I’m the idiot!
I’ve failed on many, many levels. I didn’t understand how to understand a team, and help turn their perceptions and expectations into something shared and agreed upon. I didn’t understand how to foster critique; I only knew that I was in charge of design and that I had the final say. In design leadership positions, the option to go back to the drawing board or to iterate hasn’t always been readily available–nor as painless to my pride and potentially my pocketbook.
The passing of time, the second and third chances that I’ve been given, and the sound advice that I didn’t want to listen to in the past have opened me up to a much different perspective. Oh, I’ve still got plenty to learn, and I’m excited to share some of what I’ve learned about charters, critique, and culture of design organizations.
Three key takeaways:
- How to align large design teams to meet common goals.
- How to build a sustainable design culture.
- How to run design critiques at scale.
Also participating as: Panelist at “Design Leadership”