Manifestos Workshops
Manifestos, Principles, Guidelines
MANIFESTOS | PRINCIPLES | GUIDELINES | WORKSHOPS | EXERCISES
01 Provocation Exercise
Present controversial design statements
Have team members debate and take positions
Identify core beliefs that emerge from discussions
02 Values Mapping
Have team members individually write down what they believe are the most important qualities in your product/designs.
Cluster similar values and identify patterns.
Discuss and prioritize which values should inform your manifesto and principles.
03 Design Archaeology
Review 5-10 of your most successful projects
Analyze what made them successful and extract common approaches
Identify the implicit principles that guided those projects
04 Theme Discovery
Gather and review your strongest design work samples as evidence
Look for recurring visual elements, interactions, and approaches
Cluster similar patterns into broader themes
Test themes against objective criteria, then transform into actionable design manifestos and principles.
05 Reaction Cards
Create cards with different design adjectives
Have the team select which should describe your work
Use selections to craft manifesto statements
06 Tensions Exercise
Identify opposing design values (simplicity vs. feature richness, etc.)
Plot where your team currently falls on each spectrum
Discuss where you should ideally position yourselves
07 Manifesto Development
Transforms workshop insights into bold, clear manifesto statements
Encourages diverse perspectives through small group creation of statements
Uses gallery walk and voting to identify strongest statement candidates
08 Manifesto Refinement
Replace jargon with clear language, use active verbs, and craft memorable statements.
Test principles against past work to identify gaps between values and practice.
Gather diverse feedback from peers, clients, and non-designers.
This two-day workshop will help transform your team's scattered design values into a cohesive, actionable manifesto. Through provocations, values mapping, and tension exploration, we'll craft your design North Star, that resolves disagreements and accelerates decision-making. You'll leave with practical guidance—not just pretty words on a wall—that creates distinctive experiences users instantly recognize. I've seen this process completely transform how teams collaborate.
WORKSHOPEXERCISES
DESIGNMANIFESTOS
01 Provocation Exercise
Present controversial design statements
Have team members debate and take positions
Identify core beliefs that emerge from discussions
02 Values Mapping Exercise
Have team members individually write down what they believe are the most important qualities in your product/designs.
Cluster similar values and identify patterns.
Discuss and prioritize which values should inform your manifesto and principles.
03 Design Archaeology Exercise
Review 5-10 of your most successful projects
Analyze what made them successful and extract common approaches
Identify the implicit principles that guided those projects
04 Theme Discovery Exercise
Gather and review your strongest design work samples as evidence
Look for recurring visual elements, interactions, and approaches
Cluster similar patterns into broader themes
Test themes against objective criteria, then transform into actionable design manifestos and principles.
05 Reaction Cards Exercise
Create cards with different design adjectives
Have the team select which should describe your work
Use selections to craft manifesto statements
06 Tensions Exercise
Identify opposing design values (simplicity vs. feature richness, etc.)
Plot where your team currently falls on each spectrum
Discuss where you should ideally position yourselves
07 Manifesto Development
Transforms workshop insights into bold, clear manifesto statements
Encourages diverse perspectives through small group creation of statements
Uses gallery walk and voting to identify strongest statement candidates
08 Manifesto Refinement
Replace jargon with clear language, use active verbs, and craft memorable statements.
Test principles against past work to identify gaps between values and practice.
Gather diverse feedback from peers, clients, and non-designers.
This two-day workshop will help transform your team's scattered design values into a cohesive, actionable manifesto. Through provocations, values mapping, and tension exploration, we'll craft your design North Star, that resolves disagreements and accelerates decision-making. You'll leave with practical guidance—not just pretty words on a wall—that creates distinctive experiences users instantly recognize. I've seen this process completely transform how teams collaborate.
WORKSHOPEXERCISES
GENERALWORKSHOPTIPS
Include diverse perspectives (designers, developers, product, marketing)
Use physical spaces when possible (sticky notes, whiteboards)
Document everything with photos and notes
Plan for multiple sessions rather than attempting everything at once
Begin with divergent thinking before converging on solutions
Incorporate real examples from your work