We’re community organizers of “Design And…” events where every other month-ish we invite local thought leaders and explore the intersection or design and something else. So far, we’ve explored topics like humanity-centered design, innovation in social services, industrial IoT, immersive technology, why some small businesses are converting to co-ops, how insects are changing food systems (with an insect entrepreneur), the role and practice of building team attention, and creating great employee experiences.

Learn more about Design And… here and see below for all of our events.

Featured
Design And Quitting as a Means for Reinvention
Dec 10
Design And Quitting as a Means for Reinvention

Details

Join us for a virtual fireside chat with Coonoor Behal, Founder and CEO of Mindhatch and Author of “I Quit: The Life-Affirming Joy of Giving Up,” which will be published by New Degree Press in April 2021. We’ll discuss the intersection of design thinking and the power of decisive quitting. Coonoor will share some key she’s learned from researching her book about quitting jobs, relationships, habits, aspirations, identities, and places and how this passion project connects to her career in innovation.

Cultivating Creativity and Innovation through Facilitation (a "Design And..." event)
Aug 26
Cultivating Creativity and Innovation through Facilitation (a "Design And..." event)

Join us for an experiential, virtual "Design And..." with Peggy Taylor, author, facilitator, and several time nonprofit co-founder. We'll explore ways to enhance personal and team creativity and innovation through facilitation.

Through a presentation and activities we'll explore:

• Creating the conditions for creativity and innovation
• Techniques for getting a group to feel like they've known each other for 30 hours after just 30 minutes
• Strategies for shifting mindsets towards creative thinking
Creating and sustaining an environment of psychological safety

Recognizing Good AI: Policy, Business Models and Our Future
Jul 16
Recognizing Good AI: Policy, Business Models and Our Future

Today’s conversations about artificial intelligence can be very confusing. For the layperson, it's hard to imagine just how powerful this technology really is and how dramatically their future will be affected by it. For practitioners the rate at which the field is evolving and the specificity of individual projects makes it challenging to connect with peers and tackle the broader picture of how to manage the emergence of AI responsibly.

Registration via EventBrite required

Design And the Employee Experience with Karen Kocher

Using design thinking for customer-facing products and solutions is becoming more common place. Inside organizations however there is still relatively little end-to-end use of this important design approach. Leveraging design to develop the future of work, skills, performance and the overall employee experience offers significant opportunity. After all, the key to terrific customer outcomes starts with the employee experience so let’s put theirs front and center in our design ecosystem!

Design And... Cultivating Attention

Why do some collaborative teams work together beautifully, while others can't stay in synch? In this session we'll explore the surprisingly simple factor that keeps teams aligned even when the pressure is on: paying attention.

Collaboration Games @ SeaSPIN
Dec 4
Collaboration Games @ SeaSPIN

Experience how listening, building on ideas, and creating meaning together, strengthens collaboration and individual performance. Collaboration games are inspired by classic improv practices, without any of the pressure to perform or be on stage. You’ll experience several low-stakes activities that can help teams connect, develop surprising new ideas, and perform better together. Challenge yourself, have fun, and let go of perfection.

Design And... Immersive Technology Panel (VR/AR)

A shift in our normal “Design And…” speaker-series, for this special event we'll have a panel discussion with Nirav Desai, Co-Founder and Senior Partner of Moonbeam and Seattle Chapter President of Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Association, Elizabeth Scallon, Head of WeWork Labs Northwest, Nandini Ranganathan, Founder and Executive Director Make+Think+Code, and Paul Hoover, Design Director at Artefact.

Design And... Bugs (Industrial Agriculture & Scientific Entrepreneurship)

Guest presenter Virginia Emery. Virginia is founder and CEO of Beta Hatch www.betahatch.com, a pioneering insect farming company that is industrializing insects for agriculture. Beta Hatch is fueled by a passion to see insects reach their true potential in our food systems. The company has grown to be internationally recognized for its scientific approach to scaling insect production, earning research contracts through the National Science Foundation and other agencies. Virginia is the country’s most innovative insect entrepreneur, recently recognized as a Visionary Grist 50 Fixer. Virginia has a PhD in entomology from the University of California, Berkeley, has been awarded over 20 grants and honors, and has published on subjects ranging from chemical communication to genetics to insect behavior.

Design And... Innovation in Social Services

Guest presenter Alicia Atkinson. As Innovation Lab Director at The Prosperity Agenda, Alicia supports the lab's development of new and growing projects. Her prior work was as Policy Analyst with the Government Affairs team at Prosperity Now (formerly known as CFED), promoting effective policies that expand economic opportunity for all, particularly in regard to savings, credit building, financial coaching, and integrated service delivery.

Design And... Industrial IoT

Guest presenter Garrett Rysko. Garrett Rysko, former Chief Technologist of IoT for Hitachi Insight Group (as of 5/1), will be our guest presenter! He will be speaking about how to level up your product, your skillset, and avoid the McClane Mentality.

Design And... Humanity Centered Design - Rob Girling @ Artefact

Our first "Design And..." meetup where you'll hear from Rob Girling at Artefact present "Humanity Centered Design" Bring yourself, your notebook, and get ready for an evening of insight and inspiration.

Presentation: How to Measure User Sentiment to Prioritize Your Product Backlog
Nov 7
Presentation: How to Measure User Sentiment to Prioritize Your Product Backlog

Ultimately, great products deliver great experiences for real people. Measuring how users feel about the product, even before it’s built, can drive alignment among stakeholders, focus teams on the right work, encourage creativity and autonomy, and increase collaboration. Net Promoter Score measures advocacy. NSAT measures satisfaction. Scraping social media can give you some insights for the portion of your users who express themselves there. Peter will illustrate the mechanics of an alternative approach to measuring sentiment and how to use those metrics to focus your backlog on the things that are most important.

Design for Business Value Boot Camp
Oct 23
Design for Business Value Boot Camp

This two-day, hands-on, team-oriented workshop is for technology project participants and business stakeholders who want to learn how to use design practices to improve the impact of their work. This course is highly interactive. No prior design or technical experience is necessary, just a willingness to show up and try something new.

Design for Business Value Boot Camp
Jun 21
Design for Business Value Boot Camp

This two-day, hands-on, team-oriented workshop is for technology project participants and business stakeholders who want to learn how to use design practices to improve the impact of their work. This course is highly interactive. No prior design or technical experience is necessary, just a willingness to show up and try something new.

Design for Business Value Boot Camp
May 19
Design for Business Value Boot Camp

This two-day, hands-on, team-oriented workshop is for technology project participants and business stakeholders who want to learn how to use design practices to improve the impact of their work. This course is highly interactive. No prior design or technical experience is necessary, just a willingness to show up and try something new.

Design for Business Value Boot Camp
Oct 21
Design for Business Value Boot Camp

This two-day, hands-on, team-oriented workshop is for technology project participants and business stakeholders who want to learn how to use design practices to improve the impact of their work. This course is highly interactive. No prior design or technical experience is necessary, just a willingness to show up and try something new.

Design for Business Value Boot Camp
May 14
Design for Business Value Boot Camp

This two-day, hands-on, team-oriented workshop is for technology project participants and business stakeholders who want to learn how to use design practices to improve the impact of their work. This course is highly interactive. No prior design or technical experience is necessary, just a willingness to show up and try something new.

Linking Strategy to Execution: Designing Business Value into the Backlog
Mar 3
Linking Strategy to Execution: Designing Business Value into the Backlog
IASA Roundtable - Design and Architecture: A Roadmap to Innovation
Nov 19
IASA Roundtable - Design and Architecture: A Roadmap to Innovation

Design and software architecture - linking strategy to execution.

Measuring Business Value: Linking Strategy to Execution
Sep 16
Measuring Business Value: Linking Strategy to Execution
SeaSPIN Monthly Meeting - Collaborative Design as a Practice: Five Principles for Fueling Innovation
Aug 5
SeaSPIN Monthly Meeting - Collaborative Design as a Practice: Five Principles for Fueling Innovation
IASA Roundtable - Measuring Business Value and IT Architecture: Making the Connection.
Jul 30
IASA Roundtable - Measuring Business Value and IT Architecture: Making the Connection.