Akiani was in Toulouse on 23 and 24 November for UXcamp 2018.
For those who couldn’t take part, or for those who’d like to revisit our workshops, here is a glimpse of UXcamp 2018. To catch up on last year’s session, head this way.
Lotus Blossom at UXcamp 2018
To start, Pauline presented participants with an ideation method called Lotus Blossom. This creative technique lets you explore a topic in depth and bring out a blossoming of ideas (you’ll have spotted the pun!).
How do you use it?
- To start, begin with a central theme that will act as the pistil. For this session, Pauline had chosen “The theme-park experience”.
- Pin the theme on a white wall and start building your flower.
- Lay down eight main ideas tied to your central theme: our first eight petals. One idea equals one keyword on a petal.
- Then make sure the eight keywords mostly cover your main theme.
- Take each initial idea and generate eight more from it.
- Once these three steps are done, your Lotus Blossom is complete. But not so fast, it’s a brainstorming method. Nothing stops you from digging a little deeper into an idea.
- Then to finish, step back and run a card sort, modifying or removing the petals of your flower.
What is it for?
- Unblock a situation
- Prioritise ideas
- Open up new opportunities not previously considered
- Get a shared overall view
- Define a topic
Worth remembering:
The exchange with the participants who tried the method surfaced some interesting points:
- This method is suited to small groups of 6 or 7 people maximum
- It seems better suited to exploring a topic than to solving a problem
- Use different-coloured cards to create a clear visual hierarchy: pistil, level 1 petals, level 2 petals
- And laminated cards make it easy to change ideas
- The ideal time to spend on this method is at least 2.5 hours
- Use it with the client, but also internally; it will work just as well
- Time-box the workshop to structure the session, allowing enough time for each activity
- To finish, let your imagination and your thinking run; all ideas are worth considering!
See the presentation (opens in new window)
Choosing the right icebreaker - UXcamp 2018
In her workshop, Laetitia SC answered a question we all ask ourselves: “How do you choose the right icebreaker?”.
We all know an icebreaker is a light game used to “break the ice”. However, at Akiani we realised that we use some of them in a more advanced way, close to a design method. So we proposed a classification based on several criteria:
The goals:
- UX awareness (introducing UX workshops and explaining the discipline)
- Speaking up (based on difficulty: from explaining your concept to simply giving an opinion)
Intra-group relationships:
- Strangers (e.g. a team in the same place but in different departments)
- People who know one another (e.g. teams working together or in the same department)
During this workshop, participants were able to try different icebreakers and assess their benefits and their limits.
Tips worth remembering:
- To begin, always take into account the type of project and the participants
- Take inspiration from existing games
- Then, mix icebreakers; they’re never set in stone, you make the rules
- Don’t stick to familiar formulas, vary as much as possible
- Try to tie the icebreaker as much as possible to the workshop theme
- As a designer or facilitator, play along with the participants = lead by example
- Worth remembering: reassure participants with concrete examples
- Offer them a chance to win goodies, sweets, and so on
- Be creative
- And finally, have fun!
Wrap-up on UXcamp 2018
A BIG thank you to Flupa for the top-notch organisation! 👏
