Co-creation session

From the ubiquitous Post-it® Note to Post-it® Dry Erase Surface, Post-it® Brand offers a number of tools to bring out the very best collaborative experiences amongst your colleagues. However, we know that collaboration isn’t simply limited to tools — nor is it confined to a handful of techniques. To offer new perspectives on collaboration and its benefits, we partnered with IDEO.org — a non-profit design organization dedicated to alleviating poverty — to showcase how human-centered design and Post-it® Products can unlock incredible ideas.

Suggested Time: 1-3 Hours

What you’ll need: Pens, Post-it® Notes, Post-it® Big Pads or Post-it® Easel Pads, a place to meet

You’ll be talking with loads of people over the course of your project, and a Co-Creation Session is a great way to get feedback on your ideas. The purpose of a Co-Creation Session is to convene a group of people you’re designing for and get them to design alongside you. You’re not just hearing their voices—you’re empowering them to join the team. You can co-create services, investigate how communities work, understand how to brand your solution, and more. Not only is a community far more likely to adopt a practice or service that it helped create, but you’ll also gain valuable insight into all facets of your solution.

The first step is to identify who you want in your Co-Creation Session. Perhaps it’s a handful of people you’ve already interviewed. Maybe it’s a particular demographic like teens or female farmers or people without jobs.

Once you know who you want, arrange a meeting space, get the necessary supplies (often pens, Post-it® Products, maybe art supplies), and invite them to join.

Make the most of a Co-Creation Session with activities like Brain Writing, Nominal Group Technique, Mind Mapping to get your group engaged around the problem you’re looking to solve.

Capture the feedback your group gives you. The goal here isn’t just to hear from people, it’s to get them designing with you. Make sure that you’re treating your Co-Creation partners as designers, not as interview subjects.

Born in 2011 out of the global design and innovation firm IDEO, IDEO.org is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to alleviating poverty through human-centered design. IDEO.org believes that by understanding and working alongside those in the greatest need, we can design solutions that create prosperity. Partnering with nonprofits, social enterprises, and foundations, IDEO.org practices human-centered design to solve some of the world’s most difficult problems. Visit IDEO.org and Design Kit to learn more about human-centered design.