Seven creative exercises to help you create even when you're remote

"So you're working from home, spending too much time on Zoom calls, feeling a bit frustrated and that normal creative business - design workshops, ideation sessions, design sprints - has had to pause. Time to think again. As someone who leads a remote-first agency that specialises in service design and UX as well as web application development, I know first hand that creativity and collaboration don't just happen in person."

"And I can unequivocally state that running design sprints and collaborating with clients is entirely possible, even when you're 100% remote. It's just different. A strong design process helps alongside a 'design thinking' mentality. So do the right tools and professional experience. But we all need a little fun, too, to create those creative sparks, so here are six exercises that we use with our clients to inspire our design process."

"A good one to start with, usually at our kick-off workshop, is goal visualisation. In this, each participant takes a moment to think about the difference the project could make. You can do this in lots of ways - sketching, keywords, bulleted lists or an inspiring piece of writing (I haven't yet seen it done in interpretative dance, but that day may come). It shows each person's perspective on what the project should achieve and helps get people excited about the project."

"Stinky Fish Great name, great exercise, especially for your kick-off workshop. In the Stinky Fish exercise, participants share any risks about going ahead with a project. (The idea is that if they're not aired now, they might fester and become, you guessed it, stinky!) Stinky Fish is a great way to confront any obstacles or concerns, bring them out into the open and address them. (It's also an opportunity to check if there is indeed a good reason not to proceed.)"

Remote work does not prevent running design sprints or collaborating with clients; creativity and collaboration do not require physical presence. A strong design process combined with a design thinking mentality, appropriate tools, and professional experience enable effective remote workshops. Adding playful, short exercises helps spark creativity and keep participants engaged. Six practical exercises can be used to inspire the design process, including goal visualisation to surface project aspirations, Stinky Fish to surface and address risks, and fast ideation techniques such as Crazy Eights. These practices help align perspectives, expose obstacles early, and maintain momentum when delivering products and services remotely.

Read at The Drum