Workshops
A workshop is a way of bringing together key stakeholders in a project to discuss, develop, and refine ideas. Unlike meetings, workshops are hands-on sessions where you leave with something concrete: personas created, priorities agreed, or concepts sketched out.
Workshops typically run from a few hours to a full day. While they can be done remotely, workshops work best when everyone is in the same room.
The real value of workshops is shared ownership. When your team actively participates in discussing problems and creating solutions, they're far more invested in the outcome.
It's also likely one of the few times your team can work together without distractions: no emails, no other demands. Just focused time on one challenge. Clients often tell us how refreshing that feels.
Types of workshops
Different workshops serve different purposes throughout a redesign project:
Discovery workshops kick off a project. They establish project goals, clarify who you are and what you do, and create alignment on direction.
UX workshops focus on understanding your users. This might include creating personas, mapping user journeys, or prioritising user needs. These help ensure design decisions are based on real user behaviour and not assumptions.
Content workshops focus on content strategy and planning. This includes auditing what content to keep or remove, planning migration to the new site, establishing voice and tone guidelines, and setting up governance so everyone knows who's responsible for what.
Design workshops are for rapid ideation. This includes sketching concepts, reviewing inspiration, discussing visual preferences, and exploring different design directions together.
Prioritisation workshops help you make tough trade-off decisions. When you can't do everything, these sessions build consensus on which features or priorities matter most to users and your organisation.
In practice, workshops often combine multiple types. When we run discovery workshops, we'll usually cover UX, content, and design elements too.
Running a workshop
Plan the basics. Workshops typically run 3-6 hours. In-person sessions work best: being in the same room creates better energy and collaboration. Make sure you have everything you need: sharpies, paper, Post-its, etc.
Decide who to invite. Aim for 4-6 people. Larger groups can work but are harder to keep on track. Consider inviting a person from outside your organisation if possible. They bring fresh perspective that can help guide discussions towards what users actually need.
Be clear on the workshop's goal. Tell participants upfront what you want to get out of the workshop. Will you leave with defined personas? A prioritised feature list? A content migration plan? Knowing the deliverable keeps everyone focused.
Have a designated facilitator. The facilitators job is to guide the workshops, keep everyone on topic and on time, and capture key findings.
Keep it varied. Mix different activities: sketching, discussing, prioritising, reviewing examples. Alternate between individual work and group discussions. Create space for honest feedback by establishing that all ideas are worth exploring.
Take regular breaks. Give people time to make calls or check emails. Provide drinks and snacks.
Document everything. Photograph sketches and Post-it note walls. Write up key decisions and insights afterwards, even where there wasn't full consensus. This becomes a reference point throughout the project.
Need help running a workshop?
We facilitate workshops for organisations like yours. If you'd like to discuss how a workshop could help your project, get in touch.