Co-design & Prototyping

Embracing inquiry & iteration in a fast-changing world

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Cover image – Workshop — Prototyping & Co-design

A hands-on introduction to the mindsets and methods of co-design and prototyping. Learn how to move away from a diagnosis & planning mindset towards probing and sensing, from predicting to learning, and from controlling to iterating — skills essential for designing with, not just for, people in an uncertain world.

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Nuts and Bolts

Format: 6 hours over 1–3 sessions
Location: Online or in-person (Vancouver, BC)
Group Size: 6–30 participants
Cost: Sliding scale, tailored to your organization or team
Scheduling: Flexible — we’ll work with you to find the right dates

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Workshop Overview

We’re living at a time when this Robert Burns quote feels especially true: “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” This workshop offers an alternative to traditional planning better suited to the world we live in and the dynamic nature of human behaviour.

Co-design and prototyping are practical ways to work in complexity: to make and test our way forward rather than implement fixed plans. In this workshop, we explore what makes these approaches distinct from piloting, editing, or tweaking, and practice iterative cycles of making-testing-learning.

Through guided exercises, case stories, and reflection, participants experience what it feels like to hold uncertainty, make abstract ideas real, and testable, invite diverse perspectives, and build with communities.

Core questions

  • What are co-design and prototyping, and where do these methods come from?

  • How do they differ from piloting or traditional planning?

  • What does an iterative process actually look and feel like?

  • How can we evaluate an iterative process?

  • Why are these approaches vital in unstable, fast-paced conditions?

By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a shared language, tools, and an evaluative framework to help them start — and stay — in an iterative process.

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What you’ll do

See examples in action

Explore case studies where co-design and prototyping generated unexpected insights and momentum.

Experience iteration firsthand

Move through short make-test-reflect cycles to feel what “learning by doing” entails.

Gain tools and techniques for codesign and prototying

Learn about prototyping at different levels of fidelity from on-paper to immersive experiences and how to learn from codesign participants.

Shift from perfection to progression

Practice releasing control and responding to real-time feedback.

Reframe problems as questions

Start with curiosity, not certainty, to unlock richer solutions.

What you'll leave with

Workshop – prototyping – what you’ll do
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Who's it for?

For anyone who sees opportunity in their lives to replace rigid plans with responsive practice — to learn faster, fail smarter, and design with others – be they clients, coworkers, or children.

  • Public servants and policy teams

  • Non-profit leaders and innovators

  • Designers and/or stewards of facilities and spaces

  • Community builders and funders

  • Educators and facilitators seeking more iterative ways to learn and teach

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