How would you feel about a future in which your facial expressions are monetised? If you were watching a piece of content in the metaverse, software could scan your face to detect how interested you were. In principle, the more engaged you were, the more money the provider could charge a sponsor of — or advertiser in — that content. This is not science fiction. It is probably already technologically feasible and could, experts warn, just be the start if, as predicted, millions of us immerse ourselves in the metaverse and the worlds of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). …

To celebrate the holiday season we’ve put together another Christmas video, this time sharing things we’ve learned this year as part of our continued work on employee wellbeing projects. If you want to learn more about our different employee wellbeing tips, we’ve also listed them out below so you can explore all the things that could help make a difference in 2023. 1. Different wellbeing needs No one size fits all. People are different and so are their needs and this needs to be reflected in wellbeing programmes. What’s more, you might be surprised by what works for some people, and doesn’t for others. Every employee will be attracted to different aspects of a wellbeing…

Storytelling is not only for creatives. It could be your secret weapon in the office too, from persuading people to go with your idea, to delivering the best presentation of your life. At our recent Storytellers event held at consultancy Arup’s flagship London office, individuals from the world of engineering (Arup vice-chair Tristram Carfrae) and architecture ( Sadie Morgan who co-founded the DRMM practice) joined those from advertising (creative director, Ray Shaughnessy) and filmmaking ( Peter Ettedgui has created films and documentaries).

Experimentation is the engine of human progress. It has been for more than 5,000 years — ever since an inspired, but unknown lateral thinker in Mesopotamia discovered that the wheel, invented to make pots, could, stood it on its side with some spokes in it, serve as a mode of transport. The point that the right experiment, properly conducted, can be liberating, acting as an agent for positive change within society, an organisation and a company, has been reiterated countless times since.

The workshop is changing. Everything we once took for granted has dramatically shifted, and their future suddenly looks radically different. However, as Design Thinkers Academy London co-founder David Kester notes, “this doesn’t have to be a negative. There is far more change to come and we have to see technology as our friend that can help humanise the virtual space.” This is easier said than done and if the virtual workshop is to deliver the same kind of experience as an in-person workshop, we need a whole new kind of innovation.

The number of Design Thinking events has naturally decreased over the last few years due to the pandemic. However, with the start of 2022 events are starting to spring up. We’ve pulled together our pick of design and innovation conferences of 2022 from across the globe. If you want to hear the latest ideas and meet others working in this area, check these out. Design Sprint Camp | TBC First up on our Design Thinking events is of course our very own Design Sprint Camp. We recently finished with the first ever edition, taking place online, in partnership with the Carbon Trust. The event brought together 35 participants from around the world, led by 15 expert speakers and coaches…

In the latest edition of our podcast, coach Simon Gough explains how to use Service Blueprints and why it makes Design Thinking even more powerful. Simon Gough is an experienced design consultant, facilitator, trainer, speaker and writer with clients ranging from fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies to central government. He also teaches our Service Blueprinting course, made up of three sessions of 2.5 hours. A Service Blueprint is a is a diagram that shows…

In our latest podcast, coach Simon Gough explains what is Systems Thinking and how it makes Design Thinking projects more successful. Simon Gough is an experienced design consultant, facilitator, trainer, speaker and writer with clients ranging from fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies to central government. He also teaches our Systems Thinking three-day course. In the latest Design Thinkers podcast, Simon starts by defining what exactly is a system.

Despite the many business closures of 2020 due to the pandemic, it also saw the launch of a record number of start-ups. Around 407,510 new businesses were formed during this period in the UK and one of those was Plateaway — an online platform that enables users to create their favourite restaurant dishes using meal kits. Meal kits feature all the ingredients and instructions needed to help make your own version of a restaurants signature dish. Think a DIY version of Deliveroo, that can touch all parts of the country and not just those local to the restaurant. Plateaway was born when one of the founders…