Upcoming events
Portland Design Thinkers will be back in 2025. Wishing everyone a safe and happy holidays!
past events
THURS · December 12, 2024
Year-End Networking Happy Hour
Come raise a glass with us as we wrap up the year and strengthen our local community. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just getting started in design, research, or design thinking, all are welcome!
THURS · November 14, 2024
Designing for strategic & organizational influence
Delivering products, services, and experiences that truly delight and inspire people requires human-centered designers, researchers, and product managers to have a huge influence on the strategic business decisions made by their leaders. Learn proven ways to draw C-suite and other key stakeholders into your design process at the right moments to help them build empathy and invest in innovations that maximize customer and business impact. Our session will use case study examples to introduce techniques you can apply now to design for influence.
THURS · October 17, 2024
Where to start with strategic product research
Strategic Product Research is in high demand, but Product and UX professionals are often set up to fail. What exactly does strategic research entail? And how does it differ from discovery research? Learn why showing conceptual designs to users doesn’t work and explore better ways to evaluate whether you are building the right product or feature. Geared toward product managers, designers, product leaders, and entrepreneurs, this framework is designed to empower UX and Product professionals to make strategic decisions confidently.
THURS · September 26, 2024
In-person Happy hour
Connect with fellow Design Thinkers for an evening of networking, engaging ideation activities, and the opportunity to share ideas in real-time, face-to-face. We’re especially excited to host this event at the Architectural Heritage Center. Located in the heart of Portland, the AHC is a key part of preserving the city’s architectural heritage, offering a setting that reflects the creativity and history of our community. It’s the perfect spot to connect, share ideas, and meet your fellow Portland Design Thinkers.
THURS · August 22, 2024
Co-create Solutions
In this engaging and practical talk, we will explore how to harness the collective intelligence of your organization. Learn how to foster collaboration across teams and silos, enabling the co-creation of innovative solutions that would otherwise be impossible. By looking at Open Space Technology, LEAN Coffee, and a few of the Liberating Structures. Through these co-creative practices, we will try our self-organization to uncover hidden pockets of knowledge from individuals at all levels.
THURS · July 11, 2024
REGENERATIVE DESIGN: FROM VISION TO REALITY
Can your product, service, or corporation actively restore ecosystems and communities on the other side of the globe? Discover how to apply the holistic principles of Regenerative Design for you and your team to achieve the positive impact you desire.
Tap into the regenerative mindset that’s not only helping the planet but also disrupting a $17 trillion market. You’ll enjoy mind-boggling real-world solutions that sound like science fiction.
THURS · May 23, 2024
The power of Design and strategic foresight
An exploration of the combined power of Design and Strategic Foresight in practice: why and how to apply human-centric research, creativity, and long-term mindset to strategic business problem-solving.
Join us for an enlightening evening as Lucy Ziegler shares her expertise, providing invaluable insights and practical strategies to enhance your approach to tackling challenges.
THURS · April 18, 2024
Herding cats with Service blueprinting
In any human experience-centered program, bringing vision to optimized execution requires continuous cross-functional alignment and collaboration, which often falls apart! Nan will discuss how she has used Service Blueprinting as a key framework to drive alignment in complex organizations.
You will learn how UX and Service Design are complementary, the difference between journey mapping and service blueprinting, and why it is important to take a systems view to be a successful design professional.
THURS · March 28, 2024
Surprises & SPeed bumps when practicing design thinking
As a design-thinker, you might often find yourself collaborating with individuals who may not fully understand the value of your approach. How do you effectively advocate for design thinking and demonstrate its impact on your projects and organization? Learn from seasoned experts on how to thrive (or survive) in a dynamic, multi-function workplace. Whether you're an experienced pro or just starting out, bring your questions and gain valuable strategies to adapt, innovate, and lead.
THURS · February 22, 2024
How neighborhoods become marvelous
Beginning in the 1970's with the titanic struggle and eventual victory to create Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portlanders have been attracting the attention of the world. Our efforts to retrofit our city to make it the most liveable of all, and then the most sustainable of all, has made us an urban case study rivaled by few others.
Yet, while we remain leading placemakers in the minds of many, it may be that the most important work has not yet been done, right where we live.
THURS · January 11, 2024
AI joins the team: Integrating AI into research
Explore the dynamic relationship between the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) framework and AI in research with renowned industry expert Jim Kalbach. Investigate the pivotal role of AI tools, including ChatGPT, in refining target jobs, generating comprehensive job maps, and swiftly grasping unfamiliar fields. AI can improve efficiency but also learn from Jim about the importance of understanding its limitations.
THURS · December 21, 2023
Personal brand Sprint
Focus on your brand, defining the path of your choosing. This session will be focused on personal brand, but can easily be done for a small business or start-up. In this hands-on session, Heather will lead you in the method she has used as a Design Strategist for Reverence Global digital media firm and as an independent consultant.
THURS · November 30, 2023
Can we design a warning system for democracy?
Individual changes gradually add up to something bigger; but in a multivariate world, how are we assessing and communicating gradual evolution of the big picture, and are we instilling urgency and direction with our storytelling?
The US has seen troubling developments in politics and society, leading to concern across a political spectrum that we are either heading toward authoritarianism or already in it. We’ll explore the challenge of designing a “Doomsday Clock” for democracy.
THURS · October 12, 2023
Turning Empathy into action
Turning empathy into action in digital product experiences is crucial for creating products that resonate with users, provide value, and foster positive relationships between users and businesses. It not only leads to better user satisfaction but also contributes to the success and reputation of the product and the company behind it. In this talk, Damon will cover why it is so important, various methods to achieve it, how to measure it, and how to ensure it is continually improved.
THURS · September 7, 2023
Virtual Improv Shenanigans for Design Thinkers
Ignite your design thinking with a twist of spontaneity in a "Virtual Improv Shenanigans for Design Thinkers" session. Join us for an electrifying online experience where creativity meets unpredictability. Led by seasoned improviser and consultant, Kat Kojic of Hello Gorgeous, this session blends laughter and innovative challenges to enhance your adaptability, ideation, and collaboration skills. Get ready to break free from the ordinary, improvise with fellow designers, and fuel your imagination in unexpected ways!
THURS · August 10, 2023
In-person rooftop happy hour
Portland Design Thinkers are thrilled to announce another Rooftop Happy Hour! Join us for lively conversation, networking, and real, live, face-to-face time with your fellow Design Thinkers!
Extra special thanks to Fresh Consulting, Concrete, and Curiate for making this event possible!!
THURS · July 20, 2023
Sketchnoting 101: visual thinking for design thinkers
Sketchnoting isn't art. It's communication.
Accessible, visual communication focused on clarity and transferring of knowledge quickly and efficiently. It’s a skill that can benefit everyone and brings joy to those who see and create sketchnotes. As Design Thinkers, we often have to communicate how and why this seemingly "unorthodox" method of problem-solving is so effective. Visual thinking can help win over your audience and get their buy-in sooner and with more dedication to the process.
THURS · July 11, 2023
New rules for work
An experimental meeting designed to test how a meeting’s location and technology impact meeting results.
By participating in this experiment with New Rules for Work, you can help answer questions about when groups should meet in person and how to have the best possible meeting experience no matter where you might be. You may also experience new meeting techniques and technology that you can use in your work.
THURS · June 22, 2023
From Silos to Synergy
Design Thinking as we know it today is largely a product of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Championed by Stanford’s d.school and with significant contributions and commoditization from design firms, Design Thinking became popular as a way to apply a design approach to business and innovation.
Over two decades, Todd has adapted his own toolkit of methods to suit the audiences, challenges, resources, and desired outcomes of specific projects.
THURS · May 18, 2023
in-person event: Meet your fellow Pdt’ers
Portland Design Thinkers’ first in-person event of the year. A great evening of interesting conversation, fun networking games, light nibbles and drinks!
THURS · April 27, 2023
Lessons From the Trenches of Teaching & Consulting on Design Thinking
Mary Sherwin has been teaching the ins and outs of product design and design thinking at the graduate level for over 10 years, from California College of the Arts to Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design to Pacific Northwest College of Art and everywhere in between. In this talk, she’ll go over what her students have appreciated most over the years: stronger and better ways to use tried-and-true design thinking tools. Did you ever really get taught how to brainstorm? What about timeboxing? Event cycles within journey maps?
THURS · March 23, 2023
Growing Design Ethics
Charles has been designing, inventing, and making in a variety of industries across North America. He's led a wide array of efforts, from online learning to AR/VR museums to digital banking perks, for clients including BMW, Pillsbury, the government of British Columbia, and Televisa. Among other current projects, he's growing a design ethics community group in one of the country's largest UX design studios, at U.S. Bank.
This talk will discuss the intersection of design, ethics, and four related topics: behavioral science, data science, personalization at scale, and inclusive design - And what this has to do with making sandwiches.
THURS · February 23, 2023
the Science of Storytelling: How the Brain Fires on Story.
100,000 years of human reliance on story has rewired the human brain to think in story terms and story structure to make sense and create meaning out of events and others’ actions.
Meaning…Cells that fire together wire together.
And, this evolutionary predisposition is reinforced by the dominant use of story throughout childhood.
So what does this mean for all of us? How can we use this knowledge to create memorable stories? And how can we use our predisposition to turn everything that enters through sensory input into story for engagement?
MON · January 30, 2023
Cultivating Collaboration
Student-led presentation by the University of Oregon’s Senior Product Design Research class. This special event revealed the results of a collaboration between PDT’s Advisors (Deb Mrazek, John Furukawa, Colin Bay, and Herman D’Hooge) and the UO students.
The students engaged in a research sprint with their PDT Advisors to uncover valuable insights about PDT’s member community and ecosystem. Over five days, students practiced primary and secondary research, including interviews with members. The four student teams will present their findings to the PDT community for feedback.
THURS · January 26, 2023
Catalytic Factor Analysis
Many (most?) of our design-research methods are designed for point problems that demand point solutions. All good. But not so good when those methods are applied to complex problems.
Catalytic Factor Analysis is a method designed to address complex sociotechnical challenges through a structured conversation with the crowd. This technique specifically creates a means for both characterizing wicked socio-technical problems and identifying the focus areas to transform the system toward a resolution. The result is the ability to focus resources – state, civil, and institutional, political, entrepreneurial, and educational – on those catalytic factors to transform the system. I will use several examples from recent work to illustrate the method.
THURS · December 1, 2022
Are you job-ready?
Jobs associated with design and design thinking have been increasingly attractive to people wanting to make a career change, but there is so much information out there knowing what steps to take can be difficult. Are you exploring a career change or thinking about making some shifts within your current role? Are you looking for inspiration and guidance from other people on similar journeys? Are you job-ready? Join the conversation and bring your questions!
THURS · November 17, 2022
What Do Prototypes Prototype?
There is a saying at IDEO: “If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, a prototype is worth 10,000 meetings.” Prototyping is an inseparable element of Design Thinking; both as a mindset and as a practice. It’s the Design Doing sibling of Design Thinking.
While it’s impossible to overstate the power and importance of prototyping throughout the design process, it remains one of the most underutilized, misunderstood, and often misused parts of the process.
THURS · October 13, 2022
Shifts in the Workplace
How much time should employees be “in the office?” What is the impact of a fully remote workforce on an organization’s productivity, innovation and culture? By shifting work to our homes, how do organizations address employee safety, equity, access and privilege?
These are just some of the questions athenahealth (the second largest electronic health records company in the US) raised in its “Future of Work” strategic initiative.
THURS · September 15, 2022
An Evening with Kristina Halvorson
Kristina Halvorson is widely recognized as one of the most important voices in content strategy. Her seminal book Content Strategy for the Web is credited with sparking the recognition of content strategy as a critical field of practice. Kristina is the CEO and founder of Brain Traffic, a content strategy services firm. She is also the executive producer of the Confab and Button conferences, and the host of The Content Strategy Podcast. Kristina lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with two amazing teenagers and a very good dog.
THURS · August 25, 2022
In-person rooftop happy hour
Portland Design Thinkers are thrilled to announce a Rooftop Happy Hour! Join us for lively conversation, networking, and real, live, face-to-face time with your fellow Design Thinkers!
Extra special thanks to Fresh Consulting, Concrete, and Curiate for making this event possible!!
THURS · July 21, 2022
Post-Apocalyptic Research
After a sudden wrenching change to remote-only research and 2 years of sanding down the painful burrs, we've all learned a few things. It's time to think again about where in-person research is superior but also where our research practice should lean permanently to the remote side of the boat after the pandemic is over.
THURS · June 30, 2022
Birds of a Feather
Share your experiences, learn something new, and connect with others in the Portland Design Thinkers Community!
Join your choice of virtual breakout rooms and spend time with fellow PDTers on a special topic of interest.
THURS · July 21, 2022
Accessible Design: Forget WCAG
Accessibility basics to help designers better understand accessibility as a person-first design opportunity versus a compliance task at the end of a product build. The goal of this talk is to empower others to feel more confident in creating a better accessible product, to be able to better think through all user needs, as well as where and how to change existing design practices without the intimidation of complex language and guidelines.
THURS · May 19, 2022
Envisioning the future to empower Action
…or how to make Comic Books for the US Army
We will explore how to use applied futures methodologies to not only envision a range of possible and potential futures but how to turn these into actionable tools to change the future...like comic books!
THURS · July 21, 2022
Durable Design: Leveraging Foresight for Multiple Scenarios
Design Thinking and Futures methods have increasingly aligned. How can you leverage proven foresight practices to inspire present-day design for future people, communities, and ecologies?
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PDT is a volunteer-run Oregon nonprofit organization, and we rely on sponsors and donations to help us offset event and website costs. If you would like to help, we accept donations through Venmo @PortlandDesignThinkers.
