Our plans for in-person meet-ups faded quickly in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, as community events went virtual and we all adapted to a new normal.
We adapted quickly and set out to reimagine our meet-up as a remote experience that brought together Create&’s community Design Sprint methodology, with creativity hacks, virtual tools, and real-world problems affecting underserved populations. The result?
POP UP! Design Sprint Lab is an immersive meet-up series for people who want to be
creative and do good. It is also a virtual community connecting people who believe in the power of ethical, holistic, and humanistic co-creation. During each POP UP! Lab event, participants worked together to create a solution to a real-world problem, such as maternal health or honoring the rights of indigenous people. POP UP! Labs are designed for participants to:
Reimagine solutions using the elements and innovation principles of Create&'s Design Sprint methodology, human-centered design, inclusive community-building, and art installations.
Dialogue and garner new perspectives on social issues with people from diverse backgrounds.
Build virtual facilitation, collaboration, and co-creation skills.
Increase knowledge about important social issues and drive action to address them.
IN 2020
We focused on the following themes:
We facilitated five Lab events, resulting in 15+ concept solutions and $500 donated to organizations working on the theme issues.
CONCEPT SOLUTIONS DESIGNED
During a POP UP! Lab, each participant interacted with our virtual installations (digestible, curated mixed-media content) to boot-up their understanding of a designated theme. Teams were formed and each group iterated and storyboarded a solution within three hours, receiving feedback from their peers, and then finally presenting their concepts to the larger group. Below are a few solution examples:
MATERNAL HEALTH LAB:
Digital solution: A comprehensive digital platform to lower maternal mortality and morbidity. The digital solution would increase the self-efficacy of new parents by providing trusted health information, help facilitate conversations with care providers, and connect parents with other new parents to share questions and advice.
CIVIC PARTICIPATION LAB:
Service solution: Improve the experience of voting and working at poll sites to increase voter turn-out. For voters, give out free coffee and donuts, have a DJ, and make it a fun and memorable experience! For poll-workers, encourage younger adults and teens to work the polls in order to protect the mostly senior citizen poll staff during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Participants gave feedback after each POP UP! Lab event, including:
We believe there is always room for improvement. We listened to participant feedback and made a few changes throughout the year, such as:
Increasing the length of our events to allow for more collaboration time.
Making time at the beginning of events for participants to interact with installations.
Adding short-instructions to guide group work.
2021 POP UP! LABS
We’ve been busy planning this year’s POP UP! Labs. We also want your input!
>> What topics would you like to see?
Send us your topic ideas on Slack. Simply drop them in the general channel and we will try to incorporate them into this year.
Do you have a friend you think might be interested in POP UP! too?
>> Forward this email and encourage them to join a lab with you!
Join our 1st Lab in 2021 on Thursday, February 11th 5:45pm-8:45pm ET
>> Sign up on Eventbrite here
Until then, stay in touch with us and the POP UP! community:
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Slack
Listen on Soundcloud
Cheers and Stay Safe,
Tara, Valerie, and Gabe
(POP UP! Design Sprint Lab Organizers)