Design thinking training in New YorkCheck the problem before the build is funded.
A hands-on workshop for New York teams who need a live problem checked before money moves.
- New York, in person or hybrid
New York
New York product teams who need the problem in the room
New York product and operations teams book this when a build is close and the people who will use it are still missing from the brief. The session puts them with the people who will sign the spend.
Collective Campus has a studio in New York. We facilitate there, at your office, or hybrid if part of the group is elsewhere. You bring the challenge. You leave with a problem sharp enough to stop a weak idea.
- For New York product, innovation and operations teams about to spend.
- At the New York studio, your office, or hybrid if the group is split.
- Half a day, one day or two days, on a challenge you bring.
- No design background required.
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The problem
Sound familiar?
Solutions first
Teams jump to "build it" before anyone's confirmed it's a problem worth solving.
Assumed, not asked
Decisions get made on what the room thinks the customer wants, not what they actually do.
Expensive guesses
Months of build time sunk into features that quietly get no use.
What you'll walk away with
By the end of the day, your team will have
- A clearly defined problem worth solving, grounded in real user insight
- Firsthand customer empathy, not assumptions dressed up as facts
- A pile of tested ideas, and the confidence to kill the weak ones early
- At least one low-fidelity prototype in hand
- A repeatable method they can run again without us in the room
What we cover
The flow of the day
- 01
Frame the challenge
Align on the real problem and who we're solving it for.
- 02
Empathise
Get into the user's world, interviews, observation, empathy mapping.
- 03
Define
Turn messy insight into a sharp, solvable problem statement.
- 04
Ideate
Diverge wide, then converge, structured brainstorming that avoids groupthink.
- 05
Prototype & test
Build something rough, put it in front of real people, learn fast.
Who it's for
Who should be in the room
No prior experience needed, the workshop is built for cross-functional teams from scratch.
Product & innovation teams
Anyone responsible for building the right thing, not just building it right.
Cross-functional squads
Mixed teams who need a shared language for solving problems together.
Leaders
Executives who want customer-centricity to be a habit, not a poster.
Format & logistics
How it runs
Duration
½-day taster, 1-day intensive, or 2-day deep dive.
Delivery
In-person at your office, offsite, or fully remote.
Group size
8-30 is the sweet spot. Larger cohorts by arrangement.
Tailoring
Built around a live challenge you bring, not a generic case study.
Facilitators
Lead facilitator
Tessa Kowaliw
An incredibly personable design thinking facilitator with years of experience across the private and public sectors, and a passion for driving community outcomes.
Founder, facilitator
Steve Glaveski
Founder of Collective Campus, author of two Wiley books, host of the Future Squared podcast, and regular contributor to Harvard Business Review.
What changes afterwards
Proof
What changes afterwards
“They now question everything, see things through a different lens, and have started to spread that approach throughout the business.”
New York
Questions about running this in New York
Can the New York studio host design thinking?
Yes. At the studio, your office, or hybrid when part of the team is elsewhere. Tell us who needs to be there.
Which New York roles need to be in the session?
The people funding the work and the people who understand the problem. Product, operations and innovation. No design background is required.
What should we send to book a New York workshop?
Use the contact form. Name the problem, the group size and whether you want the studio, your office or hybrid. Half a day, one day or two days.
Can we bring a product we are about to fund?
Yes. Bring the constraint you cannot ignore. We will not spend the day on a canned case.
Ready to solve the right problem?
Tell us the challenge, we'll shape a workshop around it.