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Facilitating Fun: UXPA 2023 Poster

How UX helps teams collaborate and have more fun. A poster and a 30-minute facilitation recipe, accepted to the UXPA International Conference in Austin.

  • UX
  • Facilitation
  • Creative Management
  • Collaboration
Facilitating Fun poster: how to Exquisite Corpse with Figma, with steps, screenshots and four team drawings
My role
Author and presenter
Sr. UX Designer, Bttr
Event
UXPA International Conference 2023
Austin, Texas
Format
24 × 36 in poster
Poster session, June 21, 2023
Selection
Accepted entry #93
142+ submissions, about 52% accepted

The quick version

UX design can be a very serious process. The poster argues that a creative team should be encouraged to collaborate, and that some of the best work happens when people play. It shares a way to do that with a game called Exquisite Corpse.

Teams of three draw one character together, each drawing a section of it without seeing the others. I adapted the surrealists’ paper game to Figma so remote and hybrid teams can play it in about 30 minutes. The poster was well received. It sparked great conversations and some laughs, and a few attendees photographed it to bring the ideas back to their teams.

How it works

The poster is a three-part recipe. Open it full size to read every step, or download the poster as a PDF.

  1. Gather teams and build the template. Teams of three, one leader per team, and a tabloid Figma frame divided into thirds.
  2. Draw and collaborate as a team. Each person draws their third, head, body or feet, then covers it with a block-out frame and passes the file on.
  3. Reveal and share. Remove the block-outs, enjoy the creature, and share it with the larger team.
A diagram of the Exquisite Corpse drawing game with four steps
The game on paper. Each player draws, folds the paper over their section, and passes it on.
A hand-drawn creature made by passing a folded sheet of paper
A paper corpse. A creature drawn in turns, from a head to feet.
A black and white drawing of a cat head, a cloud torso and legs
A lesson-plan drawing. Another corpse, from a class version of the exercise.

Tested with a real team

Before the conference, I ran the activity in 2022 with Bttr and Allergan Digital Labs, a team of 18. Our teams held monthly knowledge and lightning talks, and this was one of them. We played Exquisite Corpse remotely, over Zoom and Figma, the same way the poster describes it.

At the conference

The poster was on display throughout UXPA 2023, with a poster session on Wednesday, June 21.

The Facilitating Fun poster pinned to a black display board
On the board. The poster on display in the conference hall.
Chris standing next to the Facilitating Fun poster at the conference
Talking it through. At the poster during the poster session.
Chris smiling in front of the Facilitating Fun poster
The poster session. A chance to talk through the recipe with attendees.
Attendees standing and talking in the conference poster hall
Checking out the posters. Attendees browsing the poster hall during the session.
The UXPA 2023 acceptance letter for the poster submission
Accepted. The UXPA 2023 committee’s acceptance letter for the poster.

What it shows

  • Design and facilitation. A repeatable 30-minute recipe that a team lead can run without a facilitator, proven first with a remote team of 18.
  • Creative management. Play is a tool for managing a creative team: it builds trust and gives everyone a voice.
  • Peer-reviewed. Accepted by the UXPA 2023 committee from over 142 submissions.

Want the full story?

See how I turn facilitation into teaching.

The UX/UI bootcamp case study shows how I used hands-on, collaborative activities across a 24-week curriculum.

Read the UX/UI bootcamp case study See all work