Co-designing with Care: A one-day training in East London (E1)

A one-day interactive workshop at Toynbee Hall with KA McKercher (author of Beyond Sticky Notes) with stories from locals Jenni Parker (Humanly) and Soh-yon Park (London Design Justice Node). You’ll take home practical tools to co-design responsibly and with care, hear stories from Australia and New Zealand, from local projects, and meet other practitioners. 

The session will be most useful if you have a basic understanding of co-design, but all are welcome. We’ll start with building shared language (including links to co-production) and learning how to assess if a project is co-design or on its way there. Then, we’ll explore ways to co-design responsibly and use trauma-responsive practices. Maybe you’ve been using co-design already and want to deepen your practice, want to gain new language or tools for co-design, or something else. The training is open to all kinds of practitioners and all kinds of designers. 

Practical stuff

• Held at Ashbee Hall, part of Toynbee hall 
• Arrive from 9:30 am for a 10 am start 
• Finish around 4:30 pm with the option of heading to a local pub 
• Lunch included, coffee and tea provided 
• Booking closes on 2nd of September 
• In-person only, this isn’t a hybrid event
• You'll get more information on what to expect two weeks prior 

What to expect 

✅ Choices in activities and whether to work in groups or solo 

✅ Practical frameworks and methods to use in your work 

✅ Honest conversations about how power, ableism and colonialism impact co-design 

✅ A focus on using co-design for justice in/for governments and not-for-profits 

If you'd like more information, please contact us at hello@beyondstickynotes.com 

What not to expect 

❌ Forced group activities 

❌ Being naive about the constraints faced in doing co-design for real 

❌ Focusing on commercial design or making money 

❌ Learning everything. This is a one-day session, not a full course 

About your hosts 

KA McKercher (them/they) KA is from New Zealand and lives in Australia. They are the author of Beyond Sticky Notes, the Model of Care for Co-design and Director of a Studio by the same name. They’ve been leading co-design for 14 years, and their work is used internationally. KA mainly works in LGBT health with a focus on trans health justice. This is KA’s second time in London. 

Jenni Parker (she/her) Jenni is the Founder and Director of Humanly, a design studio specialising in human-centred design for social impact. She is an award-winning designer, social innovator and systems thinker. Jenni is passionate about the power of co-design to develop solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems and to transform the organisations that are at the front line of addressing these challenges. Jenni started her career at the UN Refugee Agency in 2011 and has over 12 years of experience in leading complex social design and innovation projects in the UK and internationally.

Soh-yon Park (she/her) Soh-yon is a Design Researcher working on equity- and community-centred design, specifically in healthcare and public health. She’s been co-leading the Design Justice London node for the past couple of years, hoping to move beyond the basics and bring justice into the work designers do. Her forever mission is to challenge the status quo and ‘norms’ of the systems so we don’t leave people behind from the main narrative of life. 

Access and inclusion 

You are welcome to come as you are. The venue has no stairs and is accessible for wheelchair users and other mobility aids. There are unisex bathrooms available. The room itself has some bright lighting with access to a contemplation space (a small room with meditation mats and some fidget toys). Please bring anything you need to be comfortable and let us know about any other access needs when you register. 

Refunds 

We'll refund tickets up to 21 days before the event. Unfortunately, we can't provide refunds past that date and still meet the venue hire costs.