8-hour Workshop · On-site · In-person
Design Principles
Overview
In this live full-day, in-person workshop, you'll learn how to craft and apply effective design principles that guide teams in making better design decisions. We'll explore how to define principles that foster clarity, consistency, and innovation, ensuring your team aligns around a shared design philosophy.
You'll leave with practical techniques for writing, validating, and integrating principles into your workflow. Whether you're working on a product team, a design system, or your own practice, you'll walk out with a clear method.
Live, in-person workshop
On-site, wherever you are
One full day, or two half days
4 to 12 participants
Certificate of completion
What changes after this workshop
- Design critiques become more focused. Your team stops arguing in circles and starts referencing shared language.
- Decision speed increases. Principles act as guardrails, so fewer decisions need to escalate.
- New team members ramp up faster. They have a clear foundation to learn from and build on.
- Your design system gains conceptual coherence, not just component consistency.
- Stakeholder alignment improves. Everyone references the same North Star.
What you leave with
- A draft set of design principles, written and refined during the workshop
- A principle-writing rubric you can use for future iterations
- Real examples of how your principles apply to your own product
- A rollout plan for introducing principles to the broader team
- Critique prompts to use principles in design reviews
- A certificate of completion for each participant
Workshop alumni include designers & thought leaders from a wealth of fantastic companies.
Choose this workshop if...
- Your team debates what "good design" means and rarely reaches consensus
- You're building or evolving a design system and need conceptual guardrails
- You want to onboard new designers faster with a clear foundation
- You need shared language that crosses product, design, and engineering
Not a fit if...
- You're looking for a ready-made principle set to copy. We help you build your own.
- Your team doesn't have the authority to actually adopt the principles afterward.
- You need deep user research methods. Check out our Empathy workshop instead.
Presentation
Split Up
Full Group
Sharing Sessions
Kick-off
Introduction to Design Principles
Kick-off
Case Studies
Session 1
Case Study Deep-Dive
Session 1
Keywording & Heuristics
Session 1
"Should Be" Mapping
Session 1
Regrouping Keywords
Break or continue next day
Session 2
Recapping Session 1
Session 2
Revisit Case Studies
Session 2
The Chosen Ones
Session 2
Formulating Principles
Session 2
Your Principles, Your Practice
Wrap-Up
Q&A
Facilitator
With well over a decade of experience, we've been steadfast advocates for design that genuinely cares about the human experience.
Our journey has been marked by exciting collaborations with industry giants like Unity, GetYourGuide, Shopify, Coinbase, and many others, imparting invaluable insights that not only elevate our own design, but also empower and elevate designers of all levels to create meaningful experiences that truly resonate with users.
Incomparable
Designer · Teacher · Public Speaker
Within two weeks, our critique sessions changed completely. We stopped arguing about taste and started referencing our principles. That shift alone was worth the investment.
Allison Lee
Head of Design, Series B SaaS
After the intro call
Tailored agenda
We send you a customized agenda based on what we discussed, along with a quote.
Review and confirm
You review, request any adjustments, and confirm the dates that work for your team.
Workshop day
We show up ready to go. You just need a room and your people.
Straightforward, transparent pricing
Before you pay a dime for the workshop, we schedule a 30-minute intro call to understand your team's needs and tailor the content accordingly. This ensures the session is as relevant and impactful as possible.
Travel costs
Based on the distance between your location and your facilitator.
Up to 16 participants
Workshop cost
$4999 USD
Travel
Variable
Scale Discount
- $700 USD
Total
Starting from $4299 USD
Any questions in the room?
At this stage, you probably have a few questions. We welcome them! We're also more than happy to cover any questions in our intro call.
We spend 30 minutes learning about your team's challenges, goals, and context. We'll recommend the right workshop, answer your questions, and explain how we tailor the content. No pitch, no pressure. If it's not a fit, we'll tell you.
After the intro call, we adjust the case studies, exercises, and examples to match your product, team size, and specific challenges. You'll receive a customized agenda before we lock in dates. The workshop feels like it was built for you, because it was.
Very little. We'll send a short pre-workshop questionnaire to gather context. On the day, you just need a room, a whiteboard or sticky notes, and your team. We bring everything else.
Most workshops work best with a mix of designers, product managers, and design leadership. Some teams also include engineers, researchers, or key stakeholders. We'll help you figure out the right group during the intro call.
Yes, but the format changes. For groups larger than 16, we split into parallel tracks with multiple facilitators or run consecutive sessions. Pricing adjusts accordingly. Let's discuss your specific situation on the intro call.
We strongly recommend in-person workshops. The hands-on exercises and group dynamics work best when everyone's in the same room. That said, we've run hybrid sessions for distributed teams. Reach out if you'd like to explore options.
The travel fee covers flights, accommodation, and local transport for the facilitator. We keep it simple: one flat fee based on your region. No surprise expenses, no receipts to review.
We invoice after you confirm the workshop date. Payment is due before the workshop takes place. We accept wire transfers and can accommodate most payment terms. If you need a PO or have procurement requirements, just let us know.
We don't allow full recordings, since much of the value comes from open discussion and participation. We can provide session summaries, key takeaways, and all the templates and frameworks used during the workshop.
Yes. If your company requires an NDA before the intro call or workshop, send it over. We're happy to sign reasonable confidentiality agreements.
Cancellations more than 14 days before the workshop receive a full refund. Between 7 and 14 days, we offer a 50% refund or full credit toward a future date. Less than 7 days, we don't offer refunds, but we'll work with you to reschedule if possible.
Yes. Each workshop participant receives a digital Incomparable certificate. For a small additional fee, we provide sealed, card stock physical certificates.
Full-day, in-person workshop
Anytime · Wherever you are
Facilitated by Incomparable
On this page
Book a 30-minute intro callNo commitment. We'll tailor the agenda to your team.
Not the workshop you were looking for?
Check out some of our other rotational workshops.
8-hour workshop
From $2999 + travel