Part of the Festival Design DNA project from the Edinburgh Festivals Innovation Lab. See design.festivalslab.com for full context & details

1. THE FULL
FESTIVAL
DESIGN DNA
TOOLKIT
{THE WHOLE TOOLSET IN ONE BUNDLE FOR YOUR
ORGANISATION TO USE WHEN NEEDED}

2. 4 1
DELIVER DISCOVER
3 2
DEVELOP DEFINE
ESTABLISH
ESTABLISH & COLLABORATE “GETTING EVERYONE ON BOARD
AT THE START IS CRUCIAL TO A
USE ME TO:
GOOD PROJECT”
Establishing a project and getting
people on board is sometimes
difficult.
• Create a project team.
One way to find opportunities for
festival cross collaboration work is YOU WILL NEED:
using the ‘Calendar tool’ to outline
where festival organisations could • A basic questionnaire template
work together to collaborate on which you can tailor
research or development of new
• Email’s
ideas for Edinburgh festivals.
• Eventbrite
Commonly most people will say
‘I don’t have time’ or ‘My diary is
full this week’. Fighting against
busy schedules and a lack of will is
difficult.
Either (a) run a competition or call to
action around organisations relevant
to your cause.
Or (b) make it a compulsory
exercise, part of the daily to do.
Look for people who are keen to
come on board with your project
and give time to it.
Holding an event prior to launch
or creating a sign up page on your
website is an ideal way forward to
generate interest.

3. 4 1
DELIVER DISCOVER
3 2
DEVELOP DEFINE
ESTABLISH
GET OTHER PEOPLE ON BOARD
No matter how big or small
your idea is it’s important you
USE ME TO:
gain support, enthusiasm and
confidence from your colleagues • Build a team of like minded
and peers. Sometimes this is tricky people who are willing to
so this is a tool to help you along invest time and energy in your
the way. This is a blank template idea
that you can pin up on your office
notice board, mail around to
colleague or hand out over coffee.
YOU WILL NEED:
• Infectious enthusiasm and
It asks you to specify exactly what
your idea is in 140 characters and
patience
then complete a wanted ad. For
example: “looking for individuals
who are open minded, risk taking
and excellent communicators.”
It is your job to sell the idea of being
part of this project - what will I get
out of it? What will I learn? How
much of my time will it take up?
It’s important in the early stages
“WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE
when trying new ways of working to
have an open minded team who are
willing to try things a bit differently.
EXCITED TO BE PART OF YOUR
Build yourself an engaging getting
people on board tool, and set a
unique task (i.e draw yourself and
PROJECT”
see how people respond )

4. 4 1
DELIVER DISCOVER
3 2
DEVELOP DEFINE
ESTABLISH
STAKEHOLDER MAP “WHEN WE MAPPED EVERYTHING
(For starting projects, different from mapping stakeholders on project) AROUND THE FRINGE WE SAW
A stakeholder map is useful
at the start of the project to
USE ME TO: COUNTLESS OPPORTUNITIES”
understand what other festival • Plan project relationships
and cultural organisations and see the bigger picture
could be part of your project.
Furthermore, it forces you
to consider other influential
YOU WILL NEED:
stakeholders such as Trip
• Post its
Advisor and Stage Coach
• Pens
Travel.
• Open mind
A map of stakeholders can be
visualised using concentric
circles with close relationships
being mapped in the centre
and distant relationships
towards the outer circles. This
is a great way to step back
and look at who you want to
pull closer into the project and
question how you will do this.

5. 4 1
DELIVER DISCOVER
3 2
DEVELOP DEFINE
ESTABLISH “PUTTING YOUR THOUGHTS DOWN ON
THE TABLE AS A GROUP HELPS YOU
PROJECT START - ALTER ASSUMPTIONS UNDERSTAND WHERE PEOPLE ARE
COMING FROM”
We all make assumptions in our USE ME TO:
daily lives and it’s difficult not
to judge a book by it’s cover. • Create a mutual understand
of views
This activity is about gathering • Start a project
the team together and asking • Inform what needs
everyone to share their discovered
assumptions around a topic in
an open, frank and honest way.
This is a great way for everyone
YOU WILL NEED:
to express their opinions and
• Paper & pens
prejudices around an idea.
• The project team
It helps the team understand
what they need to focus on in
the next stage of the project.
This is particularly good at the
beginning of a project or when
more people are joining the
project team.

6. 4 1
DELIVER DISCOVER
3 2
DEVELOP DEFINE
ESTABLISH EVENTS/PLATFORMS/TOOL
START A BLOG
During a project, a regularly updated attempting to use service design
blog is a fantastic means of dynamic for the festivals, e.g. It is important
engagement with the rest of the to use service design to identify the
cultural sector. It is also a great way fall through points from a customer
to document the progress of your perspective to avoid focussing
project and communicate with other resources on unnecessary changes to
team members/interested parties. a particular process.
You may have plenty to say but if your Don’t forget that you can embed
not sure what to communicate, here images, quotations, links and videos
are some things you could include: in your blog post, as this will make it
more visually interesting (photographs
Successes - and how you achieved of prototypes, workshops etc)
them, e.g. Results of shadowing a
festival customer.
USE ME TO:
Failures - and possible reasons/
solutions, e.g. The single mum • People like to hear what you
focus group was poorly attended, think. People like opinions.
because it was held during the school Write with passion and
holidays. everything else will fall into
Learning - perhaps something you
didn’t know, e.g. That it’s important
place.
YOU WILL NEED:
“A BLOG REALLY HELPED US
GET EVERYONE ON BOARD AND
to find out if other festival teams are
surveying schools at the same time
as you. • A wordpress blog
• Imagination
Progress - did you meet your
milestones/targets this month? If not,
why not? Or did you exceed them?
REACH A WIDER AUDIENCE”
Warnings - to help anyone else

7. 4 1
DELIVER DISCOVER
3 2
DEVELOP DEFINE
ESTABLISH EVENTS/PLATFORMS/TOOL
BRAND YOUR PROJECT “ONCE WE HAD BRANDED OUR
PROJECT IT BECAME A REAL
USE ME TO:
THING TO SHARE WITH OTHERS”
Branding a project gives the
impression and look and feel of it
being a ‘real’ project. It brings it
• Make a project look or feel
to life! This can be useful before
complete
the project is at a finalised stage.
It can also be useful for keeping YOU WILL NEED:
consistency throughout the
different project documentation. • Your imagination
This doesn’t always have to be
digital. You could, for example,
get a stamp of the project title
made online?
Why not use the colour orange
in everything you produce for the
project?
Thinking about the brand at
initial stages is also beneficial as
it saves time and resources at a
later stage when other aspects
take priority.
Think about how this brand ties
in with the brand of the festival
you are designing for!

8. 4 1
DELIVER DISCOVER
3 2
DEVELOP DEFINE
ESTABLISH EVENTS/PLATFORMS/TOOL
PROJECT KICK OF MEETING
Face it. Projects are temporary designed festival programs for the past
organizations. People come together 12 years”
on projects as strangers. You’re not
likely to change that. What you can do Invite every person to say what they
is make sure people share a context, want from the project. Encourage them
have intentions that are aligned, and to be selfish. Set the example of saying
have a relationship that allows them to what you want. Make no promises that
successfully coordinate action together. each intention can be satisfied only that
The best way to do this is to have a collectively you will look for ways to
project kick off meeting. explore those intentions.
What would you do in those meetings? The kick-off meeting gets you started
Here’s a proposal for an agenda. well. The conversation you have that
day provides the context for navigating
Open the meeting with a statement of in the unfolding of the project. You’ll
the value that will be realised by the find that you and your team members
customer. Why is this an important will frequently refer back to the
project for the customer? Seriously conversation you had that day. How
consider having the customer in the about sharing your agendas on your
meeting. If that is not practical, then project blog?
get the customer on the phone. For
example, “This project will enable
customers to plan their day at the
Festival more efficiently”.
USE ME TO: “MAKING SURE WE SPENT ENOUGH
Review the promise(s) to the customer.
• Start your project
• Introduce your team members
TIME GETTING TO GRIPS WITH THE
Exactly what will you provide and by
when? to each other
PROJECT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO IT’S
For example, “We want to create a
new web platform that integrates with YOU WILL NEED: SUCCESS”
google calendar by the end of 2012.”
• An agenda
Tell everyone on the team why each • The project team
person is on your team. What talents
are you calling on? For example, “We
• Space to meet
have brought Ann in because she has

9. DISCOVER
THE INTERVIEW LITE
This tool is a great way to meet
people associated with your idea
USE ME TO:
and talk to them in an informal
• Gain a far more holistic
setting. It’s best to carefully
understanding of the people
consider who you should interview
you are designing for
and what you want to find out
from them. For example if you are
trying to improve the process of YOU WILL NEED:
applying to be an act in the Fringe
Festival, interview an act who • Someone willing to be
found the experience brilliant and interviewed.
another who found it frustrating. • Equipment for recording your
interview
Interviews can be conducted • Prepared open question
with customers, staff and other
relevant stakeholders. Ideally,
you should visit the person you
would like to interview in their
own environment and use a
combination of questions and
observations to generate the
“I TALKED TO SOMEONE ABOUT
insights you want and need.
You can document your
WHY THEY DIDN’T COME TO OUR
interview via audio recordings
and photographs - this means
you have rich visual information
FESTIVAL”
to present back to the project
team. A lite interview usually lasts
between fifteen and thirty minutes.

10. INTERVIEW (LITE)
This tool is a great way to meet people associated with your idea and talk to them in an informal
setting. It’s best to carefully consider who you should interview and what you want to find out
from them. For example if you are trying to improve the process of applying to be an act in the
Fringe festival, interview an act who found the experience brilliant and another who found it
frustrating.
What 5 questions do you want to cover with your interviewee?
What did you find out?
r
you
hat re and
ut w a
P ull o ndings your
n fi nto
mai these i ase.
take ition ph
n
defi
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

11. DISCOVER
50 THINGS “50 THINGS REALLY SHOWS HOW
HARD IT CAN BE FOR A CUSTOMER
This tool is a great way to put
yourself in someone else’s
USE ME TO: TO ACCESS OUR FESTIVAL”
shoes. • Gain a new perspective on
experiences related to your
Pick one activity that is relevant idea
to your project and task
everyone in the project with
completing this activity. YOU WILL NEED:
They then have to write down a • An activity
list of 50 things related to their • Pen and paper
task. What happened? How did
they feel? What did they hear?
For example if you are trying
to improve the way finding of
a particular festival, task the
team with finding their way to
the toilet with vision restricted
glasses. (You can do this using
tape, buying a cheap pair of
sunglasses and colouring
them in etc) Then ask them
to write 50 things about that
experience.

12. 50 THINGS
Pick one activity that is relevant to your project and task everyone in the project with complet-
ing this activity. They then have to write down a list of 50 things related to their task - What hap-
pened? How did they feel? What did they hear? For example, if you are trying to improve the way
finding of a particular festival, task the team with finding their way to the toilet blindfolded in a
venue. They then have to write 50 things about that experience.
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25 50
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

13. DISCOVER
CONTEXTUAL INTERVIEW
This tool is an extension of the USE ME TO:
interview lite tool. A contextual
interview is spending time • Uncover the unknown
with a person in their own unknowns.
space and asking them loosely • Gain a deep understanding
structured questions. of behaviour, needs
problems, desire and
This technique comes from motivations. The output
ethnography methods where of an interview is rich and
ethnographers could spend meaningful observations &
months or years living and insights that build a story on
observing different people from the participant. The stories
a variety of cultures. can be supported and
emphasised by images &
You should consider carrying video clips.
out a range of interviews with a
range of people for a particular
project in order to achieve a
YOU WILL NEED:
broad array of insights. Finding
the right people in a short •
•
Someone to interview
A place to interview them
“SPENDING TIME WITH
space of time can be difficult.
Try and think of an incentive to
•
•
Prepared questions
Recording equipment SOMEONE IN THEIR HOME TOLD
US SO MUCH ABOUT THEM”
secure the right participants.

14. CONTEXTUAL INTERVIEWS
This tool is an extension of the interview lite tool. A contextual interview is spending time with a
person in their own space and asking them loosely structured questions. You should consider
carrying out a range of interviews with several different types of people for a particular project in
order to achieve a broad array of insights.
Who are you interviewing? Name, age and the first thing you find out about them:
Use this space to lay down questions before meeting your interviewee, or to captue notes
and sketches during the interview.
ke
to ta
Ask s of
to e
pho you ar e
o n ak
pers &m re
the viewing captu
r u e
inte that yo ir hom
e u
sure ils of th that yo .
m
deta e place ing the
h
or t tervie w
in
are
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

15. DISCOVER “WE SPENT TIME ON THE HIGH
OBSERVATION “BIHIYVLJJFLIUAOYGLNUHAPITU
STREET OBSERVING PEOPLE
GVPAJBV;BBIBZIYOYOCUYVHZCV
DURING THE FRINGE”
USE ME TO:
HBJHBZLFYH”
Observation is a cheap and
easy way of conducting new
research. • Create user personas
• Find out more about
Using our eyes, stepping customers
back and watching customers • Understand how a physical
engage with a service can space works
reveal key information and • Spot problems and
enrich quantitative research. opportunities
Understanding how users
move in a physical space, their
YOU WILL NEED:
habits, the clothes they wear,
• Your eyes
the bag they carry all build up
• Pen and paper
a picture of who our customers
are.
All it requires, is for you to take
a step back and observe.

16. OBSERVATION
Observation is a cheap and easy way of conducting new research. Using our eyes, stepping back
and watching customers engage with a service can reveal key information and enrich quantitative
research. All it takes, is taking a step back and observing.
Look at how users move in a physical space, their habits, the clothes they wear, the bag
they carry. All of this builds up a picture of who your customers are.
re interesting:
that we
gs I saw
10 thin
tos
pho , but
Take u go s
o
as y to be a le.
er sib
emb as pos act
em te
r
re in to
disc le beg they
p
Peo ently if ey are
r
diffe that th ed.
w
kno watch
be ing
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

17. DISCOVER
SHADOWING
Shadowing is the action USE ME TO:
of following someone to
understand what it is like to live • Gain insights from a
their life. This can be done over different point of view
the course of a day, week, or
longer.
• Understand customers and “SHADOWING A BOX OFFICE MANAGER
staff’s
Shadowing can be done in
• Motivations/needs
• Understanding what needs
TOLD ME SO MUCH ABOUT THE
a subtle way by following
a member of staff as they
to change
• Influence new ideas for
PROBLEMS THEY FACE AT PEAK TIMES”
undertake their job, or you may improvement
want to try asking questions
while you shadow. YOU WILL NEED:
The point of shadowing is to
• Notepad and pen
understand first hand what it is
• Audio/visual capturing
like to deliver or use a service.
device. (Camera,
The outcome is an in-depth
dictaphone, mobile phone
understanding of the good and
app)
bad points of a service.
Take notes, capture audio
and visual and when you have
returned to the studio there is
plenty of material to analyse
and use in communicating
some of the sticking points of
the service.

18. SHADOWING
Shadowing is the action of following someone to observe and understand what it is like to live
their life. This can be done over the course of a day, a week, or longer. Shadowing can be done
in a subtle way by following a member of staff as they undertake their job, or you may want to try
asking questions while you shadow. The point of shadowing is to understand first hand what it is
like to deliver or use a service.
Take notes, capture audio and take photographs. When you have returned to the studio
there is plenty of material to analyse and use in communicating some of the sticking
points of the service.
Where are you?
Who are you shadowing?
Do they know that you are there?
Where do they go?
What do they see?
Do they talk to anyone?
What do they touch?
What else is happening around them (sights, sounds, smells)?
How long do you shadow for?
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

19. DISCOVER “WE SENT OUT CULTURAL PROBES
TO FESTIVAL CUSTOMERS TO
CULTURAL PROBE UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THEIR
A cultural probe is a small describe how they feel along a EXPERIENCES”
kit that is sent to a targeted timeline. They could be sent a
user. The results help you text throughout intervals in the
understand their life or day to capture photographs of
experience of a service without where they are, or what they
a member of the project team are doing.
or designer being involved.
Kits often include a camera or USE ME TO:
audio device and a set of tasks
or images a user must capture. • Gather user insights
It builds up a visual picture • Create a visual picture of
that creates a more in-depth people’s lives
understanding of a user’s life
or experience. Cultural probes
are about scratching the YOU WILL NEED:
surface of peoples thoughts
and behaviours and really • To design a toolkit and a
understanding their life. bag to package this
• Disposable camera or
The kit should be designed digital capture device
to be engaging and capture • Relationship // Stakeholder
nuances that traditional map.
engagement methods overlook.
For example a user could
be set a diary to document
their day and use stickers to

20. CULTURAL PROBES
Cultural probes are about getting underneath peoples skin and really understanding their life. The
kit should be designed to be engaging and capture nuances that traditional engagement methods
overlook. For example, a user could be sent a diary to document their day and use stickers to
describe how they feel along a timeline. They could be sent a text throughout intervals in the day
to capture photographs of where they are, or what they are doing.
Think about making this visually engaging. Brand it as your project, package it, think about
how it arrives with your user, and how they unpack it.
Some points to consider when making your kit:
Who is going to be doing it?
Where would be best for them to complete it?
How long should it take?
Does it need to be documented across days?
Think about whether a lot of writing is necessary.
Can your user upload their own photos?
Do you need to develop films?
Are you collecting video or audio content?
How long do you need to consider for posting items back?
Should you provide an incentive e.g. coffee vouchers?
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

21. DISCOVER
RELATIONSHIP / STAKEHOLDER MAP “WE MAPPED OUR CUSTOMERS
RELATIONSHIPS TO UNDERSTAND
A stakeholder map can
be used to look at who is
USE ME TO: WHAT INFLUENCES THEM”
involved around your theme • Plan project relationships
or project. If consider it as a and see the big picture
relationship map we can also
look at individuals and the
relationships they have with
YOU WILL NEED:
organisations, friends, families.
• Post its
A map of stakeholders or • Pens
relationships can be visualised • An open mind
using concentric circles with
close relationships being
mapped in the centre and
further away relationships
towards the outer circles.
This is a great way to step
back and look holistically at an
individual or group’s influencing
factors.

22. RELATIONSHIP / STAKEHOLDER MAP
A stakeholder map is useful at the start of the project to understand what other festival
organisations and other cultural orgs who will be part of your idea. Furthermore, it forces you to
consider other influential stakeholders such as Trip Advisor and Stage Coach Travel. This is a
great way to step back and look at who you want to pull closer into the project and question how
you will do this.
A map of stakeholders can be visualised using concentric circles with close relationships
being mapped in the centre and further away relationships towards the outer circles.
at
k th
u thin
If yo will
e
ther t of
lo ertain
ea
be quit nt of c our
eme ss y
mov le acro work -
p
peo as you res, or ent
u
map ego fig repres
el to
us bies
jel lyba
.
them
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

23. DISCOVER “WE USED GENERATIVE
GENERATIVE TOOLS TOOLS TO STOP PEOPLE
IN THE STREET AND
Sometimes talking to people USE ME TO: GATHER THEIR OPINION”
isn’t easy, and sometimes they
don’t want to talk. • Inspire and inform new
ideas
Generative tools are more of • Synthesise user
a method than a tool. This personalities into categories
is about creating physical • Maintain a customer
objects that act as prompts to centred process
encourage people to engage • Test ideas
with you. Engagement tools are
sometimes not about speaking,
and you learn a great deal from
YOU WILL NEED:
watching someone complete
• Customer insight
an exercise.
information. (To get this
information, conduct interviews,
Think of them as conversation talk to customers/staff, use
starters. For example, make quantitative information to create
a sign asking people what customer segments.)
they would change about their
festival experience if they could
wave a magic wand!

24. GENERATIVE TOOLS
Sometimes talking to people isn’t easy, and sometimes they don’t want to talk. Generative tools
are more of a method than a tool. This is about creating physical objects that act as prompts to
encourage people to engage with you. Think of them as conversation starters.
For example, think about making a sign asking people what they would change about
their festival experience if they could wave a magic wand!
Talk t
o
abou me
t ...
re n
g su i
akin meone g
M so
din
that is recor t
ha rs
team ns t e
y our teractio g & oth
in in u
the re hav you. Yo is on
a
you ions to o put th own
t t
reac t want write d ost-
gh og, or
mi bl
p
d on
yo ur u foun P.O.P.I
t yo se
wha then u
its &
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

25. DISCOVER
VOX POPPING
This technique is a way to USE ME TO:
generate “man on the street”
interviews in response to a • Find out what the public
particular question such as think about a particular
“What is the one reason you topic
would go to a festival?” Usually • Gain feedback on your idea
the interviewees are in public
places, and give spontaneous
opinions in a chance encounter
YOU WILL NEED:
— unrehearsed and not
• Confidence
selected in any way.
• Recording Equipment
The results of vox popping
are unpredictable and usually
the material needs edited.
Although the two can be
quite often confused, a vox
“IN JUST 60 SECONDS WE HAD GOT
pop is not a form of a survey.
Each person is asked the
same question; the aim is to
get a variety of answers and
opinions on any given subject.
A SNAPSHOT OF WHO WAS VISITING
The interviewees should be of
various ages, genders, classes OUR FESTIVAL AND WHY”
and communities so that the
diverse views and reactions
of the genera public will be
known.

26. VOX POPPING
This technique is a way to generate “man on the street” interviews in response to a particular
questions such as “What is the one reason you would go to a festival?” Usually the interviewes
are in public places, and give spontaneous opinions in a chance encounter — unrehearsed and
not selected in any way.
Consider your questions and how to approach people beforehand. Have questions ready
but don’t be too prescribed, let the stories emerge.
:
I sp oke to
Who
edit
can very
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r
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n iM ia Pla
ily o ed t
eas ows M pload i
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Win free),
u log.
h ps b arge
(bot ur grou o ch
yo t e
to ber hon .
mem cam/p storage
Re flip
r tr a
you take ex
and
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

27. DISCOVER
A DAY IN THE LIFE
This tool is great way to
experience someone else’s
USE ME TO:
lifestyle out with the service/
festival. This helps you design
festival experiences that meet
• Gain user insights
• Discover latent user needs
“SPENDING A DAY IN THE LIFE WITH
the latent needs of your target
audience. You could spend a
• Gain contextual
understanding PEOPLE WITH NO AGENDA ALLOWED US
day in the life with customers or
staff or members of the public. YOU WILL NEED: TO SPOT OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR
Although always ask permission
first!
• Visual/audio recording FESTIVALS””
This can be done as an isolated device
task to gain new ideas for • Notepad & pen to
an organisation by spotting customers/staff, use
opportunities in people’s lives quantitative information to
or to inform a project team how create customer segment
someone lives and the design of a
new product or service. It’s a great
starting exercise to get the project
team out the office and witnessing
real life in a focused way.
It is ideal to document this
process with photographs and
chronologically lay this out back
in the office. The team can later
annotate the events of the day.
Alternatively it can be filmed and
edited into a short movie.

28. DAY IN THE LIFE
Spending a day with someone else is a great way to experience their lifestyle. This helps you
design festival experiences that meet the latent needs of your target audience. You could spend a
day in the life with customers or staff or members of the public. Although always ask permission
first!
It is ideal to document this process with photographs and chronologically layout back
in the office. You might want to invite them back after developing photos to ask them a
series of questions about their day.
Draw on top of them to show opportunities for service improvement and alterations.
what did they say?
how are they feeling?
overall experience?
Who is this?
Notes:
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

29. DISCOVER
EMPATHY TOOLS
Empathy tools are ways of USE ME TO:
understanding what it is like to
be in someone else’s shoes. • Understand the user’s
experience firsthand
Empathy tools can be • Empathise with the user
simply made and used • Gain deeper user insights
when undertaking different
ethnographic techniques within
the discovery period of the YOU WILL NEED:
development process.
• To make an empathy tool
For example, wearing a heavy • Props/dress up box/
bag, or carrying extra weight to materials/costumes etc
simulate being pregnant helps • Use your imagination to
the project team empathise and make the experience as
understand what life is like from realistic as possible
another person’s perspective.
Try undertaking the service
experience using an empathy
tool and document how you
feel at every stage.
“I HAD NEVER CONSIDERED
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE
PREGNANT AND VISIT A SHOW”

30. EMPATHY TOOLS
Empathy tools are ways of understanding what it is like to be in someone else’s shoes. Empathy
tools can be simply made and used when undertaking different ethnographic techniques within
the discovery period of the development process. For example, wearing a heavy bag, or carrying
extra weight to simulate being pregnant helps the project team empathise and understand what
life is like from another person’s perspective.
Try undertaking the service experience using an empathy tool and
document how you feel at every stage.
What journey/ experience will you be testing?
bout:
T hink a asy?
is e
What difficult? to you
?
W hat is thers react different?
oo as
How d you wish w
do
What
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

31. DISCOVER
SERVICE WALKTHROUGH “WE SPENT TIME PICKING UP
TICKETS WITH OUR CUSTOMERS
USE ME TO:
AT THE BOX OFFICE”
Walking through an experience
with someone is great way
of capturing how they feel
• Gather visual evidence of
during it and where you can
how a festival works
make improvements or spot
• Ideas on how to improve
opportunities for innovation.
particular service interaction
• Empathise with the people
Try attend a festival show with
you are designing for
someone, organise spending
time with them from booking
the ticket to taking the bus to YOU WILL NEED:
picking up their ticket to seeing
the show. • A customer who is willing to
work with you
Try and take photographs along • Recording equipment
the route from beginning to (camera/audio)
end, this will give you visual
documentation of how the
experience feels as a whole.
Remember to capture the detail
as well.
How does your customer
interact with the touchpoints of
the festival? Is it easy for them
to find the box office using
signage? Does the website work
well? How do they respond to
the printed ticket?

32. SERVICE WALKTHROUGHS
Walking through an experience with someone is great way of capturing how they feel during it
and where you can make improvements or spot opportunities for innovation. Try attend a festival
show with someone, organise spending time with them from booking the ticket to taking the
bus to picking up their ticket to seeing the show. Try take photographs along the route from
beginning to end, this will give you visual documentation of how the experience feels as a whole.
Either walkthrough with someone or as someone. Try walking through with/as a single
parent, an elderly gentleman, a family with 3 kids, a French exchange student, one of the
service providers ... how many can you do?
Print out your images and place them in chonological order. Circling all of the touchpoints
you encounter will help to draw out the elements of the service.
what did they say?
how are they feeling?
overall experience? s
rd a are
R eco . if you
Who are yo go try
u? you ideos, ra
or who are v e
ing cam
you with? ptur e your us
ca ak
cuo
to m conspi so that t
n , i
as i ssible ct as if
o a
as p le will
p
peo t there.
o
is n
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

33. DISCOVER EVENTS/PLATFORMS/TOOL
CUSTOMER DAY
This tool is about choosing a USE ME TO:
day in your calendar when your
organisation will open up its • Meet your customers
doors and invite customers in! • Gain the trust of the
stakeholders you are
They will be given the chance designing for
to meet colleagues and better • Gain real feedback on your
understand how festivals work. ideas and current service
Transparency builds trust. offerings
Trust is at an all-time premium
given today’s economy. This YOU WILL NEED:
initiative demonstrates the
respect your organisation has • An agenda for the customer
for your customers. day
• A range of customers to
It offers customers the invite
opportunity to get to know your • Recording equipment
organisation better. It makes
your festival more human, and
your colleagues more involved.
“ALL WE DID WAS INVITE OUR
CUSTOMERS IN AND HAVE LUNCH
WITH THEM AND TALK TO THEM
ABOUT GOING TO FESTIVALS”

34. DISCOVER EVENTS/PLATFORMS/TOOL
“MY EYES WERE OPENED TO ALL
TECH DAY
THIS AMAZING TECHNICAL STUFF WE
A Tech Day is about bringing
in people who are experts in
USE ME TO: COULD BRING IN TO OUR FESTIVAL”
the field of technology and • Develop new ideas
innovation. • Be inspired by disciplines
that differ from your own
Bring in people to talk about • Understand the impact
technology, give short technology can have on
presentations, discuss projects your ideas and services
and even do some hands on
demonstrations.
YOU WILL NEED:
By seeing the possibility of
what technology can do, it • A space to hold the event
can open a whole realm of • A mix of people to invite
possibilities and give you ideas • Food and drink
for improvement.

35. DISCOVER EVENTS/PLATFORMS/TOOL
ASSET MAP CLASS
Asset mapping is based on the USE ME TO:
idea that you don’t know what
you need until you know what • Understand what you
you have. currently have
• Understand where the gaps
It is an approach you can use are
to bring all the positive assets • Discover untapped
of your organisation to the resources that you have
surface. access too
By holding a session on
asset mapping you can work
YOU WILL NEED:
corroboratively with the people
you invite to really explore the • A space
depth of the assets in your • An agenda
festival. • A map or visualisation of
your organisation or location
(this can be sketched or
mocked up professionally
on publishing software)
• A wide range of people from
your organisation “LOOKING POSITIVELY AT WHAT
ALREADY EXISTS HIGHLIGHTED
NUMEROUS POSSIBILITIES”

36. DEFINE “WE WORKED WITH CUSTOMERS TO MAP
CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP THEIR JOURNEYS FROM THEIR HOMES TO
THE SHOW, IT SHOWED US NUMEROUS PAIN
Customer journey mapping USE ME TO:
(or sometimes referred to
as user journey mapping,
POINTS”
• Gain user insights
or just journey mapping) is • Discover latent needs
about capturing a customer’s • Evaluate existing services
experience of a service on • Communicate new ideas
paper. It breaks down the
experience step by step by
recording interactions with
YOU WILL NEED:
touchpoints (ticket machines, • A long sheet of paper (or a
websites, staff, waiting areas). journey map template)
• Post its & pens
Most importantly, it considers • Red & green for positive &
how the customer feels at negative experiences
each stage of the journey. This
allows you to analyse what
areas of the service might need
improved.
Customer journey mapping can
be done using personas and
‘walking’ the personas through
the service. An even better
way to map a journey is with
the customer themselves. By
asking them what they did and
how they felt, you gain a rich
insight into their experience.

37. CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP
Start by thinking about all of the places that your customer visits, all of the elements of the service that they come into contact with. It’s sometimes easier to start in the middle of the story and work backwards
and forwards, drawing each stage. Think about the emotions that your customer experiences at each stage of their journey, pinpiont these on top of your drawings against the + and - signs e.g. “frustrated”
“confused” “excited” Link these together to show the emotional journey undertaken. Take this completed tool on to help you with a P.O.P.I. excercise.
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

38. DEFINE
PERSONA “WE MADE CHARACTERS OF
OUR FESTIVAL CUSTOMERS TO
USE ME TO:
HELP US UNDERSTAND THEIR
Personas are based on fictional
characters whose profile
summarises the features • Inspire and inform new
of an existing social group.
This means the personas
ideas
• Synthesise user
NEEDS”
assume the attributes of the personalities into categories
groups they represent: from • Maintain a customer
their social and demographic centred process
characteristics, to their own • Test new ideas against
needs, desires, habits and reality
cultural backgrounds. They
are designed to help you see a
festival experience from lots of
YOU WILL NEED:
different perspectives.
• To observe users
• Customer insight
The tool will prompt you to give
information
the persona a name, a photo,
• To get this information you
age, occupation and tell their
will to conduct interviews,
background story.
talk to customers/staff, use
quantitative information to
The persona should tell us
create customer segments
what that person does day to
day, what does their life look
like, what are their personality
traits? Use a key quote to sum
up that person’s thinking, this
makes a persona quick and
easy to understand.

39. PERSONA Fill in the blanks:
Image / portrait / sketch
NAME
AGE
DRAW
HERE OCCUPATION / BACKGROUNDS
CHARACTERISTICS
“
MOST LIKELY TO
”
LEAST LIKELY TO
Why would they attend your festival?
What would they say?
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

40. DEFINE
USER VALUES - BREAKING DOWN FINDINGS AND NEEDS MORE “LISTING USER VALUES PUT
OUR IDEAS INTO PERSPECTIVE”
User values is as literal as it USE ME TO:
sounds. At its most basic,
it is designed to help you • Create meaningful service
in understanding what your experiences
customers values, generally or • Understand users
from your service as a whole.
These insights can be gathered
YOU WILL NEED:
through interviews using
• Pre-made templates of
generative pre-made values.
hypothetical values
• Space to talk to user
Test these with users, place
• Capturing device (camera/
them in order of importance post its)
and include some blank • Media Portrait
templates so customers can
have their own say and feel
involved in the process.

41. USER VALUES
User values is all about understanding what your customers value. These insights can be
gathered through interviews using generative pre-made values. Test these with users, place them
in order of importance and include some blank templates so customers can have their own say
and feel involved in the process.
Use the spaces below to write the values that you would like to test your users with,
remembering to keep some blank for them to fill in themselves. Cut out!
er
emb raph
Rem otog er
h
to p the ord
cord puts
d re ch user as
an ea
in,
that values erson
r
thei as the p
.
well selves
the m
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

42. DEFINE
MEDIA PORTRAIT
Pictures speak louder than USE ME TO:
words.
• Converge research about
A media portrait is a collection users
of images on a page that • Explain user needs to
depicts a user’s life. Using stakeholders
media portraits communicates
very quickly what a user’s life
looks like.
YOU WILL NEED:
• Media collected from
These ‘portraits’ can be used
research
throughout the development
• Magazines
process to keep the project
• Pen & Paper
team focused on designing for
• Glue
the user.
Media portraits can be built
up slowly over time as the
discovery period develops.
Also, the project team can work
on them as an exercise, pulling “HAVING VISUAL PORTRAITS
together media that has been
collected and using magazines
to create them.
OF OUR CUSTOMERS REALLY
BROUGHT THINGS TO LIFE”

43. MEDIA PORTRAITS
Pictures speak louder than words. A media portrait is a collection of images on a page that
depicts a user’s life. Using media portraits communicates very quickly what a user’s life looks
like. These ‘portraits’ can be used throughout the development process to keep the project
team focused on designing for people. Media portraits can be built up slowly over time as the
discovery period develops. Also, the project team can work on them as an exercise, pulling
together media that has been collected and using magazines to create them.
Build your media portrait on a board or piece of cardboard so that you can easily move it
around and put it away at the end of a design session.
Think
ab
friend out your u
s and s
... family ers
bbies ...
nd ho
life style a
your users
about
Think
acter
eir char
Think about th ...
sonality
Think
about and per
caree their w
r... ork lif
e and
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

44. DEFINE
P.O.P.I. (PROBLEMS/OPPORTUNITY/PRINCIPLES/IDEAS)
POPI is a framework for driving USE ME TO:
the development process.
• Tell a story about how your
POPI enables you to work work evolved
through insights and research • Drive forward a project
to create principle statements. • See the big picture
• Create well crafted principle
Ideally, this can be used as statements
a framework to discover and
define stages of a project and
be used as a point of reference. YOU WILL NEED:
It is an activity to converge lots • A wall
of research into a vision. • Some post its
• People involved in your
POPI can be used to lay project
findings and ideas on a wall
space so coherent stories
and patterns can be easily
identified.
“WHERE DO WE FOCUS OUR
EFFORTS ON DEVELOPING THE
FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE?”

45. P.O.P.I.
POPI enables you to work through insights and research to create principle statements.
Ideally, this can be used as a framework to discover and define stages of a project and be used as a point of reference. It is an activity to
converge research into a vision. POPI can be used to lay findings and ideas on a wall space so coherent stories and patterns can be easily
identified.
PROBLEMS OPORTUNITIES PRINCIPLES IDEAS
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

46. DEFINE
PRINCIPLE STATEMENTS “GOOD SERVICE DESIGN
PRINCIPLES ARE LIKE
USE ME TO:
MINIATURE, ROBUST, FLEXIBLE
Creating principle statements
is designing a criteria for the
functions a design or project • Guide the development
BRIEFS”
needs to fulfil.
process
Principle statements can be • Synthesise findings
created at different stages in the • Delve deeper
development but are a good way
to move forward after synthesising
problems and opportunities and YOU WILL NEED:
conducting further reasoning into
the issues. Principles are usually • The project team
communicated in short sentences • Post its & pens
or even one word which can be
followed by a longer description.
Principles are created to provoke
more discussion and should be
kept creative.
Think of them as what a user
might say after using your service.
For example your principles may
be, ‘easy to use’, ‘bespoke’,
‘flexible’, ‘personalising your
experience’. You might want
someone to say, “The service
was really easy to use, it gave me
flexibility to build my own festival
itinerary and create a personalised
experience.”

47. PRINCIPLE STATEMENTS
Creating principle statements is designing a criteria for the functions a design needs to fulfil.
Principle statements can be created at different stages in development but are a good way to
move forward after synthesising problems and opportunities and conducting further reasoning
into the issues.
Create your principles as short phrases or one-word statements,
these can be supported by explanatory sentences.
them
cut
in, hem
ese t
Fi ll th d have he
a n dt e
out you an you ar p
ne ar ne evelo
whw o d
team inuing t idea.
t
con service ant to he
r t
you ight w before
m
You it these e.
s g
revi ery sta
de liv
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

48. DEFINE
CLUSTERING
Clustering is a very useful and USE ME TO:
often essential tool to use
after a group ‘idea generation’ • Group ideas
session. • Structure your project
• Divide tasks
The outcome of these activities • Make sense of idea
is often a vast amount of generation
possible ideas and directions.
It is really useful to group YOU WILL NEED:
together ideas by common
themes, consistencies or • A large wall
important relationships. • Post its for headings/titles
• Camera to capture the
This method can begin to process
structure the next steps of a
project, begin to divide tasks
and can eliminate the role
of one person taking charge
of the group as everyone’s
ideas cluster together. For
example, you may cluster your
research under themes such as “WE HAD SO MANY THOUGHTS THAT
‘accessibility’ or ‘venue’.
WRITING THEM ONTO POST ITS AND
CLUSTERING HELPED US TO FIND
PATTERNS”

49. CLUSTERING
Clustering is a very useful and often essential tool to use after a group ‘idea generation’ session
or to help you cluster themes, especially when this includes a lot of reserach. The outcome of
these activities is often a vast amount of possible ideas and directions. It is really useful to group
together ideas by common themes, consistencies or important relationships.
Think about grouping by actions to be taken, things still to find out, ideas to develop,
principle ideas and statements. Find the biggest wall you can, and spread your ideas
across it.
that
e sure raph
Mak hotog e
p r
you rs befo ff
t e
clus as o
y our the ide these
ng d
taki all. Ad ur
w o
the es to y
g .
ima ct blog
e
proj
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

50. DEFINE
BRAINSTORM “BRAINSTORMING ALL OUR
IDEAS TO IMPROVE OUR
USE ME TO:
FESTIVAL WAS EXCITING”
A brainstorm exercise is
when everyone in the room is
encouraged to add ideas onto • Come up with ideas
either a wall or paper. The best • Include everyone in the project
way to do this is to use post its to
add a small sketch or title of an
idea. The purpose is to allow an
allocated time to come up with
YOU WILL NEED:
as many ideas as possible. This
• Pens & post its
requires a few basic rules.
• A large sheet of paper or a
wall
1. Set a timer and stick to it.
Depending on the circumstances
you might want to do short bursts
of 1 to 5 minutes. You may want
to give an hour.
2. Everyone must contribute.
3. Draw in chunky pens (this
means everyone can read it).
4. Every idea counts (no matter
how eccentric).
Even if an idea is about a flying
pig that takes your customers
from one venue to another, it still
counts. Returning to ideas like
this can uncover those nuggets of
brilliance!

51. BRAINSTORM IDEAS
A brainstorm exercise is when everyone in the room is encouraged to add ideas onto either a wall
or paper. The best way to do this is to use post its to add a small sketch or title of an idea. The
purpose is to allow an allocated time to come up with as many ideas as possible. This requires a
few basic rules.
Set a timer and stick to it. Depending on the circumstances you might
want to do short bursts of 1 to 5 minutes. You may want to give an
hour.
Everyone must contribute.
Draw in chunky pens (this means everyone can read it)
Every idea counts ( no matter how silly )
get
y to our
t wa y
A grea ps and to
u is ays
r gro -up
you wrmed ed 50 w
ind call Give
ow n m ercise emon. arge
ex al ,al as
d o an ueeze inutes quickly
q
to s ves 5 m and as ays
rsel er 0w
you t of pap alise 5 n - the
e u
she an, vis a lemo
c e e
you squeez nventiv
to e i r.
mor e bette
th
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

52. DEFINE
IDEA VOTING
Ever been caught in an USE ME TO:
argument over which idea is
the best? • Choose a route forward
• Overcome barriers
Finding it hard to get the group
to move forward and choose
an idea or principle to take on?
YOU WILL NEED:
• A pack of sticky dots
Sticky dots is a way of quickly
and efficiently making a move
forward. It is a democratic way
of decision making.
Take 3 dots each and choose
your three favourite ideas. At
the end, take forward the idea
with the most votes.
The likelihood is that you will
return to other ideas as the
project develops,
REMEMBER!
“TO REMOVE ARGUMENT WE
Don’t be too precious! VOTED WITH DOTS. SIMPLE
DECISION MAKING”

53. IDEA VOTING
Ever been caught in an argument over which idea is the best? Finding it hard to get the group to
move forward and choose an idea or principle to take on? Sticky dots is a way of quickly and
efficiently making a move forward. It is a democratic way of decision making. Take 3 dots each
and choose your three favourite ideas. At the end, take forward the idea with the most votes.
Find the biggest wall you can, and spread your ideas across it, giving yourself room to
move them around.
that
e sure raph
Mak hotog e
p r
you rs befo ff
t e
clus as o
y our the ide these
ng d
taki all. Ad ur
w o
the es to y
g .
ima ct blog
e
proj
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA

54. DEFINE EVENTS/PLATFORMS/TOOL
NEWSLETTER “WE USED A SIMPLE
NEWSLETTER TO COMMUNICATE
USE ME TO:
OUR PROJECT UPDATES”
A newsletter is a great way
to communicate your project
to internal colleagues and • Tell the story of your work to
external, interested parties! the rest of the world
• Inspire and excite others
Always remember, the to explore the design like
purpose of a newsletter is to approach you are using
communicate, not to see how
many times you can send
readers scrambling to find a
YOU WILL NEED:
dictionary.
• Any publishing software
People like stories. Tell the
story of what you are doing,
why you are doing it and what
you are learning and don’t
over-complicate it. Keep your
writing casual, nontechnical
and conversational.

55. DEFINE EVENTS/PLATFORMS/TOOL
“IT WAS JUST AMAZING HAVING
CO-DESIGN SESSION CUSTOMERS, STAFF, ORGANISATIONS
A co-design session is a USE ME TO: DESIGNING TOGETHER AROUND ONE
fantastic opportunity to
involve a range of different • Explore potential directions
TABLE””
stakeholders in the design for your idea
process itself. • Gain inspiration
• Create a sense of shared
Co-design is a core aspect of ownership around this
the service design philosophy. process
It can involve anyone from
staff, designers, customers and
executives. YOU WILL NEED:
Together, you’ll work • A space
collaboratively to examine and • An invitation
innovate ideas. • A structured agenda
• Paper & Pens
Try putting on a workshop • Post its
to bring people together and • Generative tools
generate ideas to some of your • Recording equipment
problems or insights.

56. DEFINE EVENTS/PLATFORMS/TOOL
“WE BOOKED A SIMPLE VENUE
AND LET OUR SLIDES TO THE
SHOWCASE EVENT
TALKING”
Holding an event is a great way USE ME TO:
to get people on board with
your project. • Gain feedback on your work
so far
Invite a range of speakers to • Focus the future direction of
talk about the issue you’re your work
solving, or topic you’re
focusing on and showcase the
work you’ve done to date. YOU WILL NEED:
You can also use this event to • An invitation
raise funding, grow your critical • A venue
friends and network for the • A range of finished and
project. incomplete aspects of your
process to show off
You’ll also get good feedback • A short presentation of your
on the work so far. Try to keep process (optional)
a record of all the questions
you are asked and visit
these when the project team
reconvenes.
Use something simple
like Eventbrite to send out
invitations, and write a
compelling description about
the event to entice people to
come along.

57. DEVELOP
IDEA SKETCH “WE SKETCHED UP A NEW IDEA
FOR A TICKET BOOKING SYSTEM.
USE ME TO:
Sketching your concept or
quickly visualising it on screen
using graphic software is a
THAT’S WHEN IT CAME TO LIFE”
• Communicate your ideas
great way to bring an idea to succinctly.
life and share with others. • Practice your drawing skills
• Visualise Ideas
People should be able to look • Create a prop for feedback/
at it and understand what further discussion.
your idea does. It should be
accompanied by as little text as
possible. YOU WILL NEED:
Of course, you can use old • An idea
fashioned paper and pen to • A drawing medium
sketch your idea too! • Google Images
• Graphic editing software
You may want to consider
sketching up a festivals
website layout, a leaflet, or
developments to the Fringe
phone app.

58. IDEA SKETCH
Sketching your concept or quickly visualising it on screen using graphic software is a great way
to bring an idea to life and share with others. People should be able to look at it and understand
what your idea does. It should be accompanied by as little text as possible.
Use chunky pens (Sharpies are great, felt pens are good too.)
Draw quickly, and don’t worry about your drawing skills - stick
My idea is called:
FESTIVAL
DESIGN
DNA