Co-Create Design Workshops with Yiying Lu
Co-Create Design Workshops
Virtual Creativity & Mental Health Enhancing Program
What?
The Co-Create Design Workshop is a virtual creativity and energy-boosting program designed to strengthen connection, spark imagination, and support mental well-being for teams and communities—anywhere in the world.
Through guided creative exercises and collaborative making, participants reconnect with their creative instincts, build trust, and leave feeling more energized and present.
Why?
As remote work has become the norm, many people are experiencing prolonged isolation, “Zoom fatigue,” and a growing sense of disconnection.
Long hours in front of screens, limited physical movement, and highly structured work leave little room for creative expression. Over time, this drains energy, motivation, and emotional resilience.
This workshop creates a much-needed pause—an opportunity to shift gears, re-engage the creative side of the brain, and restore a sense of human connection and play.
Who?
Led by Yiying Lu, award-winning designer and creative director.
Yiying has been named one of “Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business”, a Top 10 Leader in Innovation by Microsoft, and a Shorty Award winner in Design. Formerly Global Creative Director at 500 Startups and the first global Creative Collaborator for IDEO Shanghai, she has led co-creation workshops for Apple, Salesforce, Google, Airbnb and Dropbox.
Across startups and global organizations alike, Yiying has seen one truth hold steady: great teams put people first. Her workshops are designed to connect people, unlock creativity, and build shared momentum.
How?
The program is also featured in my Talks at Google in 2022:
Length of the program:
20-25 people for 1.5 or 2 hours
Structure of the program:
Part 1: Yiying shares her design process behind her creative work, such as how she designed the dumpling emoji, which is now used by billions of global users. (15 min)
Part 2: Yiying leads a (15-20 min) creative drawing session (no prior drawing skills required). It encourages the participants to reflect on the good and bad of their everyday work on our well-being.
Part 3: Yiying facilitates attendees sharing their completed drawings and stories with the whole group (45-75 min)
Measurable Results:
Selected Survey Results:
What is something new you learnt today?
That drawing can be a fun way to discover things about yourself.
creativity ups our energy levels significantly.
I love hearing everyone’s stories! Best part.
I learned a lot about my colleagues! And shared experiences.
Get to know more about stories from different colleagues who shared similar challenges. Some of the people I met for the first time.
What Was Your Biggest Take Away today?
That everyone struggles in different ways with belonging no matter their life story.
One can express themselves with creativeness.
As Yiying said: “We are all from different places but all coming from the same place”
Loved accessing expression through the creative side and connecting with others through the process.
Everyone has felt a sense of not belonging and belonging before and it’s powerful to be able to reflect on those moments and learn from them.
That everyone struggles in different ways with belonging no matter their life story.
That my coworkers are really creative!
Testimonials:
I really believe that artists are a part of the continuum of science. To this, communication through art is effective to convey complicated ideas to the world. Also, the creative workshop led by Yiying Lu provided a valuable morale boost. This was very helpful as we are all stuck at home, tackling many serious things, where we don’t have many moments of levity or lightheartedness. With our attention focused on this work seven days a week, it can be draining. Ultimately, this experience was both a vital and effective break from that tedium, and it is very uplifting.”
—— Daria Mochly-Rosen, President & Founder of SPARK GLOBAL Translational Scientists without Borders at Stanford University School of Medicine
I recently attended a virtual Co-Create Design Clinic Workshop led by Yiying for the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA)’s in-house committee. The workshop was fun, engaging, and thoughtful. It allowed us to use art media to reflect upon our daily work and improve our mental wellbeing. Everyone attending had a blast. We also did energy check-in before and after the event. The overall energy level rose from 5 (measured at the beginning) to 10 at the end of the event (10 being the highest). I found Yiying’s Co-Create Workshop—not only entertaining and educational—but, most importantly, therapeutic and energizing. I highly recommend that organizations and corporations look to improve their employees’/members’ morale, energy level, and mental wellbeing, which is vital towards the success of their employees/members during these trying times.”
—— David Tsai, Attorney, IP Litigation Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Former President of AABA – Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area
We were privileged to have Yiying Lu as a speaker and facilitator of a cultural creativity workshop for our recent Think Global Leadership Speaker Series. Through her entertaining, fun and lively presentation, she shared her personal career journey demonstrating how a global lens on creativity can bridge cultures and build successful outcomes with positive social impact. Her energising presentation and invigorating workshop, where students created their Authentically Australian dumpling emojis, raised the energy level of the group from a median of 6 before we started to a median of 9 by the end. Yiying is passionate and inspiring and takes a people focused approach in all she does. Whilst there is no denying her gifted technique and beautiful artistry, it is her heart for people, empathy and desire to connect that shines brightly. I cannot recommend her highly enough. Thank you, Yiying. It is always a pleasure——Veronica Wong, Manager, University of Technology Sydney – BUILD Program for Building Global Leaders
Recently, Yiying led an energizing virtual creative design workshop with participants from around the world. Everyone felt uplift by the end of her session. I wholeheartedly recommend Yiying for her cross-cultural creative expertise, global design leadership, and co-create design workshops, which can add tremendous value to organizations and corporations for their business and corporate culture.”
—— Clive Lee, EMBA Global Asia / MSocSc / BEng Founder, Phoenix Foundation Promoting Resilience
I’ve known Yiying for some time and have had the pleasure of working with her to organize a Drink and Draw Event for the Asian American Bar Association (AABA). Yiying hosted a fantastic workshop for the AABA In-House Committee. Working as an attorney, I don’t have much time to get in touch with my creative side. This workshop is a great stress relief from working during these crazy pandemic times. Thanks again Yiying – I highly recommend everyone to attend her events!”
—— Hai-Ching Yang, Senior Corporate Counsel for Coursera
I had the pleasure of listening to Yiying’s presentation of the UTS Global Leadership Speaker Series – Global Creativity & Innovation. My favourite part of the session was Yiying’s stories about her entrepreneurial experience. It was inspiring in that she took initiative to market herself, often sending off her work to companies as a student. She saw the value in her own work and shared that with different fields, creating interpersonal connections and cross-cultural products. She encouraged the idea that everyone is intrinsically creative and that it has the potential to help their mental health. It was great! A quick survey revealed that the session had increased every student’s energy level from averaging 7 before the session, to a 9 out of 10 afterwards.
—— Elizabeth Kim, Student, University of Technology Sydney Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication & Creative Intelligence and Innovation
Yiying facilitated a workshop for the Asian Leaders Alliance leadership team off-site and it exceeded my expectations. She had a level of engagement with the team that did not make it feel virtual. She brought the team together in creative, fun, and engaging ways that were exciting. I would recommend Yiying for any workshop.
—— Angel Yang, Creative Business and Market Development focused
Yiying’s event transported us into her mind as an artist. At first, I was skeptical that I was an artist. Her activity made me realized that art has no right or wrong answer—behind every drawing lies a story. Each individual has their own story and interpret things differently. This activity helped me learn more about my thought process. Her activity was engaging, well-thought and brought people together. Yiying’s activity is great for team building and team bonding.
Inquiry
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