Team building for design teams

The best team building for a design team is an hour of making something by hand instead of on a screen: a painting, calligraphy or origami kit shipped to each designer, with a live instructor on your video call. Book it after a big review, a handoff or a launch, never the week before one.

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A design team paints small canvases together at a studio worktable while remote teammates join on a laptop

Creative team building activities for designers

Two kinds of hour that suit people who make things all day. Each runs about 60 minutes with a live host, and prices are live from our catalog.

Make something with your hands, away from the screen

A kit ships to each designer and a live instructor leads the group on your video call. Paper, paint and ink, no pixels.

Hosted games that reward quick ideas

No kit, so they book about 2 weeks out. Good for a quick win after a review, or a team spread across offices.

Want more kits? Candles, terrariums and more are on our virtual craft workshops page.

Which design team are you booking for?

A design org is several teams with different calendars. Here is what suits each, and who to invite with them.

  • Product and UX designers

    They work in sprints beside PMs and engineers. Invite the engineers you hand off to. For the wider org, see team building for product teams.

  • Brand and visual designers

    Their calendar follows campaigns and launches. Booking with the whole brand group? See team building for marketing teams.

  • Content designers and UX writers

    Words are their material. A calligraphy card kit or an improv class plays to it.

  • UX researchers

    Often the smallest group, and out in interviews for weeks. Put one on every team.

  • Design systems teams

    Their users are other designers and engineers. Celebrate a major library release with both.

  • Agency designers

    Client deadlines run their week, not sprints. See team building for agencies.

When to book: around reviews, handoffs and launches

A design team's calendar runs on reviews and deadlines. Book the hour just after one lands.

Example: a February 2027 event

For an event on Wednesday, February 24, 2027:

  • Hosted game: book by Wednesday, February 10, 2027
  • Kit, US addresses: book by Wednesday, February 3, 2027
  • Kit, Canada or abroad: book by Wednesday, January 20, 2027

  1. After a review

    The afternoon after a big design review

    The work is presented and the feedback is in. Nobody has started the next round yet.

  2. After handoff

    The week after handoff to engineering

    Designers often have a gap while the build starts. It is the easiest hour in the cycle to book.

  3. After launch

    Two weeks after a launch

    Let the first bug fixes ship, then celebrate with the PMs and engineers who built it.

  4. New version

    When the design system ships a major version

    Months of quiet work that every team now uses. Thank the people behind it.

  5. Skip

    The week before a handoff, a review or a launch date

    Designers spend it polishing files. Book the slot after, not during.

How to run a making session designers enjoy

Designers get feedback on their work every week. Five ways to keep this hour from feeling like one more review.

For a creative evening with the whole company, see our virtual paint night.

  • Say up front that it is not a critique. Nobody rates anyone else's painting, least of all the design lead.
  • Close the design tools. Ask for cameras on hands and paper for the hour, not on a second screen.
  • Invite the engineers and PMs you work with. With paint, everyone starts from zero, and the people who code tend to love it.
  • Mix brand, product and content designers. They sit in different meetings all year and rarely share a table.
  • End with one photo each in the team channel. A small gallery of the results beats any recap deck.

What it costs for a squad, a design team or the whole design org

Kits are a base fee plus a price for each kit. Hosted games are a package for the group that grows in steps.

Total price for the whole group, by headcount
PaintingKit workshop, shipped to each person6 people$70315 people$1,18930 people$1,999
Card DecoratingCalligraphy kit, continental US6 people$70915 people$1,20430 people$2,029
Creative Fun & GamesHosted creative challenge6 people$97515 people$97530 people$1,195
ImprovHosted improv class6 people$95015 people$95030 people$950

Totals for the whole group from our live catalog prices, with continental US kit shipping included. Adding PMs and engineers? Get a free quote.

Drawing warm-ups for the start of a critique

Not every week needs a booking. Five ten-minute games a design lead can run with paper and a pen.

  • Blind contour portraits

    Draw the person on your screen for 60 seconds without looking at the paper. Then hold them up.

  • Five-line icons

    Draw an everyday word in five lines at most. The rest of the team guesses the word.

  • Fix the worst thing in your kitchen

    Three minutes to sketch a better version of one object in your home that annoys you.

  • Head, body, legs

    One person draws a head, the next a body, the last the legs, each unseen. Reveal all at once.

  • One-shape logos

    Make a logo for a teammate's hobby using only circles. Their job is to guess which one is theirs.

More in our list of drawing games for teams.

Team building for design teams: questions

What is good team building for design teams?

Something designers make with their hands instead of on a screen: a painting, calligraphy or origami kit shipped to each person with a live instructor on your video call. Hosted creative games and improv work too. Book it after a big design review, a handoff or a launch, never the week before one.

What are creative team building activities for designers?

A live painting class, a calligraphy card workshop, coaster painting or origami, each with a kit shipped to every designer. For a quick hour with no kit, a hosted challenge with everyday items or an improv class. For ten minutes at the start of a critique, a drawing warm-up such as blind contour portraits.

What is good UX team building?

Mix UX designers and researchers with the PMs and engineers they work with, and pick an activity where nobody has a head start: a hands-on kit or a hosted creative game. Schedule it the week after handoff, when designers have a gap while the build starts.

Won't designers feel judged in an art class?

Not if you say up front that it is not a critique. Nobody rates the results, the design lead paints too, and the hour ends with a photo of each piece in the team channel. Inviting engineers and PMs helps, since everyone starts from zero.

How much does team building for a design team cost?

Kit workshops are a base fee plus a price for each kit, and hosted games are a package for the group. Painting is $54 a person plus a $379 base fee. Creative Fun & Games is $39 a person for a group of 25 ($975 package). Every card on this page shows its live price, and you see the full total before you book.

How far ahead should a design team book?

About 2 weeks for a hosted game, 3 weeks for a kit going to US addresses and 5 weeks with anyone in Canada or abroad. For an event on Wednesday, February 24, 2027, book a hosted game by Wednesday, February 10, 2027, a US kit by Wednesday, February 3, 2027 and a kit with guests abroad by Wednesday, January 20, 2027.

Can designers outside the US join a kit workshop?

Yes for most kits. Continental US shipping is included; Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, US territories and international addresses cost extra per kit. The calligraphy card and coaster painting kits ship to the continental US only, so pick painting or origami for a team abroad.

Keep planning

Give your designers an hour away from the screen

Send us your date, headcount and where your designers are. You get a plan and a price within 24 hours.

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