XD Charrette

In May 2014, I led an event dubbed XD Charrette (kind of like a hack-a-thon). It was hugely successful in generating new innovative ideas within the XD team. I went on to lead an additional 4 charrettes with XD. Other teams within Adobe loved the concept and event later picking it up to devise solutions to their own challenges.

The word charrette refers to any collaborative session in which a group of designers drafts a solution to a design problem.

The word charrette is French for "cart" or "chariot". In the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the 19th century, it was not unusual for student architects to continue working furiously in teams at the end of the allotted term, up until a deadline, when a charrette would be wheeled among the students to pick up their work for review while they, each working furiously to apply the finishing touches, were said to be working en charrette, in the cart.

The structure of a charrette varies depending on the design problem and individuals in the group.  Charrettes often take place over the course of multiple sessions during which the group divides into sub-groups. Each sub-group presents its work to the full group as material for further dialogue.  The idea behind this arrangement is to quickly generate a design solution while integrating the aptitudes and interests of a diverse group of people.