Fun ice breakers for design thinking exercise

Here are some fun icebreaker activities that can help facilitate a design thinking exercise:

  1. Human Bingo: Create bingo cards with different traits, characteristics, or interests (e.g. "has traveled to another country", "speaks more than one language", etc.). Each participant needs to find someone who fits each of the characteristics and get them to sign the corresponding square.
  2. The Name Game: Have each participant introduce themselves and share a unique fact about themselves that starts with the same letter as their name (e.g. "I'm Sarah and I love sailing"). Then, ask each participant to repeat the names and facts of the others, trying to remember as many as possible.
  3. Scavenger Hunt: Create a list of items or challenges that participants need to complete around the room or outside (e.g. "find someone wearing the same color shirt as you", "take a photo with a team member", etc.). This activity encourages collaboration and movement.
  4. Two Truths and a Lie: Have each participant come up with two true statements about themselves and one false statement. The others need to guess which one is the lie. This activity helps to build trust and encourages creative thinking.
  5. Design Your Own Superhero: Ask each participant to design their own superhero, including their powers, costume, and backstory. This activity encourages creative thinking and can help participants think outside the box.
  6. The Human Knot: Have each participant stand in a circle and put their hands in the center. Each participant should grab the hand of someone across from them, not next to them. Then, they need to work together to untangle themselves without letting go of each other's hands. This activity encourages teamwork and problem-solving.
  7. Word Association Game: Have each participant write down a word on a piece of paper, fold it up, and pass it to the person on their right. Then, each participant takes a turn saying a word that is associated with the word they received. This activity encourages creative thinking and can help participants think outside the box.
  8. Design a Dream Room: Ask each participant to design their dream room, including the layout, furniture, and decorations. This activity encourages creative thinking and can help participants think about what they value in a space.
  9. The One-Word Game: Have each participant come up with a word that describes themselves, such as "creative" or "adventurous". Then, ask each participant to explain why they chose that word. This activity encourages self-reflection and can help participants get to know each other better.
  10. Design a Mural: Divide the participants into small groups and ask them to design a mural that represents their team or organization. This activity encourages collaboration and creative thinking.

Remember to keep the icebreaker activities short and fun, and make sure they are relevant to the design thinking exercise you are about to conduct. The goal is to get participants comfortable and engaged, not to overwhelm them with too much information.