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From Ideas to Impact: Prototyping Inclusive Solutions in Žilina

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Following the successful ideation in Darmstadt, our Inclusive Design Thinking journey moved into the prototyping and testing phase, hosted from 10 to 14 July 2023 by the University of Žilina in its home city. This third multinational workshop reunited the same international teams, now equipped with insights from previous phases and ready to turn their concepts into tangible solutions.

Improving from Darmstadt:
Based on the evaluation of the Darmstadt workshop, we learned which aspects lecturers valued most:

  • The opportunity to work closely with experts in design thinking
  • Learning the process of Inclusive Design Thinking in practice
  • Working on a real-life, hands-on assignment
  • Meeting and connecting with colleagues from other universities and new people with different backgrounds

Taking these insights into account, we adjusted the format in Žilina to provide more hands-on prototyping, iterative testing, and structured feedback sessions. Participants particularly appreciated shorter working blocks, more time with challenge sponsors, and an increased focus on direct user interaction.

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From ideas to prototypes:
Over five intensive days, teams developed and tested basic functional and visual prototypes that addressed the needs of our three key target groups:

  • Visually impaired individuals – a voice-guided e-learning website prototype, allowing blind users to navigate educational content independently and safely.
  • Senior citizens – a mobile application that helps seniors discover new activities, connect with like-minded people, and expand their social circle for intellectual and social stimulation.
  • Ukrainian refugees in Germany – a digital assistant app designed to simplify bureaucratic processes, connect newcomers with German citizens eager to exchange culture and language, and offer guidance for official appointments and online procedures.

Prototyping and testing methods:
Teams applied a variety of inclusive design methods, including:

  • Paper and digital prototypes for early visual and functional feedback
  • Storyboards and role-playing scenarios to simulate real-life interactions

Iterative testing cycles to incorporate user insights and reduce implementation risks

Feedback from focus users was collected using structured feedback grids, focusing on:

What works

the most appreciated features

What to improve

suggested adjustments and missing elements

Additional questions

clarifications users needed during testing

New ideas

spontaneous insights inspired by prototype interactions

Through this iterative improvement cycle, every testing round brought the solutions closer to real-life applicability and user acceptance. Teams also practiced prioritization and decision-making techniques, turning a wide pool of ideas into clear next steps for development.

The Žilina workshop marked the moment when our project’s ideas became tangible, testable solutions. Teams left with validated concepts and a clear roadmap for further refinement, bringing us closer to final outcomes that truly empower underrepresented groups through inclusive design.

A milestone in our journey:

This workshop also allowed participating lecturers to experience the full Inclusive Design Thinking method first-hand. They not only discovered what the process entails but also began reflecting on how to enrich their own courses with these approaches. From the many tools tested across the Empathy, Ideation, and Prototyping phases, participants identified the ones most useful for their teaching and for guiding students toward human-centered problem solving.