What is the Shape of Innovation?

Facilitation | Workshop Design | Exhibition Design |
Strategic Artifact Design

The UN DPPA Innovation Cell met with Altimeter Design Group in 2021, when we were still living through an intense phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our discussions revolved around the transition that would occur when people began to return to the office following a year of remote work. Our initial interest in designing a set of “dialogue tools” to ease the transition from on-screen to in-person gatherings eventually developed into in-depth questions about the potential for objects to translate meaning and facilitate crucial conversations.

How can objects
anchor conversations,
foster inclusion,
test assumptions,
stimulate innovation?

📸 UN Photo/Manuel Elías ©DR

What is the Shape of Innovation is a facilitated group activity that pairs objects with language commonly encountered at the United Nations and asks participants to consider complex concepts—like diplomacy, trust, and security—from a fresh perspective. Participants are invited to ask questions, offer interpretations, and share new perspectives on achieving peace. Our intention was to create a repeatable activity that offers fresh insights upon every take.

To establish a foundation for the workshop, we invited artists and designers to work across various media and create objects inspired by word pairings—qualitative attributes paired with the vernacular of the United Nations.

The exhibit was on display in the UN Secretariat Building in April 2022. The workshop is being actively employed by the Innovation Cell as a facilitation tool.

What is the Shape of Innovation?

How can objects anchor conversations, foster inclusion, test assumptions, stimulate innovation?

The exhibit was on display in the UN Secretariat Building in April 2022. The workshop is being actively employed by the Innovation Cell as a facilitation tool.

How can objects
anchor conversations,
foster inclusion,
test assumptions,
stimulate innovation?