Futures Workshop for Maersk
Reimagining Innovation by Prototyping the Future
Merging design thinking and futures thinking to unlock creativity and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges.
Challenge
At Maersk Design Days, participants sought to expand their innovation toolkit beyond traditional design thinking, which has often been democratized to the point of losing its impact. The goal was to introduce futures thinking as a powerful complement, enabling teams to navigate uncertainty, challenge assumptions, and imagine creative solutions for the complexities of an evolving world.
Approach
The workshop immersed participants in hands-on futures thinking and prototyping exercises. Through a Futuresstorm, they identified key trends and explored their implications. Building on this, participants selected a trend and paired it with a scenario arc card representing a future trajectory—such as transformation or collapse—and an object card to guide the form of their prototype.
They then identified needs within this imagined future and created prototypes to address these challenges, using sketches, explanations, or LEGO models. To ensure the insights were actionable, participants reflected on a key learning and a new habit they could bring back to their roles, anchoring the experience in the present.
Outcomes
1) Prototypes for Real-World Challenges
Participants developed creative prototypes addressing specific future scenarios, such as improving supply chain resilience in a changing climate or using automation to enhance worker safety.
2) New Ways of Thinking Ahead
The workshop introduced futures-focused tools like trend analysis and scenarios, helping participants come up with fresh ideas and tackle long-term challenges more effectively.
3) Next Steps for Everyday Work
By reflecting on practical takeaways, participants identified specific habits to bring back to their roles, such as incorporating trend insights into planning or using prototyping to explore new solutions.
"Thank you once again for your great workshop at the Maersk Design Days! It was fun, thought-provoking, and I can’t wait to bring some of the thinking and insights back to my work."
—Service Designer, Maersk
