The Creative Shake-Up
• A 10-day challenge to build your practice
The Creative Shake-Up is a free, virtual, 10-day challenge from the d.school with short daily prompts to energize your creativity.
Over 10 days, you're going to trace shadows, rearrange your furniture, and listen (literally) to your own discomfort. None of it will take long. Some of it will feel strange. That's the point. It is designed to spark your creativity, not to produce a finished thing.
This challenge is built on four values that the d.school has distilled as guiding principles for design work: make, care, spark, and adapt.
These aren't steps in a process. They're pillars of creative process and habits of mind. And like any habit and all good creative processes, they're built through practice. Small, repeated acts accumulate into something larger than any one of them.
The Details
Cost: Free
Date: November 2-13, 2026 (excluding weekends)
Time Commitment: 15-20 minutes each day
Prompts will be sent daily at 9am PT; work at your own pace and share your insights with the group
Audience: This program is designed for creatives at any stage looking to strengthen their creative foundation. No prior creative experience needed!
HOW IT WORKS
Each day at 9am PT, we’ll release the day’s prompt. These challenges will be sent out via email and will also be posted on our website, in our LinkedIn Group, and on Instagram. Participate where you’re most comfortable! Each prompt will require a total time commitment of 15-20 minutes. Do them anytime during the day, when it works best with your schedule.
For this challenge we’re encouraging connection and community, so please join our LinkedIn Group and share your experiences. The creator of each challenge will be there each day to respond to your questions and celebrate your insights.
AUDIENCE
This program is designed for creatives at any stage looking to strengthen their creative foundation. No prior creative experience needed!
PROGRAM DETAILS
Cost: Free
Date: November 2-13, 2026 (excluding weekends)
Time Commitment: 15-20 minutes each day
The Sound of Ambiguity by Louie Montoya
Make (ends meet) by Carissa Carter
Notice the greens (or blues, yellows, and reds) by Meenu Singh
The Self Audit by Emma Duncan
Credits
At the d.school, our design methods are constantly evolving to anticipate the evolving needs of our learners. That’s because our mission isn’t just to teach design, but to accelerate the future of design and prepare our students for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. The contributors to The Creative Shake-Up are all members of the d.school’s Academic team. They teach courses and work with Stanford students within and beyond the classroom.
(in order of appearance)
Among many other things…
Carissa Carter was the d.school’s Academic Director for 11 years; she teaches graduate design courses.
Meenu Singh is a lead lecturer in the graduate design program and co-leads the d.school's Teaching & Learning Studio.
Emma Duncan spent two years as a philosophy post-doc and the embedded ethicist at the d.school.
Louie Montoya is a lead lecturer in the undergraduate design program and teaches Design 1.
Glenn Fajardo is a lecturer in the electives program and teaches Negotiation by Design.
Manasa Yeturu was a lead lecturer in Design for Extreme Affordability.
Leticia Britos Cavagnaro teaches graduate design courses and co-leads the d.school's Teaching & Learning Studio.
Illustrations by Elissa Turnbull.