I help people unlock their potential through design.

Creative Workshop

Have you ever struggled to complete a design project on time? Or felt that having a tight deadline stifled your capacity for maximum creativity? If so, then this book is for you. Become a more effective creative thinker with this design bestseller.
Buy it on Amazon.com.

Turning People into Teams

Collaborative strategies work when they're designed by teams—where each person is heard, valued, and held accountable. This book is a practical guide for team leaders and individual contributors who want to play by a better set of rules. Buy it on Amazon.com.

Teamwords: Working Deck

This card deck is a simple way to align your teams, fast. They’ll help you identify what’s most important to you when you work on a team, describe your shared values and behaviors, and agree on what behaviors will help your team work together successfully. Get your copy here.

 

Collective Action Toolkit

I'm co-author of a popular design thinking toolkit from frog, created for leaders who want to work with groups to solve problems in their community. Download it here free, or read my case study about how we made it.

Success by Design

This book contains the business secrets I needed most when I started as a designer 20 years ago. It will help you become a stronger businessperson and better plan your career path as a creative leader. Buy it on Amazon.com.

What’s Coming Next?

I’m working on some top-secret writing projects through Ask The Sherwins, including research and futurecasting work in the health and wellness space. Contact me if you’re interested in collaborating!

DavidSherwin_headshot

Hi, I’m David. Nice to meet you.

For 25+ years, I’ve worked as a design leader and writer focused on helping people become better problem solvers and team collaborators.

I’m co-founder of Ask The Sherwins, LLC with Mary Paynter Sherwin. We help organizations develop the capabilities they need for better cross-functional teamwork, user research, and product design. This includes the development and delivery of training programs, workflow and process auditing, and helping lead user research and product strategy programs. Most recently, we've been working with Philips Oral Healthcare, Google UX Community and Culture, Eventbrite, Greater Good Studio, AT&T Design Technology, Tipping Point Community, MetaLab Design, Mozilla, Purpose Project, and Designlab Learning.

My most recent book, co-authored with Mary Paynter Sherwin, is Turning People into Teams: Rituals and Routines that Redesign How We Work (Berrett-Koehler, distributed by Penguin Random House). My other books on design include the bestseller Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills and Success by Design: The Essential Business Reference for Designers.

In past roles, I was an Interaction Design Director at frog, where I co-authored frog’s Collective Action Toolkit. I've also led in-house product design and product management EdTech teams at Lynda.com, LinkedIn Learning, and Designlab Learning. From 2014–2019, I served as a Fellow at frog, advising projects focused on social impact, education, organizational change, and other topics.

Over the past 10 years, I have been an adjunct professor at California College of the Arts, Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, and Pacific Northwest College of Art. I regularly speak and teach at corporations, nonprofit organizations, and schools worldwide.

If you'd like to chat, get in touch at david (at) askthesherwins (daht) com.