I regularly present my work on creativity, humor, play and design as an invited speaker and workshop coordinator. I am honored to have shared my thoughts, process, and findings for industry (including Target, 3M, Mayo Clinic, and Kaiser Permanente) as well as academia (including MIT Media Lab, Vanderbilt, Purdue, and City University Hong Kong). I am always developing new interactive presentations and workshops related to innovation and would be happy to discuss speaking opportunities.

Contact me for scheduling and pricing.

Typically my speaking engagements fall into these categories:

Interactive Talks
These lectures can be 45-90 minutes long. Recent topics include "how play and humor help us innovate" or "incorporating play throughout the design process." My talks are highly animated both in the slides as well as my speaking. The audience typically engages in about 3 short exercises/games throughout the talk. The content is supported by current scientific research.
Mini-Workshops
Short workshops can range from 45-90 minutes. These workshops tend to focus on one topic such as "improvisational games for designers" or "blue sky idea generation techniques." In most of these workshops, the participants work in small groups and the activities have supplementary animated slides.
Design Workshops
These workshops can range from 90 minutes to 3 days but focus on a creative design process that can be applied to products, processes, or services. I have run workshops for industry and academia on topics ranging from specific medical device redesigns, to rethinking K-12 education, to ways of innovating a retail experience. Design workshops involve warm up games, idea generation, concept selection, and pitching ideas. Longer workshops may include ethnographic research, rough prototyping, and evaluation sessions.
Classes
There are three industry courses that I have offered in the past: "Basics of Freehand Idea Sketching," "Creativity and Innovation" and "A Toy Design Process". These courses can run from 1-8 weeks.

Television
I have been an invited guest on several television programs including Martha Stewart, Mythbusters, and Design Squad.

Please visit the CV to see examples of prior and upcoming talks and workshops as well as media coverage.

For upcoming talks and workshops please use the following shortened biography and high res photo downloads:

Barry Kudrowitz is an associate professor and director of product design at the University of Minnesota. He received his PhD from the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), studying humor, creativity, and idea generation. Kudrowitz co-designed a Nerf toy, an elevator simulator that is in operation at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., and a ketchup-dispensing robot that was featured on the Martha Stewart Show. More information can be found at www.wonderbarry.com

photo1: with nerf gun and monkey
photo2: cartoon image
photo3: in lab coat on a bed of toys
photo4: serious face
photo5: holding barry sign

© Barry Matthew Kudrowitz, all rights reserved, 2017