how to
design
experiences
for radical
imagination
a live session with Olivia Vagelos
📅 September 16th
⏰ 9 am Pacific
every gathering...
A retreat
A classroom
A wedding
A meeting
A Monday meeting
A dinner table
is a chance to architect a threshold into something new
And yet...
So many of these moments miss the opportunities — for surprise, or for tenderness, for breaking the rules, or for reminding us how irreverently, chaotically beautiful it can be human together.
But we can’t make things less boring, less shitty, less blah, less I-guess-this-is-pretty-fine… by just doing better logistical-ing.
Possibility doesn’t happen by accident.
It happens by (experience) design.
This is the toolset you’ve been waiting for. And it’s a hell of a good time.
In this live session, we'll chat about:
✨ Why so many gatherings are meh (and what they’re missing)
✨ My 3-part framework for defying the bland defaults of experience, in service of surfacing unforgettable moments
✨ Simple ways to nurture radical imagination within whatever you’re creating next
👀 Plus… 👀
🤫 a peak behind the curtain of my upcoming, deep dive, experience design retreat
is this for you?
This sesh is for anyone who gathers people—whether that’s for your job, or because you like to party (or both).
🌐 Professionals 🌐
If you lead meetings, design retreats, facilitate workshops, teach in classrooms, host conferences, run culture initiatives, build programs or products, or bring teams together—this will give you tools to create experiences that don’t just run smoothly, but knock people’s socks off.
🌱 Everyday Gatherers 🌱
If you’re the one who hosts the potlucks, corrals the cats for the celebrations, dreams up vacations, plans the family dinners, or organizes your community peeps—this will give you a way to think about designing the moments that matter.
Because here’s the real real...
We are all experience designers.
Whether you carry that title in your job description or not, every time you’re bringing humans together, you are shaping the container.
And that container can either feel like a two-week old takeout tupperware that you just found in the back of the fridge, or a very nice, good smelling, hyper luxurious spa.
⚡️ ⚡️ ⚡️
When you craft your moments with intention—when you design for the feelings, seed connection, architect a more interesting journey, and create the structures and conditions for play, the experiences you are building stop feeling ordinary. They become unforgettable.
💕
In this age of AI, we need more people going deep on how it is we human together.
"Whether you deliver experiences for one person at a time or a thousand folks, this is for you.
If you feel like what you do, or the service you deliver, doesn't really count as 'design', rest assured this is for you.
The retreat opened my eyes to the sheer depth and detail you can design for.
If you're looking for learning that's playful, inspiring, and a workout for your imagination...and you're tired of phrases like 'optimise', 'customer acquisition', and 'digital first' (insert your favourites here!)...
this is for you."
- Nneka Chukwurah, Content Designer & Community Organizer
"Before the retreat, I felt like something was missing in my approach to workshop design. I had years of experience, but it was a constant struggle to articulate my vision and get others on board.
Olivia's program was a revelation.
For the first time, I had the language and frameworks to clearly communicate my design intentions and get buy-in from my team.
This retreat has fundamentally changed how I approach experience design. My work is more intentional, spacious, and user-centered, and the results speak for themselves. The workshop I designed during Olivia’s retreat received the highest participant ratings I've ever seen.
If you're even considering any of Olivia’s offerings, just do it! She is a gifted facilitator and an inspiring human being. She'll push you to think differently, expand your creative boundaries, and you’ll have a blast in the process!"
- Alison Guglielmo Kerr, Design & Facilitation Partner @ Transcend
"The retreat felt like a respite from the thinking world that we are in, transporting us into a feeling world that's soft, gentle and human.
I now have frameworks to articulate and connect the dots between what were once fragmented thoughts on what good experiences are made of. Plus levers through which I can add that additional oomph.
But most importantly, the 8 weeks helped me lean more confidently and keenly into feelings, and to embrace feelings as the anchor of all experiences, be it a marketing campaign, a dinner club, or a Christmas gathering.
It's a feelings world, people! "
- Agalia Tan, Senior Strategist, Community Builder, Musician
"The sessions were warm and cozy and deeply human. I loved the rhythmic immersion of storytelling, reflection, and sharing.
I spend so much time on Zoom, but the immersive workshops felt different — Olivia is a kickass facilitator.
So nice to drop into soul nourishing spaces with other humans and remember that creating wonder and delight is as crucial as the rest of it."
- Karrah Phillips, Program Manager @ AirBnB
about me
I’m Olivia Vagelos, founder of The Design for Feelings Studio.
Past chapters found me at IDEO and the Stanford d.School, with foundations, nonprofits, and global companies — designing everything from leadership summits to learning platforms, cultural programs to classrooms to corporate retreats.
And, I help folks dream up the intimate and unexpected — across weddings and funerals, midnight magic shows and school composting programs, dinner parties, game shows, and fantasy novels.
The common thread running through all of it is a deceptively simple question: How do we want people to feel?
Because when we design for the feelings (not for the surface-level, singular words, but for the nuance and complexity and humanity of it all) — and for our bigger, more lingering dreams — we don’t just plan events…
We create the conditions for transformation.
And for lots of people to shout “Holy sh*t that was bananas!?!”
come play
Less webinar. More experience.
You’ll leave with a new framework, language, and ways of seeing—so the next time you gather people, it won’t just be “fine.” It will have people saying “Well that was absolute fire 🔥”
🪑 save my seat 🪑📅 September 16th
⏰ 9 am Pacific
Together, we’ll practice stepping out of the default… and into experience design.
have questions?
Drop us an email at [email protected]