The Faces

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Create and interpret visual portraits that express individual identities, emotions, or collective group values.

Use it when: Use during team formation, community workshops, or culture sessions when a group needs a creative, non-technical way to discuss identity and group perspectives.

Skip it when: Skip when the agenda demands analytical problem-solving or when group members strongly prefer text-based discussion over creative visual crafts.

Group arrangement: Participants may work individually or form small teams of 3 to 4 participants. A mix of individuals and teams is permissible.

Timing: Source recommends 30 to 60 minutes; set to 40 minutes for complete design, sharing, and reflection.

Materials and tools

• Letter-sized or poster-sized paper (1 sheet per person or team)
• Markers and colored pencils (1 pack per table)
• Magazines, printed images, or stickers for collage (assorted pile per table)
• Glue sticks and child-safe scissors (1 pair and stick per 2 participants)
• Blue painter tape or wall space for gallery display
• Optional simple oval face outline templates for anyone who prefers a ready structure

Before participants arrive

1. Place paper, markers, scissors, collage clippings, and glue in reach of all seats.
2. Clear a central wall or whiteboard area labeled Face Gallery.
3. If using face templates, print enough copies for half the room.

Say this to open

Today we are building The Faces. Your task is to design a face using drawing, collage clippings, or words. The face can show an emotion, a personal value, or a quality that represents this group. You do not need to draw a realistic portrait. Abstract designs, symbols, and words work just as well. You will have twenty minutes to create, followed by a short gallery viewing and debrief.

How to run it

1. Introduce prompt and options 4 minutes

   Deliver the opening script. Explain the two focus options: participants may design a face that reflects what makes them unique, or design a face that symbolizes the group as a whole. Clarify that realistic drawing skill is not required.

2. Assemble faces 20 minutes

   Participants work individually or in teams of 3 to 4. They assemble features using pens, collage cutouts, stickers, or written words. Example: using a collage cutout of an open book for eyes and written words like patience across the forehead. Walk the room to answer practical questions without judging designs.

3. Mount and view gallery 6 minutes

   Have participants tape their completed faces along the designated wall. Run a silent gallery walk where participants circulate and view the wall. Anyone who prefers not to display their face may keep it on their desk.

4. Reflect on themes 10 minutes

   Reconvene the full group facing the gallery. Invite up to four volunteers who wish to speak to describe one specific feature on their face, reminding the room that oral explanation is optional. Then ask the whole room the debrief questions, taking two or three brief responses per question.

Debrief questions

• What recurring themes, values, or emotions do you notice across the faces on the wall?
• What surprised you about how differently people represented identity or group qualities?
• Which specific visual element caught your eye, and what did it convey to you?

Finished output: A physical or digital gallery of designed faces representing group diversity and values.

Remote

Use a shared digital whiteboard such as Miro, Mural, or Canva. Provide a blank canvas pre-populated with several basic head outlines, clip art icons, digital sticky notes, and drawing tools. Participants work in parallel for 20 minutes on their designated board area, then complete the gallery walk and reflection using the board and meeting audio.

Hybrid

In-person participants create paper faces and photograph them to upload to the shared digital whiteboard. Remote participants build their faces directly on the digital board. The debrief takes place with the digital whiteboard shared on both remote screens and the room projector.

Access and participation choices

• Provide basic oval template sheets for participants who feel uncomfortable drawing freehand.
• Allow participants to construct their face entirely with descriptive written words rather than drawings or collage.
• Participation in the wall gallery and oral explanation is optional; participants may simply leave their sheet on their table without explanation.

If the session gets stuck

Participants stall because they claim they cannot draw.

Remind everyone that words, abstract shapes, and glued magazine snippets count as features. Offer the printed face outline template.

A participant worries about revealing private personal details.

Remind the room that faces can depict a collective group value, an abstract role, or a fictional concept rather than private autobiography.

Terms used here

• Visual Metaphor: An image or symbol used to represent an idea, emotion, or abstract concept.