Designing Global Competency Through Creativity: Branding & Design Thinking for the Denver World Trade Center

The Denver World Trade Center, which is recognized as a hub for global business, diplomacy, and innovation, has sought to expand the scope of its executive education offerings in response to a rapidly evolving business landscape. In particular, they wanted to equip their diverse network of international business owners, entrepreneurs, and executives with the creative tools and strategic frameworks needed to differentiate their brands and lead with innovation on a global stage.

In response, we collaborated closely with the World Trade Center team to design and deliver a comprehensive, future-focused curriculum centered on Branding and Design Thinking—two of the most vital competencies for thriving in today’s complex, cross-cultural marketplace.

Our approach began with an understanding of the audience: a globally diverse cohort of business professionals from sectors ranging from logistics and finance to tech, consumer products, and international development. Many had deep operational expertise but were seeking to understand better how to shape a compelling brand narrative and build innovative, customer-centered solutions that could adapt across cultural contexts and markets.

We developed a multi-module course structure that blended theory with intensive, hands-on application to meet this need. Each session was designed around key pillars of modern brand building—storytelling, positioning, identity systems, customer insight, and emotional engagement—paired with iterative and user-centered design thinking methodologies.

Interactive elements formed the backbone of the learning experience. Participants engaged in empathy-mapping exercises, rapid ideation sprints, persona development, brand audits, and real-time prototyping using analog and digital tools. Live case studies from global companies and startup disruptors illustrated how branding and design thinking can be applied in diverse cultural and industry contexts.

We also included peer collaboration features, allowing participants to pitch brand ideas, give feedback, and co-develop value propositions with input from fellow business leaders worldwide. These sessions sparked insight and forged meaningful professional relationships and cross-border learning exchanges.

To ensure lasting impact, we provided participants with a take-home toolkit—a curated set of brand strategy frameworks, customer journey mapping templates, creative brief builders, and a design thinking playbook for entrepreneurs and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). These resources empowered attendees to immediately apply what they learned within their own companies and markets.

The program culminated in a final capstone challenge, where participants developed a full branding and design thinking proposal for their own venture or organization. Presentations were evaluated by a panel of design experts, branding professionals, and World Trade Center mentors, offering real-world feedback and recognition.

The result was a transformative experience that helped reposition branding as a marketing function and strategic driver of business value, cultural relevance, and customer loyalty. Business owners left the program with the confidence and creative fluency to build purpose-driven brands that resonate locally and globally.

Through this collaboration, the Denver World Trade Center strengthened its commitment to cultivating globally minded, creatively empowered business leaders—equipping them with the mindset and tools to innovate in an increasingly borderless economy.

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