This paper presents a case study of a redesign of a physical workshop into a virtual one to illustrate the application of a set of principles for designing and running co-design online events. Such workshops require a different co-design approach to overcome the challenges of working in spatially distributed settings, such as the lack of audiovisual cues, digital skills and physical presence. This approach involves developing a new design ‘language’ that a community can understand and use in engagement projects. In this paper, we present a set of principles for planning and facilitating online events, and designing interactive resources, and the application of such principles in a redesign process of a conference workshop. The findings from the case study suggest that microlearning activities and active facilitation assisted by a technical producer can support the delivery of effective online workshops, enabling participants to achieve desired outcomes in a timely manner.