What is Crazy 8?
8 ideas in 8 minutes.
You take a problem, user need or design challenge and rapidly sketch eight different solutions. The point isn't to create eight beautiful designs. It's to force your brain to explore different directions.
How it works
Define the challenge
Start with a clear "How might we…" question. Example: "How might we make it easier for runners to find the right event?"
Fold your paper into 8
Fold a sheet of A4 into eight rectangles. Each rectangle is one idea.
Set a timer for 8 minutes
Roughly one minute per idea. This app does that for you.
Sketch one idea per section
Skip long explanations. Use whatever communicates the idea.
boxesarrowsbuttonssimple layoutslittle notesstick figuresWhatever gets the idea across fastest.
Keep moving
When the minute is up, move on. Even if the idea isn't great.
The principles
Quantity over quality
Many ideas beat one good one.
Don't judge yet
No "that won't work". Evaluation comes later.
Don't make it pretty
Communicate the idea, not a finished UI.
Push past the obvious
Ideas 1 to 3 are usually the expected ones. The interesting stuff shows up around 5 to 8.
Build on earlier ideas
Twist, simplify, combine or exaggerate a previous one.
Individual first
In workshops, everyone sketches alone first, so the loudest voice doesn't set the direction.
Sketch in silence
Discussion happens afterwards.
Then comes the useful part
After the 8 minutes, everyone puts their sketches up and explains them briefly. The group can then spot interesting ideas, cluster similar approaches, dot-vote, combine ideas and take one or two concepts further.
- Problem
- 8 quick ideas
- Share
- Discuss
- Combine & select
- Develop
Crazy 8 works because it separates divergent thinking from convergent thinking.