About the Tool
Crazy Eights is a core method in design sprints that serves as a fast sketching exercise, allowing participants to generate eight different ideas in just eight minutes. The primary purpose of Crazy Eights is to encourage participants to go beyond their initial, often less innovative, ideas and explore a wide range of potential solutions to a given challenge or problem.
The exercise focuses not on creating flawless designs but on allowing creative ideas to flourish. In team settings, Crazy Eights proves particularly valuable, as it generates various unique ideas that can be further developed in subsequent brainstorming sessions. Crazy Eights is an effective way to stimulate creativity and foster collaboration.
Purpose: Ideation
Estimated Time Needed: 8 minutes
Target Participants or Users: Change Managers, Program Managers, Planning Officers, Process Planners, Service Designers
How to Use the Tool
Steps
- Let every participant understand the challenge statement (“How might we..?)that needs to be solved.
- Have team members draw on paper. Each team member folds their piece of paper into eight sections.
- Designate a team member as the timer, setting an alarm for 1 minute for each round.
- Each member should sketch an idea in one section using icons and shapes. The sketches don’t have to be perfect or polished; they just need to convey the idea effectively. Write captions to explain.
- Stop drawing after 1 minute. Repeat this process until all sections are completed.
- Share ideas by posting completed papers on the board and having each team discuss their work.
Template Crazy Eights
Sample Crazy Eights
Design Sprints (n.d.). Crazy 8’s. https://designsprintkit.withgoogle.com/methodology/phase3-sketch/crazy-8s