What you need to know about crazy 8s
What is Crazy 8s?
“Crazy 8’s is a core Design Sprint method. It is a fast sketching exercise that challenges people to sketch eight distinct ideas in eight minutes. The goal is to push beyond your first idea, frequently the least innovative, and to generate a wide variety of solutions to your challenge.” -Google Design Sprints
Crazy 8s is a popular design technique used by user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) designers to generate a large number of ideas in a short amount of time. The technique is based on the concept of “thinking outside the box” and encourages team members to come up with as many ideas as possible in a limited amount of time. The idea behind Crazy 8s is that by setting a time constraint, designers are forced to think quickly and come up with ideas that they may not have otherwise considered. Due to this time constraint, designers and thinkers don’t have the time to worry about a beautiful drawings. Just working rapidly to ideate 8 potential solutions to the design problem.(Stevenson, 2019)
The Set Up
To prepare for this exercise you and your team require three things; pens, paper(sticky notes at worse), and time blocked out to complete the exercise. And, as stated by Szerovay(2022) each each team member should be reminded of the following:
- Who the primary persona is
- What the persona’s core needs are
The Process
Crazy 8s is simple: set a timer for 8 minutes and sketch out as many ideas as possible for the design project. The ideas can be sketches, wireframes, or even written notes. The goal is to generate a large number of ideas, regardless of their quality or feasibility. The point is not to get stuck in a particular way of thinking or to judge the ideas during the process. Once the 8 minutes are up, the designer can review the ideas and select the best ones to develop further. It is important to include as broad a team as possible at this stage. If you have developers or even products owners who want to be involved? Why not give them a piece of paper and a pen…? (Chung, 2020)
The Positives
Multiple Ideas
One of the main positives of Crazy 8s is that it allows designers to generate a large number of ideas quickly and efficiently. This can be particularly useful for overcoming design blocks or generating new ideas for a project. Crazy 8s is also a great way to get a lot of ideas on the table quickly, which can be useful in brainstorming sessions at the beginning of the project. Additionally, by setting a time limit, designers are encouraged to think quickly and and not worry spend time dwelling on the solution. This can produce ideas that may not have otherwise considered if the team was given the time to overthink them.(Switch, n.a)
Collaboration
Stevenson(2019) highlights another positive of Crazy 8s is that it encourages collaboration among team members. As mentioned previously, don’t be afraid of inviting people of different working backgrounds to participate in the exercise. The added benefit of setting a time limit creates a level playing field, meaning regardless of your artistic ability no one can reproduce an oil painting in under a minute! This in turn will create less worry about the drawings and place the focus on ideation. This idea of a level playing field also carries across hierarchy. Team members of all seniorities are provided a chance to rapidly design solutions, present them and review with the team. This promotes collaboration and equal decision making power across the team, which can be beneficial for the success of a project.
The Drawbacks
Non Feasible Ideas
However, there are also some drawbacks associated with Crazy 8s. One of the main downsides is that the ideas generated during the 8 minute time limit may not be well thought out or feasible. Speed is great for blue sky thinking but less so of deliberating on these ideas. As mentioned previously this isn’t a huge issue as these ideas will be refined by the team after the 8 minutes, but it is still worth considering.
Rushed Team Members
Additionally, the time constraint may cause some designers to feel rushed and stressed, which can negatively impact the quality of their ideas. We have all had experiences when rushed for a response our brain goes ‘blank’. This can happen to team members whilst being rushed for solutions. To avoid this pitfall, it’s important for the team to understand that the ideas generated during the Crazy 8s session are not expected to be fully fleshed out. If you are moderating the session, then be sure to inform the team their solutions are simply a starting point for further exploration and development.(Tian, 2021)
Not the Right Time or Project
Another potential negative is that the technique may not be well-suited for certain types of projects. For example, if a project is mid way through and requires a high level of precision or accuracy, Crazy 8s may not be the best approach. In such cases, it’s important to consider other design techniques that may be more appropriate.
So Many Possible Solutions
In addition to this, during a Crazy 8s session it can be a challenge to evaluate and select the best ideas from a large pool of possibilities. With so many ideas generated in a short amount of time, it can be difficult to separate the valuable ideas from the less useful ones. This can lead to a lot of time being spent on evaluating and selecting ideas, rather than on developing and refining them.
Conclusion
To conclude, Crazy 8s is a popular design technique that can be a powerful tool for generating a large number of ideas quickly and efficiently. It encourages team members to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions, while fostering collaboration among team members. You should bear in mind the positives and negative aspects laid out in this article, and experiment with crazy 8s yourself.
References
Chung, E. Generate Crazy Ideas With This Design Sprint Method. Available at: https://uxplanet.org/generate-crazy-ideas-with-this-design-sprint-method-c6a36a16c3d5
Stevenson, H. How to run a Crazy eights workshop. Available at: https://blog.prototypr.io/how-to-run-a-crazy-eights-workshop-60d0a67b29a
Switch. N.d. Crazy Concept Ideation with Crazy 8s. Available at: https://www.switchit.com/blog/design/crazy-concept-ideation-with-crazy-8s.aspx
Szerovay, K. UX Sketching Exercises for Ideation Part 1: Crazy8s. Available at: https://uxknowledgebase.com/ux-sketching-exercises-for-ideation-part-1-crazy-8s-d18b27238aa9
Tian, A. 2021. Crazy Eights. Available at: https://alice-tian01-17830.medium.com/crazy-eights-3df0e218d68a
