Ideation
Crazy 8s template
Eight frames for eight quick sketches in eight minutes, to get past the first idea.
What it is
Crazy 8s is a sketching exercise from the design sprint method developed at Google Ventures. Each person sketches eight different ideas in eight minutes, one minute per frame. The time limit pushes everyone past their first idea, which is rarely their best.
When to use it
- In a design sprint, once the team agrees on the problem
- When a team keeps coming back to the same solution
- To get rough layouts for a screen, a poster or a product before anyone designs properly
How to run it
- 01
Set the problem
Write the screen or question in the title, like "New home screen".
- 02
Sketch for eight minutes
Start a timer and fill one frame per minute with a quick drawing or a note. Use the pen. Rough is fine.
- 03
Present in turn
Each person explains their eight frames in two minutes, with no critique yet.
- 04
Vote and combine
Mark the strongest ideas with a pen dot, then sketch one version that combines the winners.
Opens a new board from this prompt:
"Crazy 8s for a new onboarding screen in a fitness app, with eight different first ideas"
Related templates
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A how-might-we question, a wall for ideas and a shortlist to vote into.
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How might we
Turn problems into how-might-we questions, then pick the ones worth solving.
- Try the AI whiteboard
Or describe your own board
Type one sentence and the AI drafts frames and notes for any format.