01 / UNDERSTAND
What is Crazy 8s?
Crazy 8s is a rapid sketching exercise used to explore alternatives. In its common Design Sprint form, each person sketches eight ideas in eight minutes. The aim is variation before commitment, not eight polished screens. Use rough marks, words and arrows to make different approaches discussable.
Why use Crazy 8s?
The first plausible idea can become the default before alternatives are considered. A short individual sketching round makes room for different directions without requiring a presentation for each one. The exercise produces candidates for discussion; speed and enthusiasm do not establish which candidate will work.
When to use it
USE IT WHEN
A clear problem is ready for alternative solutions.
The team is converging too quickly on its first idea.
You want individual thinking before a group discussion.
When to choose another method
Use How Might We if the challenge is still vague.
Use research when the team does not understand the need.
Adapt or replace the timed format if it prevents people from contributing meaningfully.
What you’ll need
Prepare a focused prompt, relevant evidence and eight sketch areas per person. Explain that drawing skill is not assessed. Make materials and participation accessible; labels or other ways to express a concept may be appropriate. State the timing and how ideas will be shared, then separate the sketching round from the selection discussion.
What the method needs
Keep the elements that help answer your question and support a decision.
One challenge with enough context to guide the sketches.
Space for separate alternatives rather than a long storyboard.
Time to work before others’ preferences dominate.
Different mechanisms or approaches, not only cosmetic changes.
A short explanation of the intent behind each candidate.
A selected idea with an assumption to test.
02 / PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
How to run Crazy 8s
Keep evidence and assumptions distinct. Revisit your work when new information changes your understanding.
01
Set the challenge
Agree the need and boundaries before starting the clock.
Help applicants recover from a failed document upload.
02
Prepare the sheet
Give everyone eight spaces and explain the rough level of detail.
One box holds one possible recovery approach.
03
Sketch alternatives
Use the common eight minute round, adapting participation where needed.
Try retry, save for later, alternate format and assisted routes.
04
Name the differences
Add brief labels so the mechanism is clear.
Distinguish better error information from a different way to submit.
05
Share without pitching
Explain what each idea changes and which need it addresses.
Ask clarifying questions before expressing preferences.
06
Choose what to learn
Select a candidate and state the risky assumption to test.
Check whether saving progress actually helps someone find the missing file.
Example: recovering from an upload failure
Illustrative concepts, not tested solutions. Eight sketches explore: retrying the file, explaining format limits, saving the application, resuming from a link, using a mobile camera, receiving help, checking a preview and submitting documents later.
The team notices that some concepts fix a technical failure while others change the timing of submission. They select save and resume for further exploration because it addresses a specific interruption. Before prototyping, they check whether later submission is permitted and how applicants would know the deadline. The other sketches remain alternatives, not rejected evidence.
03 / BELOW THE SURFACE
Below the surface: eight boxes can still contain one idea
Changing the position of a button eight times explores a narrow interaction, which can be useful, but it does not necessarily explore different responses to a need. Name the mechanism each sketch changes. Does it alter information, sequence, channel, support or responsibility?
01 / EVIDENCE
What is supported?
Which source or observation supports the current interpretation?
02 / LIMIT
What remains uncertain?
Which assumption would change the decision if it were wrong?
03 / ACTION
What happens next?
Who will investigate or test the next step, and when?
If every sketch relies on the same untested premise, make that premise visible before voting. Another round might deliberately remove it. The classification is an editorial aid to reviewing variation, not a requirement to fill predefined idea categories. Judge the exercise by the decisions it opens up, not by the number of filled boxes.
Crazy 8s template
Use the first page for the practical work and the second to challenge the reasoning before choosing a next step. The canvas follows this guide and keeps evidence, assumptions and decisions visible.
The two page PDF contains 15 editable fields. Open it in a PDF reader that supports forms and save a working copy. Print the eight spaces for hand sketching, use a PDF annotation tool, or type short concept descriptions into the fields.
Practical tips
Use labels when a sketch is ambiguous.
Keep the prompt visible throughout the round.
Offer an accessible way to contribute without judging drawing speed.
Common mistakes
Treating the most attractive sketch as the best solution.
Turning the exercise into a speed competition.
Voting before understanding what the concepts actually change.
What you’ll get
Alternative concepts and a focused next experiment. Keep the supporting evidence and unresolved questions with the output. Assign an owner to the next action and revisit the result when the underlying situation changes. The method supports judgement; the completed canvas is not proof that the proposed choice will work.