What is this recipe?
‘Crazy Eights’ is a fast-paced brainstorming exercise designed to generate a large number of ideas in a very short time.1 It’s a core method from the Google Ventures Design Sprint.
The recipe is simple: each person in your group sketches eight different ideas in eight minutes. This is achieved by folding a piece of A4 paper into eight rectangles and spending just one minute per sketch.
The speed is the magic ingredient. It forces participants to get past their first obvious, safe idea and pushes them into more creative and unexpected territory. It’s not about producing high-quality art; it’s about generating a high quantity of concepts. Sketches can be simple boxes, arrows, and stick figures.
This method helps to break ‘analysis paralysis’ and stops a group from latching onto the first idea suggested. It also gives everyone an equal voice, as even the quietest person in the room can contribute eight potential solutions.
When is it good to use?
This is a high-energy recipe, perfect for when you’re feeling stuck or need to kickstart a project’s creative phase.
- When a team is stuck on a problem and needs fresh, innovative solutions (e.g., “How might we increase the uptake of green waste bin subscriptions?”).
- At the start of a design process when you want to explore many different directions before committing to one.
- To quickly generate ideas for a prototype that you want to build and test.
- When you need to break away from groupthink or prevent one or two loud voices from dominating the brainstorming session.
- As a warm-up exercise to get a team energised and thinking creatively before a longer workshop.
How does it work?
This recipe works best with a group of 4-8 people. You will need a stack of A4 paper, marker pens for everyone, and a timer.
- Define the Problem: Start with a clear and focused challenge. It’s best to phrase it as a “How Might We…” question. For example: “How might we make it easier for residents to report fly-tipping?” Write this where everyone can see it.
- Give Instructions: Hand out one sheet of A4 paper and a pen to each person.
- Fold the Paper: Instruct everyone to fold their paper in half three times (in half, in half again, and in half again). When they unfold it, they will have eight distinct boxes.
- Explain the Rules: Tell the team they have eight minutes to sketch eight different ideas, one in each box. That’s just one minute per idea.
- Emphasise: These are not works of art. Simple sketches are perfect.
- Emphasise: Quantity over quality. The goal is eight separate ideas.
- Emphasise: Don’t judge your own ideas. Just get them on paper. If you get stuck, try a variation of a previous idea.
- Start the Timer: Set a timer for 8 minutes and tell everyone to start.
- Keep the Pace: Call out the time at 1-minute intervals. This keeps the pressure on and stops people from getting too precious about one sketch.
- Pens Down: When the 8 minutes are up, everyone must stop sketching.
- Share and Vote: Have each person quickly share their 1-2 favourite ideas with the group. Stick all the sketches up on a wall. As a final step, you can give everyone 3 sticky dots to vote on the ideas they find most promising.
An example:
A council’s communications team is trying to improve its weekly all-staff email, which has very low open rates. They are stuck in a rut, just arguing over the subject line.
They run a Crazy Eights workshop on the challenge: “How might we make internal news something staff actually want to read?”
- One person sketches a 3-point “need to know” summary at the very top.
- Another person sketches a video message from a staff member instead of text.
- A third person sketches a personalised email based on your department.
- A fourth person sketches an idea for an interactive poll in every email.
The better outcome: In just eight minutes, the team generates dozens of new, practical ideas. They see that they have been focused on the wrong problem (the subject line) instead of the content and format. They decide to combine two of the sketched ideas: a 3-point summary and an interactive poll. They A/B test this new format, and engagement rates double, leading to staff feeling more informed and connected.
Further reading:
- The Sprint Book by Jake Knapp: The official website for the book that created the Crazy Eights method. https://www.thesprintbook.com/
- Google Ventures video on ‘Crazy Eights’: A short (1 min 30s) video showing the exercise in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLkb-Y4-H-E
- A Guide to Crazy Eights: A good, simple walkthrough of the process from the design agency, Thoughtbot. https://thoughtbot.com/playbook/resources/a-guide-to-crazy-eights
- Ideation for Everyday Innovation: An article from the Nielsen Norman Group on different methods for generating ideas. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ideation-everyday-innovation/
- Miro’s Crazy Eights Template: A free digital template for running the exercise with a remote or hybrid team.2 https://miro.com/templates/crazy-eights/