It can sometimes be very difficult to come up with new ideas or solutions. Service designers and other creatives recognize that by having constraints its sometimes easier to be creative as the mind is not lost wandering around. With constraints, the mind turns into problem-solving mode.
To trigger this problem-solving mode without overthinking, service designers may use the crazy 8 method. This method is pretty simple.
The crazy 8 method consists of folding a piece of paper in 8 parts. Then with a timer you’ll give yourself 1 minute to draw a solution on one of the 8 parts of the paper. Once you have done it for the first square you repeat this, until you have done 8 sessions of 1 minute.
In a minute, your mind can't overthink or philosophize. It just comes up with an idea quickly. In the 8 possible solutions you have created, often lies at least 1 gem that can be then developed further.
This method is quite impressive when done in a group setting. For example, if you are a group of 8 people, you’ll end up with 64 solutions in just 8 minutes! Pretty impressive right?
Going further
This article is part of my free course "What is Service Design?" which helps you to discover what Service Design is and why it is powerful to enhance the customer experience.