Qué es y cómo realizar los crazy eights (locos 8)

What is the Crease Edge technique?

The Crease Edge technique is an ideation tool that facilitates both individual reflection and collective work. This method helps you structure your ideas in specific quadrants, which allows you to organize and find common ground more easily. It positively impacts the speed and effectiveness of the idea generation process.

How is the Crazy 8 technique used?

To apply this technique, quadrants are used where each one represents a different concept or approach. It is ideal for quickly producing a variety of ideas, allowing you to identify common trends or characteristics that may be valuable for design. In addition, it can be used in conjunction with digital tools such as FigJam, which provide predefined templates, timer and voting functionalities that energize creative sessions.

How do we apply the Crazy 8 to a redesign project?

To illustrate the use of the Crazy 8 technique, let's consider a project to redesign an assistance chatbot for a home food delivery application. In this case, eight different concepts were used, including references such as Batman, artificial intelligence, and Apple, to specific situations such as for a child, a neurodivergent, or a techie. These concepts allow for a variety of approaches and solutions to be explored.

What are the benefits of the Crazy 8?

The technique allows for:

• Diversity of Ideas: Generates a wide range of ideas adaptable to diverse contexts and audiences.
• Visibility and Accessibility: Use of iconography to make interfaces more understandable and accessible.
• Clear Mental Models: Helps conceptualize how the interaction with a chatbot should be, for example, by likening it to messaging applications such as WhatsApp.

How do they contribute to quality design?

Although Crazy 8s do not necessarily generate the final design, they contribute to highlight key features that should be considered in the subsequent stages of prototype design, both in low and high fidelity. This approach is invaluable for spotting key ideas that might otherwise go unnoticed in a more traditional ideation process.

How to leverage its use in practice?

To maximize its effectiveness:

• Use collaborative tools: platforms such as FigJam offer templates and functionalities that enrich the process.
• Integrate voting: Encourage the identification of the most promising ideas through voting.
• Incorporate timers: Keep the session dynamic and focused by using the timer function.

We invite users to explore the Crazy 8 technique in their projects, as it is an innovative and effective way to address creative and design challenges. Share your results and ideas in the comments, pushing your community to learn and grow together.