Alternative plays: Crazy Eights, Round Robin
Follow-up plays: How Might We, Mash-up, Round Robin
Timing: Discovery
Run time
30-45 minutes
Group size
4-40+
Why: foster collaboration and holistic thinking by exploring ideas across multiple disciplines through sketching
When: During the early stages of a project when diverse perspectives can inform the creative process
This workshop exercise is part of the Workshop Patterns printed card deck.
A collection of workshop exercises that will help you ditch dull meetings and facilitate with confidence. It will help you master the design process and have more productive time with your team. The card deck will be ready for purchase in the end of 2025 and is now undergoing rigorous testing.
Reserve your deck!Instructions for running this play
- Frame the problem. Agree on the challenge or question you want to explore as a group. How Might We…* is a great way to frame the question.
- Distribute paper and pens to all participants.
- Allot a Timebox of 5 minutes for each participant to silently sketch his or her ideas. Encourage sketching multiple ideas.
- Let each participant Playback their sketched ideas and their reasoning to the group, Timeboxed for 2 minutes.
- Let the group ask questions to each sketcher in a Timebox of one minute.
- Collect all the sketches.
- If you are working with multiple groups, consider passing ideas from one group to the other, Round Robin style.
Tips to perfect this play
Master and adapt the play to fit your context and needs.
Tip
Let each round focus on a different aspect of the problem, promoting diverse perspectives
This workshop exercise is part of the Workshop Patterns printed card deck.
A collection of workshop exercises that will help you ditch dull meetings and facilitate with confidence. It will help you master the design process and have more productive time with your team. The card deck will be ready for purchase in the end of 2025 and is now undergoing rigorous testing.
Reserve your deck!Related plays
- 19 Top Brainstorming Techniques to Generate Ideas for Every Situation by Lisa Jo Rudy
- Design Charrettes by Involve.org.uk
- Design Charrettes & Team Sketching: Inspiration, Buy-In by Kara Pernice
