The Thirty Circles Challenge

This is a fast, fun creative exercise that encourages quantity over quality — but at the same time, gives a lot of room to creatively flex.

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It was first developed by Bob McKim, Professor Emeritus of Stanford’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and a mentor to IDEO’s David M. Kelley. Lots of folks have used it since, including the Big Brothers Big Sisters program of Winnipeg, whose link I’ve borrowed here for the template:

Here are the instructions:

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• Set a timer for three minutes

  
  

• Use the blank circles to draw as many recognizable things as you can in the three minutes.

  
  

• There are no wrong answers. Don’t overthink — just have fun.

  
  

• Go!

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Ideally, do the exercise first, before reading on...​

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It only takes three minutes. (And you can always draw your own circles if printing the template isn’t convenient.)

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Done? Great.

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Because those instructions were intentionally vague.

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That means lots of opportunities to be different.

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Some people draw imagines inside the circles. Some people make images out of the circles (sports balls, M&Ms, etc.) Some people try to make each drawing completely new and unique, while others follow themes. Some link the circles together (making a caterpillar, say). Most people don’t use all thirty circles, even though that’s the goal.

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The point is to look at what you did come up with, and then reflect on other ways you could have gone as well. For a simple exercise, we realize there are many possibilities when we just relax and play.

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This is a fun one to do on our own, but it’s also a great exercise for teams or as part of workshops. Remember that it isn’t a contest. Everyone is different, and simply chose to approach it the way they did. Discussing those different approaches as a team will help people see new possibilities and ways of looking at challenges.