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Why the F*** Does Everyone Think a Design Sprint Solves Everything?
The five-day miracle myth that’s taken over the design world.
Let’s talk about the hype machine that is the Design Sprint. This so-called five-day miracle has been hailed as the Holy Grail of problem-solving — a magic pill that can transform an idea into a fully validated product concept in less time than it takes to binge a mini-series (unless you are watching Squid Game, in which case half a day is probably enough).
Teams everywhere are scrambling to block off an entire week, hoarding sticky notes, and prepping enough snacks to feed a small army.
But here’s the million-dollar question: why the f* are we so convinced a design sprint can fix anything and everything? And more importantly:
what happens when we hitch our entire design process to a single, glorified workshop?
The Myth of the Lightning-Fast Breakthrough
Don’t get me wrong — design sprints can be powerful. They force teams to focus, collaborate, and produce tangible outcomes in a ridiculously short time. But somewhere along the way, we turned the design sprint ( as it was intended to be) into this mystical event that’s supposed to solve all of humanity’s design ills.
