What's This? (Ambiguous Object Exercise)

This exercise was used by the 2015/16 d.school Teaching Fellows at the beginning of the Navigating Ambiguity Design Muscle pop-up.

Let go of the “right answer”: We sometimes struggle with ambiguity because we’re trying to find the correct solution when one might not actually exist. In other instances, we latch onto our first ideas because our brains would rather settle on an answer than stay in ambiguity. Use this warm-up exercise to have participants practice detaching from the “right answer” and drawing on their interpretative skills.

In a team or with a partner, take turns making up different stories for ambiguous objects. This warm-up helps to get the juices flowing and primes a team for ideation.

Pre-task: For this exercise participants will need to bring in a seemingly “ambiguous object,” an object with a form or function that would stump someone.

1. Pair Up and Switch Objects: Remind participants not to reveal what their object is or does. Keep it a secret, which they can share at the end of the exercise.
2. Make Introductions: Have them get to know their partner (but NOT their object).
3. Tell a Story: Going around the group, have them introduce each other and make up a story about their partner’s object. Have fun with it. How might it be used? By who? Where? When?
4. The Big Reveal: At the end of the working session, have participants reveal the true meaning or function of their objects. Waiting for the reveal helps them practice embracing the ambiguity!

This activity was a great way to stoke imagination—and to introduce students to each other and to facilitators. It's engaging and memorable to share a personal object—and often we learned something entirely new from the weird objects brought forth.

One build on the game is to have a pair of students rapidly pass an ambiguous object back and forth for a minute, seeing how many unique interpretations they can come up with for it in a set time period (ex: 60 seconds).  Thinking with your body, and acting out what the meaning might be is fun and humorous, and also stokes imagination!