variations

Your first design is rarely the best. Generate radically different alternatives, then compare — the value is in the contrast.

1. Pin what varies

One sentence: what is being varied (component, screen, flow) and what stays fixed (brand, data, core functionality). Confirm only if genuinely ambiguous.

2. Assign directions

3–5 variants, each from a genuinely different direction — not the same layout with different colors. Pick the axes that matter for this case:

• Density — compact and data-rich vs airy and focused
• Structure — single view vs stepped, list vs board vs timeline
• Emphasis — data-first vs action-first vs explanation-first
• Interaction — inline editing vs modal vs dedicated page
• Tone — playful vs sober, editorial vs utilitarian

Name each variant after its direction, not "Option A/B/C".