Ask the Magic Question

Every great product breakthrough starts the same way: with an idea that sounds impossible.

This week, I sat in workshops about one of our thorniest product experiences — the kind that generates complaints, floods support channels, and blocks users from even getting started.

Our UX team came forward with a bold idea. One designer suggested a completely new paradigm for how we might support the experience, both technically and experientially.

Predictably, it split the room. Some were energized. Others dismissed it as “too ambitious.”

That’s when I asked one of my favorite design ideation questions:

“How would it work if it were magic?”

The reactions were just as polarized. Some people leaned in, excited by the freedom to dream. Others frowned. “That’s too vague. It’s not measurable.”

Both are right. Magic isn’t a metric. It’s not a roadmap. But it is a way of shaking free from the weight of “the way it’s always been.” It lets us imagine what the best possible version might look like and then work backwards to what’s feasible now.

Every experience we take for granted today once sounded like magic, from streaming a movie instantly to hailing a ride with one tap. Until someone built it.

Of course, “magic” isn’t the only lens I use. Here are two other questions I've found just as powerful and thought-provoking for pushing design forward:

“What would a helpful human do?”

Instead of jumping to features or tech, picture a caring, resourceful person sitting with your user, like a concierge at a fancy hotel or a top-notch advisor. What would they do? Fetch information? Anticipate needs? Propose options? This framing grounds us in empathy and often reveals valuable insights.

“What’s really broken here?”

Too often, we add widgets, dashboards, or workflows that don’t fix the real pain point. This question forces us to be honest: are we solving the right problem, or just decorating around it?

In the end, the designer's bold idea wasn’t approved. And that's okay! So, it wasn’t the solution... It was the spark. It kept the team stretching, asking tougher questions, and refusing to settle for incremental fixes.

That’s the real value of the “magic" question: not the idea itself, but the permission it gives us to think bigger and push the envelope. Sometimes, the most important thing isn’t getting the idea approved. It’s daring to say it out loud in the first place.