CO-DESIGN
A design round,
inside the interview
Participants reshape the concept mid-session and react to what comes back, so you're not re-fielding to find out whether the change was right.
Most concept tests end with a reaction. This one ends with a revision.
The participant describes a change, sees it, and tells you whether it solved what was bothering them. The gap between the concept you brought and the one they ended up with is a finding you can show your team.
What changes with Co-Design
In the session
"Make it feel more premium" is where feedback usually stops. The moderator asks what premium means to them, and the concept updates with their answer in it. A vague reaction becomes something they can point at.
Through each round
The best moment is a participant looking at their own requested change and saying it isn't better. That only happens while they're still in the room. The moderator probes after each version, so you learn what the change was meant to fix.
In the readout
A concept a participant built is harder to wave off than a bullet in a deck. Analysis groups the requested changes and counts how many people asked for each, and you can hand a designer the whole sequence.
FAQs
What is Co-Design?
Co-Design is a question type inside an Outset interview. Participants describe a change they'd make to a concept and see a revised version generated during the session, so you learn the direction they want the concept to move in and why. The output supports the discussion. It isn't meant to be finished design work.
How does it work?
You upload a concept image, write the question participants should answer, and set how many revisions each participant can request. In the session, the participant reacts to the original, the moderator asks what they'd change, and they describe it in their own words. Outset generates a revised version, the participant says whether it reflects what they meant, and they can request another pass if attempts remain.
How long does a revision take?
Seconds, not a break in the conversation. If a participant's request is vague, the moderator clarifies before generating, so the wait produces something worth reacting to rather than a version nobody asked for.
Can I see all the iterations?
Yes. Every round is kept: the requested change, the version it produced, and the participant's reaction. Participant journeys let you step through one person's sequence in order, and you can export either each participant's final image or every image generated across all rounds.
What can I upload?
One concept image per question. If you're testing something built in Figma or live on the web, export or screenshot it and upload that.
What happens when a participant's feedback is vague?
The moderator probes for specifics before generating anything, so "make it cleaner" gets developed into something concrete first. Guardrails keep revisions tied to the concept and the research goal rather than drifting somewhere unrelated.
What does the analysis give me?
Each Co-Design question comes back with a short list of recommended changes, ranked by how many participants asked for them, and a breakdown of the feedback into categories with the supporting evidence behind each one. Alongside that you get how participants reacted while discussing the changes, a highlight reel that keeps the image next to what the participant said about it, each participant's final image, and each participant's full journey through their rounds.
The signal worth acting on is the change multiple participants requested and the need behind it. Participants may ask for different things while pointing at the same problem, so the most polished image isn't the winner.
Can I run Co-Design alongside other questions?
Yes. It sits inside a normal Outset study alongside your other interview questions and analyzes in the same place.
