The Speed–Trust–Coherence Map

A five-minute orientation tool for creative decisions made under intelligent abundance, in the age of synthetic production.
Author(s): Gary Yong
Prototype Edition · Jan 2026 (v1.0)
Thinking
Over the last few decades, with the advent of digital production, most creative decisions were shaped by conscious scarcity. Time, cost, and execution quality set hard limits on what was physically possible — even as digital tools began to introduce new forms of technical abundance. In response, frameworks like Cheap · Fast · Good emerged — less as fixed rules of production, and more as disciplines on expectation. In the age of synthetic media, those physical limits collapse again — more completely. That is the technical reality we are now confronting. Each technological shift creates a new form of abundance, and each abundance requires a new form of creative discipline. Production is now fast, inexpensive, and technically polished by default. What replaces scarcity is a quieter problem: abundance without orientation. When everything is technically possible, decisions don’t fail at execution — they fail at judgment.
Evolution Diagram
From disciplined production scarcity to responsible synthetic abundance.
In an environment of abundance, three constraints determine whether work actually holds: Speed, Trust, and Coherence. These are not trade-offs in the old sense. They are pressures that must be actively held if abundance is to produce meaning instead of noise. This is no longer a scarcity triangle. Unlike Cheap · Fast · Good, this map does not show what’s impossible. It shows what requires attention and care when production is abundant. We are now in the age of intelligent abundance.
How it works
Adjust six sliders to reflect the current conditions of a project. The map shows which constraint is currently dominant, followed by a short reflection and a design question that can be used as a prompt to support clearer discussion.
SPEED PRESSURE: How fast does this decision need to move?
Deliberate — Time exists for discussion
Responsive — Choices are still revisitable
Compressed — Decisions must land quickly
Reactive — Speed overrides reflection
SYNTHETIC DEPENDENCE: How much of the work is generated or automated?
Human-led — AI used sparingly
Assisted — AI supports drafts
Synthetic-heavy — AI produces majority
Fully automated — Human as supervisor
ORGANIC ANCHORING: What grounds this work in lived or human context?
Abstract — No direct human reference
Referential — Draws from precedent
Embedded — Informed by experience
Originating — Emerges from human context
AUDIENCE TRUST SENSITIVITY: How much does perceived authenticity matter here?
Low stakes — Little reputational risk
Contextual — Some audiences will care
High sensitivity — Trust is fragile
Critical — Credibility is central
NARRATIVE COHERENCE: Is there a clear reason this work exists?
Fragmented — Isolated outputs
Implied — Rationale exists
Articulated — Clear internal logic
Compelling — Strong, shared narrative
REVISION ANXIETY: How stable does this decision feel?
Settled — Direction unlikely to change
Flexible — Adjustments expected
Uncertain — Revisited repeatedly
Volatile — No real decision has landed
Speed Trust Coherence