SKETCHING By James Norwood

SOME LINKS FOR YOU

http://www.alistapart.com/ http://www.uie.com/ http://v1.yaronschoen.com/

http://v4.jasonsantamaria.com/ http://designinformer.com/ http://52weeksofux.com/ http://404uxd.com/

http://www.adaptivepath.com/ http://www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/

http://www.themoleskin.com/

YOU’LL ALSO WANT TO READ…

Sketching User Experiences. Getting the design right and the right design. Bill Buxton ISBN: 978-0-12-374037-3

…and some links :

http://www.billbuxton.com/

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/MIX/MIX09/KEY01

  “The only true voyage of discovery is not to go to new place, but to have others eyes.” Marcel Proust  

TO DOODLE

•  To Doodle – “To Make spontaneous marks to help yourself think”

•  29% greater retention of information – when exposed to verbal information.

•  Pre-emptive process to stop you from loosing focus.

Sunni Brown – Doodling. 

TO SKETCH

WHAT EXACTLY ISVISUAL THINKING?using a visual approach to facilitate the

thought or problem solving process.

VISUAL THINKINGat its core is about discovery and exploring different

POSSIBILITIESfor making things clear and easy for people to

UNDERSTAND

LANGUAGE,METAPHORS &

COMMON

ANALOGIES to communicate, document and solve

problems and share common stories

Visual Thinking Goal

THIS STUFF WASVERY SIMPLE FOR US

This isn’t a new skill. When we were children

We just have to relearn some simple principles

  “If you want to get the most out of a sketch, you need to leave big enough holes.” Bill Buxton

 

YOUR MIND FILLS IN THE GAPS

WHY SKETCHES ROCK! According to Bill Buxton

QUICK A sketch is quick to make, or at least gives that impression.

TIMELY A sketch can be provided when needed.

INEXPENSIVE A sketch is cheap. Cost must not inhibit the ability to explore a concept, especially early in the design process.

DISPOSABLE If you can’t afford to throw it away when done, it is probably not a sketch. The investment with a sketch is in the concept, not the execution. By the way, this doesn’t mean that they have no value, or that you always dispose of them. Rather, their value largely depends on their disposability.

CLEAR VOCABULARY The style in which a sketch is rendered follows certain conventions that distinguish it from other types of renderings. The style, or form, signals that it is a sketch. The way that lines extend through endpoints is an example of such a convention, or style.

DISTINCT GESTURES There is a fluidity to sketches that give them a sense of openness and freedom. They are not tight and precise, in the sense that an engineering drawing would be, for example.

MINIMAL DETAIL Include only what is required to render the intended purpose or concept. Lawson (1997, p242) puts it this way, “… it is usually helpful if the drawing does not show or suggest answers to questions which are not being asked at the time.” Superfluous detail is almost always distracting, at best, no matter how attractive or well rendered. Going beyond “good enough” is a negative, not a positive.

APPROPRIATE DEGREE OF REFINEMENT By its resolution or style, a sketch should not suggest a level of refinement beyond that of the project being depicted. As Lawson expresses it, “ ... it seems helpful if the drawing suggests only a level of precision which corresponds to the level of certainty in the designer’s mind at the time.”

AMBIGUITY Sketches are intentionally ambiguous, and much of their value derives from their being able to be interpreted in different ways, and new relationships seen within them, even by the person who drew them.

SKETCHING WITH PHYSICAL OBJECTS

TECH BOX at IDEO

It consists of hundreds of gadgets. Most are laid out on open shelf-like drawers. Some are toys, and are just there because they are clever, fun, or embody some other characteristic that may inspire, amuse, or inform (or perhaps all three). Others might be samples of materials that could be useful or relevant to future designs. This might include flexible cloth-like fabric that can also be used as a touch pad, or rubber that does not bounce.

The CoWall Sweden’s School of Arts and Communication’s

“…the fidelity of the sketch should reflect the depth of our thinking. A rough idea deserves a rough-looking sketch, while a well-thought-through idea warrants finely drawn, detailed imagery.”

Bill Buxton 

SKETCH vs PROTYPE

“Sketches have a distinct vocabulary that differentiates them from finished renderings. They are not rendered at a resolution higher than is required to capture their intended purpose or concept. The resolution or style of the rendering should not suggest a degree of refinement or completion that exceeds the actual state of development, or thinking, of the concept.”

Bill Buxton 

HUNKERING

TO SKETCH OR NOT TO SKETCH?

DESIGN IS A COMPROMISE

DON’T BE PRECIOUS

WHY CLIENTS LOVE SKETCHES

“There are no dumb questions. There are no ideas too crazy to consider. Get it on the table, even if you are playing around. It may lead to something.” Bill Buxton

 

SKETCHING TECHNIQUES

LESSON #1

MASTER BASIC SHAPESWhat do I want you to know?

Most of the things we draw are made up of seven basic shapes.

pointlinecirclesquare

rectangleovaltriangle

...AND VARIATIONS OF THOSE SHAPES

LESSON #2MAKING FACESWhat do I want you to know?

Drawing faces is all about learning to see with an empathetic eye and knowing that when you sketch you aren’t trying to be Picasso... oh wait a minute maybe you are....

eyes & eyebrows express A LOT

heads don’t have to be perfectly round

learn the basic patterns

LESSON #3

DRAWING PEOPLEWhat do I want you to know?

This one is tough for all of us because we aren’t observant and we start with the wrong part of the body.

start with the torso

think about your own limbs

keep it simple

...ITS NOT ANATOMY CLASS...REALLY.

LESSON #4LETTERINGWhat do I want you to know?

You will need to draw letters and frames to divide sections in your sketches or to explain & label

start with your natural handwriting

trace if necessary

go back to kindergarten

LESSON #5

ARROWS,CONNECTORSWhat do I want you to know?

Arrows and connectors are used to show the relationship between two objects or to connect objects in a flow diagram. Arrow can also be used to direct a viewers attention in a certain direction.

LESSON #6

FRAMES & CALLOUTSWhat do I want you to know?

Frames will help you section your sketches and create flows. They are also good for illustrating relationships in systems

LIFE DRAWING

LOGO SKETCHING

SITE SKETCHING