Ben Crothers Director, Second Road@bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Sketching to explore, explain and envision

Hi everyone, I’m Ben

DESIGN TOOLS & TECHNIQUES

BRING OUT CREATIVITY

HELP BRING VISIONS TO LIFE

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Words fail

Visuals stickImage: Rosie Joyce

So I’m not talking about this…

…or this

Sketching to help us generate and communicate ideas to others The basics, figures and faces Common iconic objects, visual metaphor Conceptual sketching for systems and relationships

What I am talking about:

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

How comfortable are you with sketching?

3 types of sketching

LITERAL REPRESENTATION

VISUAL METAPHOR

CONCEPTUAL REPRESENTATION

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

No more stick figures!

The basics

Figures convey attitude, action, and story Sketch the body language

Sketching figures and expression

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Faces convey emotion, connection, and story Think in comic language

Sketching faces and emotion

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Amping up your visual vocabulary

Sketching objects and icons

All objects can be broken into simple lines and shapes, such as rectangles and circles

Basic objects

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Draw light foundation lines first in pencil or light marker Draw the final lines in black marker using the foundations lines as a guide

Foundation lines

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Foundation lines

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Foundation lines

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Foundation lines

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Foundation lines

Frames and ribbons highlight importance Thought and speech bubbles are good for storyboarding

Framing devices

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Vary line weight for emphasis Add lozenges to group objects Add shadows to anchor the objects in space

Tips for adding vitality and interest

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Playing your movie in other people’s heads

Visual metaphor

We understand new concepts by relating them to previous concepts Simple images are powerful visual metaphors for communicating concepts

Visual metaphor

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Clichés are boring. Visualising clichés is awesome.

Tip: Play the ‘What Would My Boring Uncle Say?’ game

MEANING METAPHOR SKETCH

This data is of dubious quality

Take this with a grain of salt

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Visual metaphor - examples

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Combine objects and icons for richer meaning without words

Visual metaphor - on Red Bull

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Moving beyond simple Venn diagrams

Systems and relationships

Explore different comparison patterns to show relationships between elements

Connections and proportions

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Sketch arrows to convey journey and process Treat the arrows like characters in themselves, and bring them to life

Time and flow

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Show structured events and sequences by combining arrows and shapes Use business process notation, like fishbones and swimlanes

Order and sequence

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Final words

Get into the sketchbook habit Set yourself challenges - one new icon a week, draw on the whiteboard with your team Find your style - develop your look over time Display your sketches

Final words

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

Thanks@bencrothers

• Drawing Ideas (Mark Baskinger and William Bardel) - my favourite sketching book right now

• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Betty Edwards) - great approach; something from outside the UX domain

• Sketching User Experiences (Bill Buxton) - the most often referenced book

• Sketching User Experiences - The Workbook • Rapid Viz: A New Method for the Rapid Visualisation of Ideas

(Kurt Hanks & Larry Belliston)

References

Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au