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Sketchnotes

Posted by Thea in design, Interaction design, service design, Usability Tools, user experience, user interface, Visual design on January 5, 2012 | 1 comment

It’s nothing new to say that visual communication can be extremely compelling, or even that rushed, sloppy, low-fi visual communication can STILL be extremely compelling.

I’ve always doodled in the margins – I bet you’ve done it too. And in addition to being kind of fun, this can be a useful tool for communicating ideas! So how, when, and why do you turn to sketching? I started at a conference. This is ideal, because everyone takes something different from a presentation anyway so you can feel free to just cherry pick what resonates with you and start there.Don’t worry about layout. Use as many words as you need to (some sketch notes consist mainly of type – accentuated, laid out, gorgeous type) Yeah, it’s gonna be sloppy. NOTE: Sketching as the speaker speaks is an advanced art. Wait until the point is made before trying to explain it with a quick sketch. Think icons, not illustrations. Don’t worry, it gets easier. Don’t let a blank canvas intimidate you. You’ll probably throw away or never look at your first few efforts, so don’t be a perfectionist! Sometimes, it’s still faster to jot down words. Or, you might be note-taking from printed information, instead of live presentations. Recently, I did a project where we spoke to a lot of customers (I know, it’s crazy!) Later, I was trying to capture the important parts of each interview at-a-glance. Each person ended up with a (very rough!) sketch of what they looked like, a collection of tools, a description of their environment, and a few quotes.Putting these together really helped me make choices about what was key to communicate, and what was important in relation to what. In a way, it was a bit like a caricature: accentuating what made each of them unique and editing out all but the most basic and telling details. You can iterate this and upgrade the fidelity at this point if you are using the sketch further…So pick up a pen and get started! Engaging! Doesn't feel like work! Stand out from the crowd!There are plenty of resources online to get you started.

 

January 5, 2012. Posted by Thea in design, Interaction design, service design, Usability Tools, user experience, user interface, Visual design.

  • Anonymous

    Genius…

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