Sketching for non-designers

I was asked to teach an internal “sketching class” here at our R&D facilitiy with the objective of giving people and understanding of how to present their ideas though basic sketching - thus i would show them how to do the fundemental drawings with shape… and such.

I think i am going to change it up and teach them more how to tell a story and the importance of telling the story with adding sketches - and show how a sketch can be anything. I would appreciate thoughts / feed back / samples… below are images i am pulling together to show that a "sketch can be any level of quality and still be of great value.

Okay first thoughts (before my 2nd coffee….) – More important than being a great sketcher is to be a great story teller that uses pictures to enhance the story you are tell (the idea is the story) to explain visually. We learn / absorb in three base methods with people being dominate in different ones.

  1. Verbal

  2. Audio

  3. Visual
    If you use only a single one or 2 then you risk losing a person who absorbs through the other


    Perhaps 2 hours
    Two-part class (1 session)

  4. The psychology of sketching (more lecture style)
    a. What are you trying to achieve?
    b. What is a sketch ?
    c. Value
    d. What is good
    e. What is story board

  5. Sketching practice (practical execution)
    a. Layout
    b. The story
    c. How to communicate through sketch
    i. Focus on sketching
    d. Adding color
    e. Making it speak



Chevis, totally agree on the story telling angle.

My advice is to break up the lecture the part. Keep alternating between lecture, demo, practice. This keeps everyone on their toes the entire time.

For example, you could do a short 10 minute intro and a bit on psychology of the sketch. Then do a very simple exercises, like drawing a smily face vs drawing a sad face. Have everyone do it, then talk about how much complexity of concept they just achieved. I try to break everything down as simple as possible… i.e. draw a crowd, a bunch of circles with the front row having smily faces… showing action, arrows in space… that kinds of stuff. Do that 3-4 times then have a brief wrap up convo and boom, 2 hours gone.

I think you are on the right track with a focus on communication of concepts and ideas vs quality of sketch for this mixed group.

I like that method allot, i think if i add that approach i will keep everyone much more engaged. THANKS!

No problem. It prevents people from leaning back too much or falling into the “let me just check my phone quick”. I like to think of these types of sessions, and brainstorms as well for that matter, less like classes and more like mental boot camps. Channel that inner drill sergeant :slight_smile:

I lead a day-long workshop in sketching for non-sketchers recently. It was focused on building facility and comfort with sketching for people who usually don’t. After the intro, it generally follows a demo-exercise-critique cycle, which like Yo said, keeps them on their toes and fully engaged. No boredom there!

This is a whole day of course, but you could take pieces of it - the exercises build on each other, so I wouldn’t suggest going too far out of order. Or just use it as a template to jump off of and make it your own. I found the timing was pretty spot on (optimistic if anything), and in sticking to the durations, it helps move everyone forward (once again, per Yo: inner drill sargeant!!). The students generally found it good, with the biggest “complaints” being “we want more of everything”. I think you’ll find that your two hours goes very, very quickly.

And I would drop anything about color , especially in your timeframe - that could easily be a whole class in itself. Instead of color, I would focus on the importance of value and contrast.

Have fun with it, I bet it’ll be great.


Workshop Syllabus
Sketching for UX Designers, Researchers and Developers
Instructor: Jake Fleisher

SYLLABUS OVERVIEW

10:00 - 10:15
Introductions

10:15 - 10:30
Lecture: Approaching Sketching

10:30 - 10:45
Demo: The Rules of Sketching

10:45 - 11:15
Exercise - Review I: Warm-Ups, Devices and Static UI

11:15 - 11:30
Critique and Correction I: Warm-Ups, Devices and Static UI

11:30 - 12:00
Exercise - Review II: Devices and Dynamic UI

12:00 - 12:45
Lunch

12:45 - 1:00
Critique and Correction II: Devices and Dynamic UI

1:00 - 1:10
Quick Review

1:10 - 1:25
Demo: The Hand and Fingers

1:25 - 1:50
Exercise - Review III: Incorporating Hands and Fingers in Your Sketches

1:50 - 2:00
Critique and Correction III: Incorporating Hands and Fingers in Your Sketches

2:00 - 2:15
Demo: Incorporating People in Your UI and Scenario Sketches

2:15 - 2:30
Exercise - Review IV: Incorporating People in Your UI and Scenario Sketches

2:30 - 2:40
Critique and Correction IV: Incorporating People in Your UI and Scenario Sketches

2:40 - 2:55
Demo: The Use Scenario

2:55 - 3:40
Exercise - Review V: Use Scenarios and Storytelling

3:40 - 3:50
Critique and Correction V: Use Scenarios and Storytelling

3:50 - 4:00
Further Resources and Taking It to the Next Level


DETAILED SYLLABUS

10:00 - 10:15
Introductions
instructor and students answer a few general questions: why are you here, what do you do, what are your goals?

10:15 - 10:30
Lecture: Approaching Sketching
How to prepare, and what to think about (and not think about) when you sketch.
• open sketch pads (demo “right way”) and have tools ready to use, even before exercises
• sketching has to be re-learned
• lack of fear has to be re-learned (or fear has to be unlearned), as it was when we were young
• moving “the sketching skill” in the brain: from logic to lizard
• physical movements and human factors are important (shoulder, elbow wrist)
• environmental conditions are important (physical orientation, desktop real estate)
• do not (initially) attempt to sketch and design simultaneously, you will improve at neither/fail at both

10:30 - 10:45
Demo: The Rules of Sketching
These are the qualities (and guidelines to approach them) that make sketches look good. The “rules” to achieving these qualities are a great place to start from, but are not meant to be followed absolutely. The end goal is to easily produce good-looking, highly communicative sketches, not to follow rules. Any way you get there is great.
• material and tool use
o paper pads vs. notebooks, bending covers over, holding your pen or pencil, your palm on the page (or not), etc.
• line quality
• contrast (line and other)
• drawing through
• burning in (line contrast)
• warm-up sketching, including
o hitting targets on the paper
o where to look
o what is parallel

These are the secondary supporting rules to help your sketches “get there”.
• hidden lines
• overlay/underlay technique
• proportion and scale (granted some design in here, already breaking the “separation rule”, but one has to keep in mind proportion to some extent for accuracy (hands, tablet vs. phone, etc.)
• lighting and shadow (we will not get into this very deeply as it is properly the domain of 3D objects, but knowing a little is very useful)

10:45 - 11:15
Exercise - Review I: Warm-Ups, Devices and Static UI
Students work on a specific exercises, balancing facility, comfort, and speed. Instructor rotates several times through classroom, observing individual students’ work, offering suggestions and correcting work and technique through demonstration.
• warm-up routines: getting the body and brain used to these movements
o circles, ellipses, parallel lines, repeated lines, rectangles, etc.
• draw a device (phone, tablet or similar)
o indicate UI (example: a status screen/an alert/a lock screen) on-screen and through call-outs (lettering and layout)

11:15 - 11:30
Critique and Correction I: Warm-Ups, Devices and Static UI
Further practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

11:30 - 12:00
Exercise - Review II: Devices and Dynamic UI
Students work on a specific exercises, balancing facility, comfort, and speed. Instructor rotates several times through classroom, observing individual students’ work, offering suggestions and correcting work and technique through demonstration.
• draw a device (phone, tablet or similar)
o sitting on a surface vs. no surface
o indicate light source where appropriate
o indicate dynamic UI (example: a status screen and next step/an alert and how it is dismissed, saved, or responded to/unlocking a lock screen) on-screen and through call-outs (lettering and layout)
12:00 - 12:45
Lunch

12:45 - 1:00
Critique and Correction II: Devices and Dynamic UI
Further practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

1:00 - 1:10
Review
Where we are, how we got here. Review of rules and guidelines, with demonstrations by students.

1:10 - 1:25
Demo: The Hand and Fingers
How to approach sketching human hands and incorporating them in your UI. Importance of proportion, viewpoint, and rotation. Discussion of where and when to do this.

1:25 - 1:50
Exercise - Review III: Incorporating Hands and Fingers in Your Sketches
Students work on a specific exercises, balancing facility, comfort, and speed. Instructor rotates several times through classroom, observing individual students’ work, offering suggestions and correcting work and technique through demonstration.
• draw a device (phone, tablet or similar)
o in a human hand
o indicate light source
o indicate dynamic touch-screen UI (example: a status screen and next step/an alert and how it is dismissed, saved, or responded to/unlocking a lock screen) on-screen and through call-outs (lettering and layout)


1:50 - 2:00
Critique and Correction III: Incorporating Hands and Fingers in Your Sketches
Further practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

2:00 - 2:15
Demo: Incorporating People in Your UI and Scenario Sketches
How to approach sketching people in static and dynamic forms, and incorporating them in your UI and scenario development. Importance of proportion, viewpoint, implied and demonstrated movement.

2:15 - 2:30
Exercise - Review IV: Incorporating People in Your UI and Scenario Sketches
Students work on a specific exercises, balancing facility, comfort, and speed. Instructor rotates several times through classroom, observing individual students’ work, offering suggestions and correcting work and technique through demonstration.
• draw a person standing in several different views (front, back, side, top)
• draw a person moving or going through motions
o indicate the motions both implicitly and explicitly

2:30 - 2:40
Critique and Correction IV: Incorporating People in Your UI and Scenario Sketches
Further practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

2:40 - 2:55
Demo: The Use Scenario
How to approach scenario development as a storytelling tool. Importance of context, keyframes, viewpoint, scale, minimalism, speed.

2:55 - 3:40
Exercise - Review V: Use Scenarios and Storytelling
Students work on a specific exercises, balancing facility, comfort, and speed. Instructor rotates several times through classroom, observing individual students’ work, offering suggestions and correcting work and technique through demonstration.
• draw a simple use scenario that requires 3 - 5 frames maximum
o show scale, movement, gesture, input, output and outcomes
o choose UI or non-UI scenarios, whichever is easier
o consider as example scenarios where each might include: human need, system input, system output, human decision-making, outcome
• device retrieval, operation, device storage
• kitchen appliance operation (such as refrigerator, oven, toaster)

3:40 - 3:50
Critique and Correction V: Use Scenarios and Storytelling
Further practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

3:50 - 4:00
Further Resources and Taking It to the Next Level
Review of common resources for continuing and improving facility. Emphasis on the importance of practice and review cycles for improvement.

This is great info. Thank you very much!

Sure thing. Let us know how it goes!