The Joy of Sketch : explorations in hand-crafted visuals

by Kate Rutter

September 8, 2008

There’s always been a strong visual element to our work: architecture diagrams, interface wireframes, concept models, system and service models. And we’ve become adept at the computer applications that help us create these things. But there are other tools out there, such as the simple tools of pen, paper and sketching.

About two years ago, Adaptive Path experienced an upwelling of analog approaches. We started using design tools that jumped out of the screen and into the real world. We started using our hands to make things. Alongside our computers there appeared slabs of blank paper. Rather than reaching for a mouse, we started reaching for a Sharpie. Large rolls of paper and drafting dots became part of the lingua franca of client working sessions. Sketching was the new black.

And we saw the impact of these approaches in many ways: more visibility for design solutions. More engagement in collaborative working sessions with clients. More design artifacts co-created in real-time. Our design solutions got faster and stronger.

There’s a lot of research to support the idea that visual thinking activates different parts of our brains than language thinking. Pictures allow a holistic view of something. "Seeing is believing" holds especially true when working with a diverse group of people.

Graphic elements create stronger memory and recognition points; it’s easier to remember an image than a page of text. Illustrations communicate ideas faster than descriptions, because processing pictures requires less "translation" than written language. This means more meaning in less time. In addition, there is a tactile pleasure to hand sketching that is rich and engaging.

As these approaches have moved virally throughout the company, we’ve embraced them in a number of ways:

• Last October, The Grove Consultants held a 3-day internal training for AP staff on graphic facilitation.
• Using our new skills, we graphically captured the sessions at the Adaptive Path MX conference.
• Jesse sketches his way through the Aurora concept in this video.
• Leah and Brandon taught a range of analog techniques in Good Design Faster at UX week.
• We hosted Mark Baskinger to teach an internal training for AP staff, immediately followed by his workshop at UX week.
• Peter blogged about the siren song of pencil and paper.

Analog tools of pen and paper have had a major impact on our work. Looking back over the past two years, there are overall themes in the hands-to-paper trend. Below are four techniques that have supported more rigorous capture and exploration of ideas, fostered clearer communication of concepts, and as a result have enabled better and faster design. Each one is illustrated with a visual so that you can see how the different methods shift the nature of the info.

1) Hand Sketching
In order to become adept at capturing ideas and concepts visually, we need to know the basics of hand sketching. For the work we do, hand sketching falls into two main categories: drawing people, places & things; and drawing abstract concepts and ideas.

Drawing people, places, things
Getting comfortable with hand-sketching things, people and objects is key to communicating complex ideas for service design, product design and environments/spaces. We need to be able to communicate scenarios and interfaces clearly and visually, but at low fidelity. Tools in the toolkit are the basics of composition, shape, line quality, color, perspective and creating abstract human forms. Put together, these elements comprise a visual language for telling compelling stories visually and quickly.

What it’s good for:

• Illustrating product concepts and product interfaces.
• Creating scenarios and storyboards.
• Drawing physical spaces.

What it looks like:


View the larger image on Flickr.

Drawing abstract concepts & ideas
Conceptual drawing captures the essence and structure of ideas. These are diagrams, models, figures and charts. All can be drawn by hand, and the opportunities are unlimited…new forms and models emerge frequently. Key to this approach is developing the visual grammar necessary to make shapes and lines that tell the right story to communicate compelling information.

What it’s good for:

• Using simple shapes and lines to create compelling pictures of abstract concepts.
• Distilling thoughts from a group into a unified, clear picture.
• Creating visuals that "solve problems and sell ideas" (Dan Roam’s great quote!)
• Forwarding conversations with product and business stakeholders.

What it looks like:



View the larger image on Flickr.

2) Graphic recording and graphic facilitation
Graphic Recording refers to the act of transcribing a meeting using large display graphics and words without a lot of interaction with the group. Graphic facilitation is the process of combining graphic work with meeting facilitation, sometimes in a team with a recorder, and often alone. Both methods rely on accurate listening, on-the-fly composition, and mixing words and images to accurately record the happenings of a conversation, presentation or event. These concepts were pioneered by David Sibbert of The Grove Consultants.

What it’s good for:

• Capturing group conversation and contributions in real time.
• Using visuals and note-taking to guide the conversation.
• Developing a language of symbols to communicate potent concepts.
• Create an artifact of a shared experience.

What it looks like:



View the larger image on Flickr.

3) Mind Mapping
Mind mapping explores ideas via radiant and associative thinking. This enables you to delve into an idea space in a structured yet fluid way. By creating mind maps, you discover and reveal the elements at play in and around an idea. Starting with a central concept and radiating out in a free-form star-like structure is a natural and powerful way to explore and flesh out an idea.

What it’s good for:

• Pushing your thinking out from a central concept or idea.
• Organizing your thoughts and ideas.
• Breaking away from lists and creating spatial notation.
• Figuring out what the heart of an idea is.
• Understanding the scope of a concept.

What it looks like:



View the larger image on Flickr.

4) Sketchnoting
Sketchnoting is a personal form of capturing and/or exploring information visually. Really, it’s simply journaling with imagery. This is not a new concept; visual journaling has been around for ages, but it’s gaining a lot of momentum for people who attend events and capture the information in visually compelling ways. There’s a lot of overlap with graphic recording, but sketchnoting tends to happen on a personal and individual level, not in front of a group or for the purposes of group share-outs.

One thing is for sure: people love to look at other people’s visual stuff. Words? Not interesting. Pictures? You have to beat people off with a stick. It’s a natural and wonderful connecting tool. People are enchanted by the visual communications of other people.

What it’s good for:

• Capturing a presentation, talk, article, book or personal idea exploration.
• Combining words and pictures to illustrate and evoke meaning.
• Developing a personal style for visual communications.
• Maintaining a strong personal visual practice.
• Sharing ideas with others: friends, colleagues and community members.

What it looks like:



View the larger image on Flickr.

Further Inspiration
We’ve listed links and additional inspirations on the blog. What methods and approaches have you experienced that have furthered your practices? Please share them in the comments. New tools are always welcome!

Events like VizThink help us learn ways to further our work in interesting ways. And resources like the Periodic Table of Visualization Methods keep us inspired with how many options there are for communicating concepts.

These are only a few of the ways we’ve found to infuse product and design work with the liveliness of hand-crafted visual elements. I know we’ve only started to scratch the surface on the opportunities to find new ways for teams to envision, design and communicate ideas that make for great experiences.

It’s a vast world of visual methods out there, and we’re having a lot of fun and success in using these lightweight yet impactful techniques. Viva the joy of sketch!

Kate Rutter is a senior practitioner at Adaptive Path. During her ten plus years in the web industry, she’s honed her talent for bringing companies and customers closer together through smart strategies and inventive design. She actively embraces the term “specialized generalist.” Making ideas visible and visual makes her heart sing.