Charu’s Notes Series: Sketching User Experience (Part 2)

If you are just starting this series, I would encourage you to go back and read Part 1 too. If you’ve already read the first part, welcome back. I am glad to see that you’ve stuck around.

After telling us about ‘Why sketching is important’ and sharing nuggets from his vast experience, the author of Sketching User Experience — Bill Buxton goes on to discuss ‘What really qualifies as a sketch’. Here are his thoughts combined with my notes.

Each of these points talks about an important aspect of sketches.

Sketches are:

1. Quick
2. Easy to Make
3. Inexpensive
4. Disposable
5. Plentiful
6. Have their own vocabulary / style. They are not too refined.
7. Minimally detailed (i.e. sketches do not focus on answering questions which are not being asked at that time.)
8. Sketching is an activity which enables thinking. It is not necessarily a by-product or an end-product. There is more to sketching than just the ‘artifact’ of the drawing.
9. Suggest and explore rather than confirm : Sketches serve the purpose of inquiry. They stimulate new and different interpretations, that is why they are essential to the cognitive process of design.
10. Sketches are social. Sketches need the company of other sketches and even other people apart from their creator to capitalize on their potential. That is why it is best to keep sketches on display — on a wall or on a whiteboard. They encourage collaboration.
11. Sketches are ambiguous, that is why it is imperative that their creator annotate them well. Annotations helps to communicate information which the sketch itself cannot communicate sufficiently. E.g. Information about the dynamic transitions etc.

Not Just Pen and Paper Sketches

According to Bill Buxton, the term ‘sketch’ includes much more than the typical pen and paper sketch. It could even be a quick, rough 3D model made up of cardboard, glue and other such common or uncommon items. It could be a quick, enactment of a situation. It could be a series of sketches similar to a storyboard. It could even be a video or animation or a flip-book. No matter what means of visualization you choose — as long as it is quick, explorative and uses minimal resources (as compared to what would have to be invested in the making of the actual product), it qualifies as a sketch.

Bill Buxton shares a number of examples of ‘alternative’ sketches (That’s what I call them, but he simply refers to them as sketches). I believe all UX or Interaction Designers need to see these, to understand that the UX patterns we use every other day originated somewhere.

1. This video of the Bifocal Display also qualifies as a sketch.
2. And so does this video of the Perspective Wall.
3. Check out this video of Sketch-a-move. The cars are being moved around with the help of magnets from under the table. But these magnets are not visible to the viewer. The objective is to communicate the idea with reasonable accuracy without utilizing high-end complicated technology.

There are many other such examples in the book.

Sketches Not Prototypes

Bill Buxton emphasizes that sketches are not the same as low fidelity prototypes.

Sketches are usually made early on (and possibly throughout) the design process. You may use a sketch to simply visualize a brief and look at it with fresh eyes. You may use it communicate with your other team members. It can be means of recording your thoughts as you have them. These sketches can then be re-evaluated at a later time with other colleagues. Sketches are a visual aid for thinking.

Prototypes are usually made when there is some more clarity regarding which design direction you want to take. Prototypes are used to visualize a solution (more so than the problem) and to see if there are some problems which you hadn’t accounted for. Prototypes may not be as plentiful, as quick and as inexpensive as sketches. Though both methods encourage the ‘fail-fast’ approach, prototypes are just a little more precious than sketches. Prototypes are a visual aid for illustrating the solution.

Adopting Sketching in the Design Process

The author recommends that every designer should adopt sketching as a part of their design process. Sketches may take some time to make and it may amount to some cost to the company. But this cost is going to be much much less compared to the cost of re-work at a later stage of the project.

If your sketches take too much time and are too expensive, there is a chance you are being self-conscious and breaking away from the true spirit of sketching — which are supposed to be unfinished and disposable. By sticking to the true spirit of sketching, we can ensure that this method is easy to adopt in the design process.

My Thoughts

‘Sketching User Experience’ is a great book for understanding the role that sketching (or alternative sketching) can play in the design process.

1. As a UX Designer, I know that many UX projects can be completed with sufficient competence by relying on existing UX patterns and conventions. But if you find yourself with the opportunity to truly innovate, then it’s worth considering the methods highlighted in the book.

2. And even if you are doing conventional UX design, ensuring that sketching is a part of your design process can go a long way in justifying your design rationale, communicating with your stakeholders and avoiding re-work at a later stage.

3. This book has a LOT to offer to executives from a non-design background who would like to take their team or company on the path of innovation. As Bill Buxton mentions, Johnathan Ive and Apple design team were still in the same company even when Apple wasn’t doing well. The talent was there. But it took Steve Jobs to identify, understand and lead this talent towards creating success. Read this book to understand why all that playing around in the design studio is in fact actual, serious work.

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Writing out these articles has been a great learning experience for me. It forced me to assimilate my own thoughts and understanding on what I read.

Let me know your thoughts on this article. If you find it useful, please don’t forget to leave claps.