This is a 1-hour sketch-along talk I gave at a Pivotal Labs meetup in Sydney: http://www.meetup.com/PivotalSydney-Tech-Talks/events/233277706/ . Grab a pencil and paper, and follow the examples in this deck to learn more about how to explore, explain and envision ideas using simple sketching, visual metaphor, and conceptual illustration.

1. Ben Crothers Director, Second Road
@bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au
Sketching to explore,
explain and envision

2. Hi everyone, I’m Ben
DESIGN TOOLS &
TECHNIQUES
BRING OUT
CREATIVITY
HELP BRING
VISIONS TO LIFE
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

3. Words fail

4. Visuals stick Image: Rosie Joyce

5. So I’m not talking about this…

6. …or this

7. 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

8. How comfortable are
you with sketching?

9. 3 types of sketching
LITERAL
REPRESENTATION
VISUAL
METAPHOR
CONCEPTUAL
REPRESENTATION
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

10. No more stick figures!
The basics

11. Figures convey attitude,
action, and story
Sketch the body language
Sketching figures and expression
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

12. Faces convey emotion,
connection, and story
Think in comic language
Sketching faces and emotion
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

13. Amping up your visual vocabulary
Sketching objects
and icons

14. 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

15. 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

16. Foundation lines
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

17. Foundation lines
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

18. Foundation lines
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

19. Foundation lines

20. Frames and ribbons
highlight importance
Thought and speech
bubbles are good for
storyboarding
Framing devices
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

21. 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

22. Playing your movie in other people’s heads
Visual metaphor

23. 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

24. 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

25. Visual metaphor - examples
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

26. Combine objects and icons for richer meaning
without words
Visual metaphor - on Red Bull
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

27. Moving beyond simple Venn diagrams
Systems and
relationships

28. Explore different comparison patterns to
show relationships between elements
Connections and proportions
Ben Crothers | @bencrothers | ben.crothers@secondroad.com.au

29. 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

30. 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

31. Final words

32. 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

33. Thanks
@bencrothers

34. • 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