A workshop on sketchnoting that I ran at UX Cambridge 2013. The workshop is aimed at beginners who haven't tried sketchnoting before. Hat tip to Mike Rhode and his fantastic resource, The Sketchnote Handbook. This was the abstract for the workshop: Inspired by sketchnotes, but not sure where to start? In this very practical workshop Michele will take you through the end-to-end process of live sketchnoting, sharing tips and techniques to get you started. During the workshop, you'll get an opportunity create your own sketchnote! Sketching is a valuable skill for UX designers which can be used at all stages of the product design process to explore and communicate ideas. Sketchnoting helps to maintain and develop your sketching skills, as well as providing a memorable record of talks and workshops you've attended. And you don't have to be great at drawing to get started. In the last few years sketchnoting has become increasingly popular at UX events and conferences. Earlier this year Mike Rohde published The Sketchnote Handbook, which is an invaluable guide for any aspiring sketchnoter. Michele has been creating sketchnotes since November 2011 and as a relative newcomer to the sketchnoting community, is keen to share what she has learned along the way. Learning outcomes: An end-to-end process for creating live sketchnotes Techniques for improving your sketching skills

1. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
GETTING STARTED WITH SKETCHNOTING
Michele Ide-Smith
Senior UX Architect, University of Cambridge
@micheleidesmith

2. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
About me
• User Experience Designer
based in Cambridge
• Sketchnoting since
November 2011
• Co-organiser of Cambridge
Usability Group talks
2

3. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Workshop plan
• What is sketchnoting? (5 m)
• Why do sketchnotes? (5 m)
• How to create a sketchnote (30 m)
• Let’s sketch! (15 m)
• Sketch review (15 m)
• Top tips (5 m)
• Resources (5 m)
• Questions (10 m)

4. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
WHAT IS SKETCHNOTING?

5. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
What is sketchnoting?
A way to capture notes visually
Illustration by Mike Rohde from The Sketchnote Handbook (Peachpit)

6. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Lots of different styles…
Carolyn Sewell
flickr.com/photos/pedestriantype
Mike Rohde
flickr.com/photos/rohdesign

7. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Lots of different styles…
agent.fin
flickr.com/photos/agentfin
Eva-Lotta Lam
flickr.com/photos/evalottchen

8. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Lots of different styles…
Francis Rowland
flickr.com/photos/francisrowland
Gerren Lamson
flickr.com/photos/25552033@N06

9. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Lots of different styles…
9
Amanda Wright
flickr.com/photos/yahnyinlondon
turnleftisthehome
flickr.com/photos/25552033@N06

10. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Discover your own style!
Michele Ide-Smith
flickr.com/photos/micheleidesmith

11. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
It’s not just for talks…
11
Christian Frey
http://christianfrey.ca
Matthew Magain
uxmastery.com

12. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
WHY DO SKETCHNOTING?

13. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Learning & Memory
Paivio’s ‘Dual Coding Theory’

14. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Skills & Confidence
Explore design problems Communicate and
collaborate with your team

15. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Enjoyment!
15

16. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Be better than @markdalgarno !
16

17. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
GETTING STARTED

18. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Tools of the trade

19. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
At the event
• Get a good seat with a clear view
• Have your pens handy (it’s distracting for
others if you scrabble around in your bag!)

20. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Listening and live sketching
• Listen for key points you’ll want to re-visit*
• Great quotes? What would you tweet?
• What metaphors and images pop into your
head? Don’t be afraid to try sketching them.
• Don’t stress if you don’t catch everything!
The speaker will probably upload their slides.
*a good speaker lays out the structure of their talk at the start

21. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Slides are visual
• Speaker slides provide rich visual imagery

22. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Structure
Path Molecule Grid Vertical Clouds

23. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Visual Design Principles
• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity
23

24. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith24

25. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Visual Design Principles
• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity
25





26. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Make the Talk title pop out
• Do the title up front, or leave space to
complete it after the talk
26
Francis Rowland
flickr.com/photos/francisrowland

27. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Drawing People
Lo-fidelity Hi(gher)-fidelity

28. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Shape, size, expression
28
Different body sizes Expressive

29. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Activities and Motion
29

30. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Detail and character
30

31. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Activity!
• Draw a stick person’s body using these
basic shapes in 1 minute:
31

32. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Speaker portraits
32
Francis Rowland
flickr.com/photos/francisrowland

33. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Speaker portraits
• Find an image of the speaker in Google
images, Twitter or on the event website
• Speakers are *generally* very forgiving!
33

34. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Some Tips for Drawing Faces
34

35. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Facial expressions
35
Happy Miserable Delighted
Angry Surprised Worried

36. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Activity!
• Create these expressions in 2 minutes:
36
AngrySurprisedHappy

37. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Objects

38. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Activity!
• Draw 3 objects in 5 minutes
38
ChairToasterSmart Phone

39. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Containers

40. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Activity!
• Draw a ribbon banner
40

41. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Dividers & Connectors
Horizontal Curves
Shading adds emphasis
Connectors

42. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Typography

43. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Use size And weight to denote hierarchy
43
Mike Rohde
flickr.com/photos/rohdesign
Gerren Lamson
flickr.com/photos/25552033@N06

44. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Practise drawing type faces
44

45. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Activity!
• Draw a script font in 5 minutes:
45

46. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Shading and Colour
46

47. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Mistakes happen…
47
• Use shading or
turn the mistake
into something
else, e.g. a badly
drawn neck
became a scarf!

48. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Mistakes happen…
48
• If it’s not easy to
recover, scan your
notes and fix the
problem in
Photoshop e.g. if
you get the
speaker’s points in
the wrong order.

49. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
TIME TO SKETCH!

50. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Activity!
• It’s your turn to create a sketchnote!
• Let’s watch a short TED talk (6 m 51 s)
• Listen for key quotes & important ideas
Tom Wujec – Build a Tower, Build a Team
www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_a_tower.html

51. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Add some Finishing Touches!
Add colour & shading (I Promarkers!)

52. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Sketch Review
• Post your sketches up on the wall
• Present your sketch to the group
– What do you like?
– What don’t you like?
– What did you learn?
52

53. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Share Your Sketchnotes!
Take a picture, or
scan your notes
Then share with people at the
event, or those tracking
remotely!

54. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Sketchnote Communities
• sketchnotearmy.com
• flickr.com/groups/sketchnotes/
• flickr.com/groups/thesketchnotehandbook
54

55. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Top 10 Tips
1. Practise often! TED & UX talks, Vimeo,
YouTube and Meet Ups
2. Always take a sketchbook & pens to events
3. Add title & speaker name before the talk, or
leave space to complete them later
4. Think like a designer – CRAP! (Contrast,
Repetition, Alignment and Proximity)
5. Don’t panic if you miss something!
Transcribe 2-3 words, leave space & refer
to slides later

56. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Top 10 Tips
6. Watch the time & space you have left
7. Use shading to turn mistakes into
something else (or scan & edit in
Photoshop!)
8. Add event name & Twitter handle
9. Don’t use reverse of pages & add a blank
sheet between pages (prevent bleed
through)
10.Relax, be creative & above all, enjoy
yourself!

57. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Useful Stuff!
rohdesign.com/book
uxmastery.com/sketchnoting-101-how-to-create-
awesome-visual-notes
slideshare.net/jalderman/practical-sketchnoting
sunnibrown.com/doodlerevolution

58. Michele Ide-Smith @micheleidesmith
Get in touch!
@micheleidesmith
www.ide-smith.co.uk