Make Your Stick Figures Work Harder: The 3 C's of Sketching

MAKE YOUR STICK FIGURES WORK HARDER The 3 C’s of Sketching Jason Ulaszek @webbit Sketch Camp Chicago November 2, 2013

INTRO So, this sketching thing... 2

THE 3 C’S OF SKETCHING 1. Communication 2. Context 3. Collaboration @webbit

EXERCISE Let’s warm up. 4

URBAN PUPS It’s important to socialize your dog and make sure they get enough exercise, but for people who live in cities, this can be especially difficult to manage. Hectic schedules combined with limited access to dog-friendly public space results in many dogs spending their days cooped up in apartments. Urban Pups is a new service that allows dog owners to swap pet care tips, find dog-friendly parks, and share insights and experiences. Whether you’re looking for a dog park in your area or just looking for house training suggestions, Urban Pups can help keep all of the pups in your community happy and healthy. @webbit

YOUR ASSIGNMENT (PART 1) You’ve been hired to lead the UX practice at Urban Pups. As the lead UX designer, you’re now responsible for helping set the experience design strategy and direction for the soon-to-be-released mobile application. Until now, the company has only provided their service via a desktop site. Your team consists of a junior UX designer, a project manager and a front-end developer. They’ve been doing the best they can to support the sales and marketing business stakeholders, but they haven’t been following much of a design process. This could be a great opportunity to introduce some sketching! 1. Draw the experience of a sketching activity. 2. Consider communicating the process, the context of the experience and collaboration amongst team members. 3. You have 5 minutes. @webbit

COMMUNICATION Sketches communicate. You should too. 7

“ Communication is one of the largest hurdles we face in the product design process. ” Aaron Irizarry Product Designer, Nasdaq @aaroni @webbit

SKETCHING CAN HELP • • • • Quickly communicates ideas & direction (early) Helps avoid roadblocks by inviting discussion Visually communicates concepts, flows & designs Engaging and fun - builds dynamic team environment @webbit

WE USE IT TO COMMUNICATE THE EXPERIENCE @webbit

TO COMMUNICATE OUR FOCUS OR @webbit

OR EVEN BUSINESS IDEAS... Source: “twttr sketch”, Jack Dorsey March 24th, 2006 http://bit.ly/bKQPrd @webbit

OR PHYSICAL PRODUCTS Source: “Early sketch book”, Harley Davidson Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin @webbit

OR SERVICES http://bit.ly/Htn4lS @webbit

BUT, EQUALLY IMPORTANT... Source: “Sketching Interfaces”, Michael Angeles http://slidesha.re/SVgjaD @webbit

COMMUNICATE EVALUATION Source: “Sketching Interfaces”, Michael Angeles http://slidesha.re/SVgjaD @webbit

COMMUNICATE THE PLAN Source: “Good Design Faster: New Techniques for Creative Ideas”, Leah Buley UI 15 2010 @webbit

SAMPLE PLAN - SKETCHBOARDING @webbit

SHOW & TELL THE STORY OF THE PROCESS @webbit

IT WILL HELP SET EXPECTATIONS @webbit

KEY ELEMENTS TO COMMUNICATE ✓ Assumptions ✓ Structure you’re making and flow of the process ✓ Roles team members will play ✓ Level of fidelity rationale ✓ Review and evaluation process ✓ Anticipated outcome @webbit

CONTEXT Focus, depth and dynamics of the sketch experience. 22

“ Don’t get focused on the screen. You want to pull back and consider the context. The experience. ” Peter Merholz VP of Design, Groupon @peterme @webbit

INSIGHT The fidelity of a sketch should reflect the depth of your thinking. @webbit

FOCUS AND PURPOSE • Sketching To Communicate An Idea "Here's what I'm trying to tell you..." • Sketching To Record What We're Seeing And Hearing "This is what I want to remember..." • Sketching To Work Through Some Thinking • Sketching To Reflect What We're Hearing "This is what I think you're telling me..." • Sketching To Document "Here's is what we've ended up with..." "What will this look like?..." Source: “Why We Sketch”, Jared Spool http://www.uie.com/articles/why_sketching/ @webbit

COMMUNICATE AN IDEA @webbit

RECORD WHAT WE’RE SEEING & HEARING @webbit

WORK THROUGH SOME THINKING @webbit

SKETCHING TO DOCUMENT @webbit

SO, HOW DO YOU GET THERE? Source: “Good Design Faster: New Techniques for Creative Ideas”, Leah Buley UI 15 2010 @webbit

THE SKETCH MIGHT INCLUDE... • • • Nouns – people, places and things • • • Reaction of the system - personality, playfulness Emotion – frustration, surprise, enjoyment, fear Descriptors – compare previous to the new now, compare to competition Systems and data involved (current and new) Design principles that you’re satisfying ... and the environment of the experience! @webbit

SHARPIE MAKES YOU COMMIT Source: “Good Design Faster: New Techniques for Creative Ideas”, Leah Buley UI 15 2010 @webbit

OR TOOLS... @webbit

COLLABORATION Work together to build understanding and fill in the gaps. 36

“ The goal is to move from the idea of designer as artiste towards a notion of designer as facilitator. ” Leah Buley Author and UX Designer, Intuit @ugleah @webbit

TYPICAL PROCESS 1. Ground yourself 2.Sketch 3. Share and evaluate 4.Refine @webbit

ROLES IN COLLABORATION • The pen • The team (contributors) • The sketch • Moderator/instigator • Parking lot @webbit

FOR SOME TEAM MEMBERS, GETTING STARTED MIGHT BE CHALLENGING @webbit

MAXIMIZE ENGAGEMENT Do • • • • • Find inspiration Work fast; generate more Embrace constraints Explain the experience (annotate) Stop at ‘good enough’ Don’t • Be defensive • Focus on details early • Forget the purpose (big picture) @webbit

GROUND EVERYONE BEFORE EVALUATING @webbit

EVALUATION TIPS • Clearly identify roles in the process - e.g., • • “Walk the data” before getting started • • Refer back to inputs when needed designer, moderator, etc. Challenge common design patterns and assumptions Create three lists for each sketch advantages, disadvantages and open questions @webbit

HAVE FUN WITH SKETCH-PROPS @webbit

ADDITIONAL IDEAS • Document the process and experience (it’ll help you next time) • Scan the work for remote team members or later recall • Record screen casts and walk- throughs @webbit

CREATE OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHERS TO PARTICIPATE @webbit

EXERCISE Let’s refine our earlier sketch. 47

YOUR ASSIGNMENT (PART 2) 1. Turn to the person next to you. 2.Explain your drawings to each other. 3.Now refine each other’s drawing to improve upon the a. Communication b. Context c. Collaboration 4.You have 10 minutes. 5.Then we’ll share. @webbit

WRAP UP What’s next? 49

“ I would add another “C” (CxCCC). Clarity of Communication, Clarity of Context, Clarity of Collaboration. Sketching does that on all the three aspects, and if something isn’t clear… ask why, involve more people, fill the gaps until it gets clear. ” Davide Casali Author and UX Designer, Automattic @folletto @webbit

ica ion at or un on ti lla b m Co m Co Clarity Context @webbit

“ Let’s eradicate illuphobia. Is that even a word? It is now. ” Brandy Agerbeck Artist & Graphic Facilitator, Loosetooth @loosetooth @webbit

FIN Thank you. 53