Here are the five simple tips we cover both at Credera and at the start of each Dallas VizThink meeting. Hopefully you'll find them useful next time you're the one holding the marker.

1. Sketching 101:
Whiteboard Pro-tips
Dallas, TX
January 6, 2010
Discussion document – Strictly Confidential & Proprietary

2. Why Sketching Matters …
Whoever is best able to describe the problem is the person most likely to solve it
“When I started out as a consultant, it took me a long time
to figure out what a consultant really does. After many
years, I finally realized that a consultant’s role is to be an
on-demand problem solver: you’re called into a business
meeting, presented some data and questions, and
expected to start solving the problem right then, whatever it
may be…”
“Any problem can be made clearer with a picture, and any
picture can be made using the same simple set of tools.”
Dan Roam
Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and
Selling Ideas with Pictures
Sketching 101: Whiteboard Pro-tips
January 6, 2012 2

3. Top 5 Tips …
Effective sketching is easier than you think – following a few simple rules will
make your drawings both easy to follow and memorable
Top 5 Tips for Effective Sketches
1. Title your sketch
2. Combine simple shapes
3. Express emotion or state
4. Label each noun
5. Arrows demonstrate relationships
Let’s take a closer look at each of
these rules to see how easy effective
sketching can be.
Sketching 101: Whiteboard Pro-tips
sketch
by
@PaulGoode
January 6, 2012 3

4. Top 5 Tips … Title Your Sketch
Write the sketches title before making any other marks on the board – this
establishes a frame and purpose for your effort
Tip #1: Title The Page / Whiteboard And Write The Date
Don’t worry about getting the title right.
You can always change it later.
But getting a title down on the board gets
you and everyone else in the room thinking
about the problem, ready to break it down,
describe, and solve it!
Sketching 101: Whiteboard Pro-tips
January 6, 2012 4

5. Top 5 Tips … Combine Simple Shapes
Even the most complex illustrations and diagrams are just collections and
combinations of the most basic shapes that we all know how to draw
Tip #2: Combine Simple Shapes
The most elementary shapes
can be combined into very
recognizable symbols.
Every noun depicted here is
composed of simple boxes,
lines, and circles or curves.
This is more than enough
detail to communicate
meaning (and
understanding).
Remember
Ed
Emberley?
He’s
awesome.
Sketching 101: Whiteboard Pro-tips
January 6, 2012 5

6. Top 5 Tips … Express Emotion Or State
Demonstrating action and emotion amplify the effectiveness of sketches
Tip #2: Use Simple Lines To Show Activity & Emotion
Simple changes in the lines
used for eyebrows and
mouths can dramatically
effect the emotion of a simple
“smiley” face – very useful for
contrasting the “current state”
from the “future vision”.
Using a triangle, circle, and a
few lines we can illustrate a
wide range of physical
activity – very useful for
describing a process.
Remember
Ed
Emberley?
He’s
awesome.
Sketching 101: Whiteboard Pro-tips
January 6, 2012 6

7. Top 5 Tips … Label Each Noun
Easiest way to make your symbols easier to recognize is to label them
Tip #4: Use Both Words And Shapes In Your Sketches
Some people learn visually.
Some people learn audibly.
When we label our pictures
we cater to both, and remove
ambiguity.
These images are easier to
identify because they are all
labeled.
S<ll
awesome.
Sketching 101: Whiteboard Pro-tips
January 6, 2012 7

8. Top 5 Tips … Arrows Demonstrate Relationships
Connect your nouns with verbs – arrows help demonstrate how each of your
symbols are related
Tip #5: Use Arrows To Show Chronology,
Causality, or Any Other Relationship
Connecting your
nouns creates visual
sentences. A
connection might
show steps in a
process, cause and Required
Content
for
Legal
Quals
Database
effect, or even just a
simple sentence like
the concept map
illustrated here.
Before this was
cleaned up in Visio, it
was just a collection
of nouns on a
whiteboard, each
entity connected with
a verb.
Sketching 101: Whiteboard Pro-tips
January 6, 2012 8

9. Top 5 Tips … Summary
Take another look at this sketch and you’ll see how these simple, repeatable
concepts make an effective means for communication
Top 5 Tips for Effective Sketches
1. Title your sketch
2. Combine simple shapes
3. Express emotion or state
4. Label each noun
5. Arrows demonstrate relationships 3
1
“Any problem can be made clearer
with a picture, and any picture can be 2
made using the same simple set of
tools.” 5
(Dan Roam, again)
4
Sketching 101: Whiteboard Pro-tips
sketch
by
@PaulGoode
January 6, 2012 9