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
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)
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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?
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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!