Sketching in UX Design, a personal challenge.
The following article develops my first experience of sketchnoting, using the TED Talk by Margaret Gould Stewart, “How giant websites design for you”.
It’s hard for me to believe I would be asked to draw again after high school. Back then, I found my drawing skills were not (and are still not) really up to standards, to the point where I could draw a camel that eventually looked like a rabbit… By doing this sketchnote exercise, I was definitely put out of my comfort zone. In the two following paragraphs, i discuss in further details the two sketchnote versions I’ve made in real time, watching this TED Talk.
It’s interesting to see the level of immersion you need to be in to watch the talk and sketch at the same time. I had to stay away from trying to transcribe everything the speaker said, to only keep the most important ideas and concepts, and map them in a logical way. I also tried to use typography to highlight the keywords of the talk. In terms of structure, I kept a linear approach, whereby each of the three main points (details, data and change) are each on a separate line. I found this approach more adapted to the structure of the talk.
On this second attempt, as i had watched the talk already once, I could focus more on the key points to include in my notes. I tried to highlight the logical links between the different elements. In terms of structure, the linear approach was still the most comfortable for me. I realised my notes were shorter than on the 1st version, but may be less clear for someone who hasn’t watched the talk. I was also wondering whether I included too many words compared to illustrations, as I didn’t feel comfortable with drawing.
Overall, I wouldn’t say the 2nd version is better than the first one, different elements have been picked up during the talk, and I tried to transcribe them as well as I could. I now understand how useful sketchnotes can be, to engage in a conversation, share with other people, and clarify concepts and ideas that couldn’t be well described with words. One thing (amongst many others!) I’ve definitely learnt from this exercise : the more you sketch, the better you get!
As I’m completely new to this sketchnote exercise, I would greatly appreciate your feedback/comments/tips that would help me improve my skills!
