what the heck are sketchnotes?
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@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Hello CamCreative. Thanks for having me. :)
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Thursday, 25 April 2013
I work as a user experience designer, currently at scientific research instituteSketching is an important tool in how I explore problems and communicate ideas.Sketchnotes are a great way for me to record and share the content of talks I attend.
Yes, sketchnotes are a thing
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Thursday, 25 April 2013
You might have been making visual notes for years. That’s great!The term “sketchnotes” was coined a few years ago by author and UX designer, Mike RohdeThey are a mixture of handwritten notes and doodles or sketches that capture the key points of a talk or event. They are immediate. They aren’t art (I think). And lots of people are making them.
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
What do sketchnotes look like?
@agentfin
@evalottchen
@onesquigglyline
@axbom
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Here are a few examples that are all lovely but quite different from one another. Black ink or colour. Mostly pen & paper but iPad, too.Pictures, text, lettering, connectors, dividers, arrows, frames, highlights...
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Comments on ebiinterfaces.wordpress.com ...
Thursday, 25 April 2013
From the comments on a blog post I wrote at the end of 2012... This slightly trollish comment is a bit caustic perhaps, but does capture the main idea of sketchnoting!Not sure about the hubris bit, though. It’s not showing off.
“Go to a conference, do some research on the speakers, arrive early, take a pen and paper, draw pictures, share them”
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Thursday, 25 April 2013
This, then, is a pretty adequate description of sketchnoting. Most of the time, people make sketchnotes at talks. And as far as I can see, most sketchnoters (whom I know directly) work in UX design, so there are lots of sketchnotes on that topic. That might be related to just how much most of us UXers use a pen and paper in our work... more on that later.
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
What do people make sketchnotes about?
@francisrowland
@kylesteed@rohdesign
@micheleidesmith
church
scienceUX design
food
Thursday, 25 April 2013
And as for topics?All sorts of things (not just talks about UX design and technology!)
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Benefits: for speakers
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Here are some benefits of sketchnotes, based on my experience.For speakers, they are a great way to get feedback on a talk.What did this sketchnoter pick up? Did they get the important things?How did they visualise them?
Here, author Scott Berkun recommends just that.
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Benefits: for the audience
@yahnyinlondon
I didn’t get to this talkbut luckily, AmandaWright did a great jobof taking sketchnotes
Thursday, 25 April 2013
The fact that a talk (let’s focus on those) has been recorded in this way is great.It’s already summarised - just the key things and points that really stood outHere’s what you need to know.Forgot something? Can’t make sense of your own notes?Missed a talk? Here are the sketchnotes
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Benefits: for you
I did these ones :)
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Training yourself: Engagement. Observation. Listening. Visualisation & translation.You will WANT to look at your notesAt a glance, you can see why this or that talk was interestingYou’ve already done the visual processing of a topic, quite often... This can help your thinking and communication (I’ve found)
Let’s talk about sketching
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
(don’t worry, we’ll get back to sketchnotes in a minute)
Thursday, 25 April 2013
For me, given the work I do, sketchnotes have been like doing a language course, and that has helped the sketching that I do as part of my work
sketching
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
sketchnotes
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Sketching and sketchnotes have a reciprocal relationship.I will always try to capture something with pen an paper, if only to confirm my understanding
sketching, not drawing
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
symbols, not exact likeness
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Let’s be clear: for either sketchnotes or sketching at work, I am NOT talking about drawing.I deeply admire people who can draw well and represent real things. I especially admire comic book artists.But for sketching and sketchnotes, symbols and simple representations are enough
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Sketching in action...
interaction design
UI design
product design
data visualisation
Thursday, 25 April 2013
So what sort of sketching am I talking about?Here are some cases where we might expect designers to start with sketches, before moving onto increasingly high-fidelity representations, or the final product.Architects, car designers do it, too. And don’t artists often sketch ideas before making the final artwork?
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Improving your visual literacyTone
Grammar
Vocabulary
Voice
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Sunni Brown (Doodle Revolution and Gamestorming co-author) talks about “visual literacy”The more you do this, the more “literate” you become.You’ll be the first to the flipchart, pen in hand!Bringing together simple styles and shapes, you can begin to quickly represent ideas on paper, capturing the voice of a speaker or colleague
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Sketching: starting lo-fiVisualising topics
Exploring concepts
Sharing ideas
Experimentation & iteration
Collaboration (several pens)
Thursday, 25 April 2013
I encourage my colleagues (with mixed success, admittedly!) to start with pen and paper.Why? Because very simply and very quickly, you can begin to visualise, share, adapt and play with ideas and concepts... before we get locked into our computers again
OK, back to sketchnotesHere are a few tips...
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Thursday, 25 April 2013
OK... back on track!
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Tip #1: use a pen, not a pencil
Thursday, 25 April 2013
I don’t want to be dogmatic. It’s not that you’re not allowed to use a pencil!But pencils are quietly dangerous: you can easily spend to long, faffing about with shading and getting things “just right”. Worst of all, you can rub things out and get sucked into making a perfect drawing of something. And it isn’t about drawing. Pens are about commitment!
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Tip #2: practice your handwriting
Thursday, 25 April 2013
All sketchnotes include handwritten text. Mine tend to include quite a lot.If you struggle to read your own writing, other people definitely will!Think of it as improving the accessibility of your notesI tend to prefer caps and small caps, semi joined-up
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Tip #3: listen for the stand-out points
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Listen for the most interesting things a speaker says. My friend Michele would ask you, “What would you tweet?”. these are the things to capture; often, these are the things to try and draw. If you’re lucky, the speaker will accompany their points with a nice image that you can try and copy (quickly)
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Tip #4: try not to attract attention
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Based on comments I read somewhere, and on my experience, I try to minimise the impact I make as a member of the audience. I’m not the one people came to see/listen to. It is tricky, because you might be doing something they’ve never seen before, but keep it cool. In small settings (like meetings), if people have no idea what you’re doing, think about mentioning it to them first. That way, they won’t think you’re being rude in some way, by having your head down, scribbling!
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Tip #5: sketchnotes are for you(but it’s good to share!)
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Most of the time, at least to start with, your sketchnotes are for you, first-and-foremost.Don’t worry about future readers or what the speaker will think. Add your own comments and inflections.You’re not a court reporter!
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Inspiration: books
This one isn’t really about sketchnotes
First one I readTHE book to have
Thursday, 25 April 2013
You can learn about sketchnotes in books.
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Inspiration: comics(for me at least... YMMV)
a fabulous comic book a book about letteringa book about comics
(see also @con_sequential)
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Personally, I think I might be a wannabe comic book artist with insufficient ability. :)But I still get ideas and inspiration from comics.
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Inspiration: drawing(I know. I said it’s not about drawing!)
symbols, not exact likeness
Quentin Blake Ed Emberley
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Sketchnotes involve drawing to some extent. Sometimes a lot; sometimes a little.If you’re not confident about drawing, don’t worry. This isn’t art. This isn’t illustration.Here are a couple of books that might get you going (and if you didn’t see the Quentin Blake exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum... you should have!)
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Inspiration: tutorials
Practical sketchnotingJason Aldermanhttp://www.slideshare.net/jalderman/practical-sketchnoting
Getting started with sketchnoting Michele Ide-Smithhttp://www.slideshare.net/micheleidesmith/getting-started-with-sketchnoting
Thursday, 25 April 2013
You can also learn in tutorials. My friend Michele ran one recently (and maybe she or the both of us will run it again, in Cambridge).
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
Inspiration: community
SketchnoteArmysketchnotearmy.com
@sketchnotearmy
Thursday, 25 April 2013
There is a community. Lots of people are trying sketchnotes or “coming out” as sketchnoters and sharing their notes. There’s a myriad styles and topics but Mike Rohde and Binaebi Akah collect them here.
Go forth and make sketchnotes!
@francisrowlandCamCreative April 2013
francisrowland
see also @camusability for tweetsabout Cambridge Usability Group
(and share them if you like: #sketchnotes)
Thursday, 25 April 2013
THANK YOU! Try it out - see if sketchnoting works for you.And don’t be afraid to share what you’re doing.
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