How to Draw Quick, Useful UI Sketches

Presented at Lean UX 2014, April 12, 2014
www.leanuxnyc.co

In this fun, hands-on workshop, I’ll lead you through a series of exercises which help you learn to draw good-looking, quick, useful, user interface (UI) sketches.

This class covers:
• Types of sketches
• Why sketch?
• Sketching materials
• Grids, containers and functional groupings
• Developing your personal UI shorthand

This workshop is appropriate for designers, product managers, Web developers, software engineers or anyone else who needs to think about or communicate concepts for digital products. No prior artistic or drawing experience necessary. If you can draw a circle, a square and a triangle, you’ve already got the basics covered!

Learning how to quickly sketch screen layouts and UI elements helps you think through design problems, communicate ideas to other people, collaborate, and reduce the need for pixel-perfect deliverables. Work through the exercises in this workshop and pick up some new skills you can use right away in your own projects.

Transcript

1. Quick, Useful UI Sketches April 12, 2014 #LEANUX14
2. Lane Halley lane@lanehalley.com @thinknow
3. @thinknow • Why sketch? • Types of sketches • Sketching materials • Grids & functional groupings • Your personal UI shorthand Today you will learn
4. @thinknow “A sketch is a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not usually intended as a finished work.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sketch_%28drawing%29
5. @thinknow • Record what you see • Explore ideas quickly • Demonstrate ideas to others Why sketch?
6. @thinknow http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Rocket_to_the_Moon
7. @thinknow Sketching is a core design skill
8. @thinknow Many kinds of sketches • Visual recording • Sketchnotes • Storyboards • Concept sketches • UI sketches
9. @thinknow Visual Recording @thinknow Sketchnote by @deanmeistr http://leanuxnyc.co/nyc/a-visual-recording-of-leanuxnyc/
10. @thinknow Sketch by @iamctodd https://twitter.com/iamctodd/status/322818463712284672/photo/1 Sketchnote
11. @thinknow http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3224/3634514075_ce82b9eedc_o.jpg Storyboard @thinknow
12. @thinknow Concept sketches @thinknow
13. @thinknow Sketch by @rayraydel https://www.flickr.com/photos/rayraydel/3868485532/ UI sketch
14. @thinknow UI sketching is a core skill for product teams
15. @thinknow UI sketches help teams • Explore options quickly • Externalize thinking • Share understanding • Feel ownership
16. @thinknow “The way to have product team members trust each other and get along is to have them sketch together.” Joshua Porter @bokardo http://bokardo.com/archives/the-importance-of-sketching-in-product-design/
17. @thinknow Sketching helps everyone be on the same page
18. @thinknow Everyone can draw Be fearless!
19. @thinknow Drawing Tools
20. @thinknow Surfaces • Printer paper • Grid paper • Whiteboard • Notebook(s) • Sketch sheets
21. @thinknow The right notebook? @thinknow
22. @thinknow http://sneakpeekit.com/ Wireframe browser Multi-layout Wireframe iPhone Quick Sketch iPad Quick Sketch free downloadable sketch sheets
23. @thinknow Reverse wireframing • Quickly sketch existing UIs • See and understand UIs better • Separate sketching from design
24. @thinknow Semantic sketching • Headings • Body copy • Images • Controls • Form elements
25. @thinknow sketch by @rohdesign https://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/3307874546/ Headings Body copy Button Image
26. @thinknow Personal UI shorthand • Representative (not literal) • Fast • Versatile • Structure, hierarchy, relationships • NOT visual design
27. @thinknow Sketch by @chrisrisdon http://www.flickr.com/photos/32783264@N08/4587209002 Another shorthand sketch
28. @thinknow The pencil has great dynamic range. Your lines can be faint or strong, thick or thin
29. @thinknow http://blog.alesandrini.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pencils.jpg http://learntoart.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/pencil-hardness-scale.jpg
30. @thinknow Get your pencils ready! Let’s draw some shapes
31. @thinknow • Draw a page of squares • Draw a page of circles • Draw sets of parallel lines Warm up exercises
32. @thinknow You can draw almost any UI using basic shape primitives: circle, triangle, rectangle, line
33. @thinknow Draw this control panel using only the four basic shapes shown
34. @thinknow
35. @thinknow Tip #1: Work “outside in” • Draw the outside box first • Place large elements first • Add details and emphasis last
36. @thinknow Draw this screen working from the outside in
37. @thinknow Text Text
38. @thinknow Basic vocabulary: How will you quickly draw these elements?
39. @thinknow Headings (big, medium, small) Body copy Images Buttons Links Sketch these elements
40. @thinknow 12 column grid http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/examples/hero.html http://alefeuvre.github.io/foundation-grid-displayer/
41. @thinknow Containers http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/examples/hero.html http://alefeuvre.github.io/foundation-grid-displayer/
42. @thinknow Containers (responsive)
43. @thinknow Tip #2: Plan your sketch • Aspect ratio • Grid / guides • Containers • Images / icons • Text blocks
44. @thinknow Planning exercise: What’s the structure here? How much detail do you need to show?
46. @thinknow Now you’re warmed up Let’s do a few more...
51. @thinknow Extended vocabulary: How will you quickly draw these elements?
52. @thinknow Radio buttons Scrollbar On/off toggle Progress bar Sketch these elements Text input & label Combo box Checkboxes
53. @thinknow Let’s practice form elements.
56. @thinknow OK, now it’s time to put it all together.
58. @thinknow Here’s the last one Focus on the structure
60. @thinknow Advanced vocabulary: How will you quickly draw these elements?
61. @thinknow Sketch these elements Accordion Carousel Media player Edit controls
62. @thinknow Congratulations! Keep sketching and you’ll continue to improve
63. @thinknow Show and tell Here are some ways I use sketches
64. @thinknow Talking sketch
65. @thinknow Show and discuss alternatives @thinknow
66. @thinknow Designer / developer pairing @thinknow
67. @thinknow Wireframe walkthrough Text @thinknow
68. @thinknow
69. @thinknow #uisketch Share your new skillz!!
70. @thinknow the pencil fear Don’t