Makayla Lewis There is no singular definition of a doodle [sketch]. There is only insight that comes from what you make of it. Within User Experience (UX) visual thinking, sketching and visual note taking is often used in the development and expression of experiences and complex content as it offers practitioners a better way to express information, research and their experiences to different audiences.
This workshop will begin by offering a background of visual thinking, sketching and note taking with numerous examples from UX and neighbouring fields. In the second part, building a visual language, attendees will sketch along with the tutor following a series of best practice examples that will be live drawn and digitally projected for immediate viewing, e.g. the humble line, connectors and separators, people and actions and typography, and exercises such as a rapid sketching and collaborative development of a visual icon library.
Then attendees will explore and discuss how visual sketching and note taking can be integrated into UX user research specifically using an “interview your neighbour” exercise. The purpose of these two parts is to offer attendees a space to explore and develop their visual thinking, sketching and note taking skills whilst obtaining constructive feedback from the tutor. There will be a question and answer session at the end of the workshop and recommended reading list to take away to support further practice.
Dr. Makayla Lewis has a passion for HCI research. She completed a PhD in HCI at City University London in 2012. Makayla is now a Post Doc at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she uses HCI, UCD and visual methods to draw out an understanding of how people influence the management of their data and how they use social networks to extend and maintain this influence. Makayla is also an accomplished illustrator, visual thinker, UX sketcher and visual note taker (sketchnoter) and her work can be viewed at www.makaylalewis.co.uk and on Twitter @maccymacx.