Presto Sketching: The Magic of Simple Drawing for Brilliant Product Thinking and Design

by Ben Crothers

Overview

Do you feel like your thoughts, ideas, and plans are being suffocated by a constant onslaught of information? Do you want to get those great ideas out of your head, onto the whiteboard and into everyone else’s heads, but find it hard to start? No matter what level of sketching you think you have, Presto Sketching will help you lift your game in visual thinking and visual communication.

In this practical workbook, Ben Crothers provides loads of tips, templates, and exercises that help you develop your visual vocabulary and sketching skills to clearly express and communicate your ideas. Learn techniques like product sketching, storyboarding, journey mapping, and conceptual illustration. Dive into how to use a visual metaphor (with a library of 101 visual metaphors), as well as tips for capturing and sharing your sketches digitally, and developing your own style.

Designers, product managers, trainers, and entrepreneurs will learn better ways to explore problems, explain concepts, and come up with well-defined ideas - and have fun doing it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781491994283
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/29/2017
Pages:	367
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ben Crothers is a design strategist with an infectious passion for sketching, and helping others unlock their powers of creativity, problem-solving and synthesis through sketching. Even before discovering design, he used to moonlight as a cartoonist for the Australian Army and published a book of comics (STAND EASY: The Best of Ben) in 1994. Since then, he has helped loads of organizations design, build and launch websites, digital products, and services, always keeping a keen eye on uniting pixels with people in the best ways possible. Ben is also in demand for strategic workshop facilitation, graphic recording, and his classes on sketching and facilitation skills.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Chapter 1 Introduction 3

Sketching: Your Untapped Superpower 4

Wait, There's More Than Just Sketching Wireframes? 4

How This Book Will Power Up Your Product Thinking and Design 6

What You Won't Get from This Book 7

Using This Book 7

Enjoy the Ride 9

Interview with Alex Riegelman 10

Chapter 2 Winning in the New Visual Age 13

Words Fail 14

The Tsunami of Words Is Making Us Dumber 15

Software Is Killing Our Communication 16

We Need Synthesis 17

Visuals Stick 18

Everything Is Going Visual 20

It's Time to Be a Visual Producer, Not Just a Consumer 22

Interview with Glenn Stephenson 25

Chapter 3 Building Your Confidence 29

Rediscover Your Pony 30

Sketching Lets You Be the Creator You Used to Be 31

Sketching Is an Extension of Your Mind 33

Using the UST Model to Improve Your Confidence 38

Sketching Is an Extension of Your Voice 44

Sketching Is an Extension of Your Character 45

Sketch Your Way to Confidence 46

Let's Get Our Sketch On 48

Interview with Jacqui O'Brien 50

Chapter 4 Getting the Right Materials 53

The Materials Section That You Will Actually Read 53

What Materials Star Sign Are You? 54

Markers 56

Paper and Sketchbooks 57

Whiteboards 61

Digital Surfaces 61

Blending Traditional and Digital Media 65

Sketching Materials at Work 66

Interview with Justin Cheong 70

Chapter 5 Mastering the Basics 75

Warming Up with Basic Lines 76

Sketching at Different Scales 77

Sketching Figures and Action 78

Sketching Faces and Expressions 83

Lettering 87

Sketching Simple Objects 91

Sketching Frames and Separators 96

Interview with Matthew Magain 102

Chapter 6 Tackling More Complex Objects 105

Let's Go Inside Out 106

Some Object Libraries for You to Sketch 109

Sketching Hands and Products 114

Interview with Andrew On Yi Lai 121

Chapter 7 Harnessing Visual Metaphor 125

Enter the Metaphor 126

How to Illustrate Concepts by Using Visual Metaphor 130

How to Solve Problems by Using Visual Metaphor 133

Mixing Metaphors 137

Visual Metaphor Library 140

Chapter 8 Visualizing Abstract Concepts 173

Conceptual Representation 174

The Three Elements of Conceptual Thinking and Sketching 176

Chapter 9 Bringing Out Your Style 193

Would the Real Style Please Step Forward? 194

Adding Visual Emphasis to Your Sketches 196

Color 201

Chapter 10 Tackling the Problems 211

Why All These Maps and Canvases? 212

Understanding People with the Empathy Map 217

Understanding Value Exchange by Using Value Relationship Mapping 221

Understanding a Product Experience by Using Journey Mapping 223

Understanding an Offering with the Value Proposition Canvas 229

Understanding a System with Concept Modeling 232

Understanding an Organization by Using the SWAM Canvas 238

Understanding an Organization's Place in the World by Using the PESTLE Canvas 240

Interview with John Tutt 246

Chapter 11 Designing the Future 251

Rallying Around a Common Future with the Team Purpose Map 252

Envisioning the Future State of Your Customers with the Superhero Booth Sketch 254

Exploring Goals with the Build-a-Bridge Sketch 256

Knocking Down the Barriers with the Goal Barriers Sketch 259

Envisioning a Future Product with the Experience Canvas 261

Bringing Future Experiences to Life with Storyboarding 264

Chapter 12 Plotting the Course 289

Generating Actionable Ideas with the Concept Canvas 290

Prioritizing Action with the Hurdle Track Sketch 295

Prioritizing Resources with the Resource Tank Sketch 301

Interview with Devon Bunce 306

Chapter 13 Sharing Your Sketches with Others 309

There's Magic in the Making, Not Just What's Made 310

Capturing Your Sketches 310

Storing and Sharing Your Sketches 314

Reusing Your Sketches 316

Chapter 14 Spreading Your Wings 321

Keep Looking for Opportunity 322

Keep Your Tools (and Your Mind) Sharp 323

Try New Materials 323

What Next? 324

Chapter 15 Concept-to-Metaphor Transfigurator 329

Chapter 16 Visual Pattern Reference-o-Tronic 3000 335

Shared Clarity 336

Fresh Thinking and Discovery 337

Actionable Insights 338

Invention 338

Strategic Perspective 339

Prioritizing 339

Direction and Alignment 340

Index 341