Sketching

Reasons for sketching

• You can iterate your ideas more quickly
• It enables collaboration
• Low cost
• To communicate your ideas
• It gets out all your ideas in a quick and easy way
• Helps reduce layout and functionality issues

Tips for sketching

• Use a thicker pen
• Draw straight lines
• Be thoughtful about colour: highlight important content
• Make sure they are comprehensible
• Use the right gear
• Time yourself

These are all useful things to know, and I will continue using these tips when I sketch. I want to improve my sketching skills because I can see how beneficial and important it is.

 

Sketching exercises

We were given a sketching task as a warmup exercise. We were told to draw a camera, house, magnifying glass, speech bubble, a lock, and a heart. First, we were given 20 seconds, then 10, then 5. It was interesting to see how they changed with the reduced time. However, it shows me how quick and easy sketching can be. The pictures we drew are commonly used in design as icons. This task showed me how they don’t need huge detail and can be made up quickly with basic shapes like squares and circles.

We were then told to practice sketching wireframes of different interfaces. First was the Instagram profile page, then smartwatch screens, and lastly, Instagram on a desktop. Here, I was able to put the tips I learned previously into practice. I used a thicker pen which prevented me from focusing too much on small details as we didn’t have much time. I tried to make them as neat and comprehensible as possible, for example, I drew X’s to show where images would be. Doing things like this makes it easier for other people to understand your ideas.

 

Millar’s Law

This week, we looked into another UX law, Millar’s Law. This was expressed by George Millar in 1956. He stated that the average person can only keep 7 items in their working memory at a time. This means that as designers, we should break down content into more manageable chunks as it makes it easier for users to process and use. It also makes it easier for users to memorise how an interface works.

Below is an example of how we apply Millar’s law in everyday life (breaking up a phone number):