GETTING STARTED WITH

SKETCHNOTING
Michele Ide-Smith
User Experience Designer, Red Gate
@micheleidesmith
 Workshop plan

• Introduction (3m)

• Getting started (7m)

• Let’s sketch! (15 m)

WHAT IS
SKETCHNOTING?
 What is sketchnoting?

Illustration by Mike Rohde from The Sketchnote Handbook (Peachpit)

Visual note taking

 Lots of different styles…

Carolyn Sewell Gerren Lamson

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedestriantype/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/25552033@N06/
 Lots of different styles…

agent.fin Eva-Lotta Lam

http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentfin/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/evalottchen/
 Lots of different styles…

Francis Rowland Mike Rohde

http://www.flickr.com/photos/francisrowland/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/
Discover your own style!

Michele Ide-Smith
http://www.flickr.com/photos/micheleidesmith/
WHY DO
SKETCHNOTING?
Learning & Memory

Paivio’s ‘Dual Coding Theory’

 Skills & Confidence

Explore design problems Communicate and collaborate

with your team
GETTING STARTED
Tools of the trade
 At the event

• Get a good seat with a clear view

• Have your pens handy (it’s distracting for
others if you scrabble around in your bag!)
 Listening and live sketching

• Listen for key points you’ll want to re-visit*

• Great quotes? What would you tweet?
• What images pop into your head? Don’t be
afraid to try sketching them.
• Don’t stress if you don’t catch everything!

*a good speaker lays out the structure of their talk at the start
 Structure

Path Molecule Grid Vertical Clouds

 People

Lo-fidelity Hi(gher)-fidelity Expressive

Different body sizes Seated Active Hands Characterful

Objects
Containers
 Dividers & Connectors

Horizontal Curves Connectors

Shading adds emphasis

Typography
LET’S SKETCH!
 Try creating a sketchnote!

• Now it’s your turn!

• Let’s watch a short TED talk (6 m 51 s)
• Listen for key quotes & important ideas

Tom Wujec – Build a Tower, Build a Team

www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_a_tower.html
 Finishing Touches

Add colour & shading (I love Promarkers!)

 Share Your Sketchnotes

Take a picture or Then share with people at the

scan your notes event, or those tracking remotely!
 Top 10 Tips

1. Practise often! TED & UX talks, Meet Ups

2. Always carry a sketchbook & pens to events
3. Add title & speaker name before the talk, or
leave space to complete them later
4. Think like a designer: structure & flow,
proximity & grouping, size, colour & contrast
5. Don’t panic if you miss something! Transcribe
2-3 words, leave space & refer to slides later
 Top 10 Tips

6. Watch the time & space you have left

7. Use shading to turn mistakes into something
else (or scan & edit in Photoshop!)
8. Add event name & Twitter handle
9. Don’t use reverse of pages & add a blank
sheet between pages (prevent bleed through)
10. Relax, be creative & above all, enjoy yourself!
 Useful Stuff!

rohdesign.com/book/
sketchnotearmy.com
flickr.com/groups/thesketchnotehandbook/
sunnibrown.com/doodlerevolution/
 Get in touch!

@micheleidesmith
www.ide-smith.co.uk
e michele.ide-smith [at] red-gate [dot] com