Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
Sketching and Prototyping
One of a designer's most basic goals is to bring excitement and surprise to a product's users.
When we sketch our initial vision, breathing the first real life into our idea, that's when we
usually find surprises of our own. When we produce a sketch or prototype of any kind—and
begin to see where our design might fit in the physical world—that's often a cue for delight.
This is when we uncover the secrets that have been locked in our visions. When we
begin to perceive the product physically, the model we've built in our minds becomes
something new. We sketch its contours and find them bending. We take a photo of our inter-
face sketch, crop the image to fit a mobile screen, and see it through the eyes of a potential
user. It's a whole new view. This is where design meets the uncertainty principle: the ob-
server always interacts with the observed. This is as true in design as it is in physics. The
interaction changes both. In our case, the physical experience of the product changes the de-
signer's view, spurring him or her to revise the proposed product.
For anyone who's a part of the creative process, this is where the fun begins.
Sketching and prototyping serve many purposes. They allow us to give our design real
dimensions, while showing it to others in a more physical format. Producing something we
can see gives us the opportunity to test and evaluate its features. The process shows us where
we are, and at the same time it provides us with the data we need to figure out where we
should go next.
Sketching and prototyping are two distinct functions, but they also overlap. Sketching
can begin with something as basic as doodling ideas and shapes on a pad during a conver-
sation. This quickly shifts to a more deliberate approach. With me, it involves grid paper
whose lines allow me the luxury of sketching quickly without the necessity of a ruler.
Roughing out the lines of the product, I begin to see it as a user might. Often this is when
my ideas about the product begin to take on something similar to a narrative. A colleague
of mine once noted that, “every story has a hero.” Sketching helps me understand who that
hero is, who's in the supporting cast, how they relate to each other and to the user. As I
sketch, I'm learning about the placement of components, and their interactions with each
other. Once I have a sense of how those should work I can better anticipate a user's likely
interpretations of each facet. I begin to see the hero in the story.
