These product sketches by Ki-chol Nam show an evolution of ideas across the page. They present complete and incomplete thoughts, details, suggestions, and notation as well as more-resolved sketches. Note that the drawings flow across the page space, use limited amounts of color and media, and are visually engaging.

Calling out key information and ideas in the context of a larger drawing can be done in a number of ways. One method is to use scale to establish a hierarchy in communication to differentiate dominant or essential images from subordinate or supportive ones. Another approach is to increase fidelity or resolution of key ideas by using tighter technical control of line, tone, and color. While establishing a hierarchy is necessary to enhance readability and communication, combining too many levels of differentiation (enhanced line work, excessive color, etc.) may yield an overworked or overly complex sketch.

C o mposing drawings a nd layouts G enerating a series of quick thumbnails can help you to plan various layouts and configurations for screen-based and print design. Key elements c an be simplified to rectangles, and supporting text reduced to lines to promote expediency. These thumbnails can then be translated into more-refined drawings or used as a basis to transition into digital sketching and wire frames. (Thumbnail sketches by Mark Baskinger; screen concepts by William Bardel.)

A Quick and Employable Strategy: Moving from Words to Pictures, or from Written Narratives to Visual Narratives Interaction designers practicing in service design and design for user experience come from a variety of backgrounds and educational training. In conducting design drawing and sketching workshops in a variety of conference and business contexts, I’ve learned that many interaction designers express their ideas only through written narratives, wire frames (for screen development), and very simplistic doodles. Sketching and visualization are often separated as the work for visual designers or industrial designers, who now find themselves in the world of interaction design because they tend to possess a better skill set for communicating concepts in visual form. Many of the interaction designers I’ve met express frustration for this apparent divide and believe that if they had these visualization skills,