Juice your creative orange with visual thinking

In the screencast I did with Miles, we ended up talking quite a bit about how I approach the development and brainstorming process when I'm working on a new project. People seemed intrigued by the topic of conversation, so I've been preparing a longer treatise on the subject.

In short: pen and paper is your friend. In long: ... well, keep reading!

The power of paper

There's just something different about the way your brain works when you are using your hand, and moving it, rather than typing. I personally feel like my brain's wired differently when I work with physical things out here in the real world, rather than living solely in the domain of the virtual.

There are other benefits, too. It's hard to get as freeform as you like on a computer.

You could use a tablet, but it's not quite the same. I love OmniGraffle, but a freethinking tool it is not. You could use something like SketchBook Pro, fine drawing software that it is, but again... it's just not the same.

Writing, sketching, and drawing are a visceral experience. My arms don't move much when I type... but they do when I draw. And then there's the texture of the paper and writing instrument, and the way your hand skims the paper when you move, and the delicious sound of thick sketchbook paper when you turn the page (and the angry crinkles when you fight with the spiral binding).

It's visual. It's physical. It's sensual. Translation: it's brain sex.

Many of us spend way too much of our lives in the virtual world. These jaunts into the real world are a grounding experience, in addition to all the other benefits.

What for?

Oh, and did I mention that this sensual brain sex is useful, too?

Here are some great reasons to break out your sketchpad and pens.

Intentional uses

Giving your brain a warmup.

Brainstorming.

Juicing your creative orange.

Doing UI work.

Conceptualizing whatever it is you want to do.

Placing your project on a map and in context.

Unintentional side effects

Coming up with ideas you hadn't expected.

Connecting things where you saw no connections before.

Unlocking bits of your brain that surprise even you.

Revving up passion... rejuvenating your energy & interest in a project.

Create interesting artifacts for your project's/company's/life's history.

Learning how to draw adorable little stick figures.

Improve your handwriting.

Techniques

There's a lot of hooplah about mind maps, and certainly people in the user interface (or information architecture) field are sort of big on cutting up magazines and things and pasting them together on posterboard a la middle school social sciences projects. There are all sorts of books on these subjects, but trust me, they're not necessary.

If you want to learn to flex your neurons, you just need to keep these principles in mind:

  1. Draw pictures. Don't think "I suck, man I can't draw" because that's a big fat creative turn-off. Just do it. (Plus, you'll get better anyway.)
  2. Use colors. Even if you think it's silly.
  3. Let your hand help you think.
  4. Big paper, big strokes, big letters, big ideas.
  5. Small paper, single ideas (not small ideas!), the creativity and urgency that comes from constraints.
  6. On big paper, fill the "jar" with your big stones first... then once you've got those, fill it with pebbles, and then sand (e.g. get your biggest ideas down, and then middle ideas, and then fill in those crazy details around them).
  7. Have something fun or at least visually interesting to rest your eyes on while you pause to let things sink in.
  8. Practice, practice, practice. Seriously. Take all your notes this way for a month (yes, even in those boring-ass meetings). See what shakes lose.
  9. Branch out. Play with clay, paints, old MacWorld magazines and Veer catalogs and scissors and glue, photography.

Tools

You will need:

  1. One big, fat art paper notebook (doesn't have to be expensive -- but should be spiral-bound)
  2. An assortment of small, pocket-sized notebooks (unlined, please!)
  3. Pens
  4. Markers
  5. Whimsy

Outcomes

A bunch of pictures from my personal collection...

Sometimes these sketches can turn into something highly polished, later, in shiny computer software:

And sometimes you should just play... if your brain is leaking out your ears, you can't get any further on something, or you just need a break. It doesn't matter if you can't draw (I certainly am NOT an illustrator, as you can see).

And here's an example of why I'll never try to claim the title of most-sketch-artisty among the Ruby community, courtesy _why the lucky stiff:

Talk to me

I demand all comments in sketch form. ;)

posted in: design, tips and tricks, usability, web design    |     19 comments