Title: Sketching as a Design Technique Aims: Sketching is a technique that affords a researcher the ability to create, describe and refine ideas. Outline: Sketching can be undertaken using a variety of media, from pencils and pens to drawing tablets. It is a method used by people of many professions; artists, designers, architects, mathematicians, researchers. Although it is often perceived as an artistic endeavour, in this application (design practice) it is a way of exploring ideas, of idea generation and is a method that can be used by anybody for any designerly purpose, regardless of artistic ability. Sketching allows a person to brainstorm, as such, through a visualisation of ideas in a non-verbal way. It is a key "ideation" technique, i.e. creating multiple variations of any one idea. Example 1: "Sketching User Experiences" by Bill Buxton (2007) This book is a designer's go-to book on 'getting the design right and the right design'. Buxton analyses the design process and focusses on the importance of using sketching as a mechanism for creativity, as an origin point, regardless of the eventual application, e.g. interaction design/product design. He also makes the point that the process of sketching can be viewed as a conversation or journey, and that it is the uncertainty of our drawings that can lead us to our desired destination. "This prompts us to view sketching as relating far more to an activity or process (the conversation), rather than a physical object or artifact (the sketch). Certainly the physical sketch is critical to the process, but it is the vehicle, not the destination, and ironically, it is the ambiguity in the drawing that is the key mechanism that helps us find our way" (Buxton 2007, p117). Example 2: "Sketching User Experiences: The Workbook" by Bill Buxton, Saul Greenberg, Sheelagh Carpendale and Nicolai Marquardt (2012) This is the workbook which accompanies Buxton's book "Sketching User Experiences" (2007). The workbook allows readers to more fully understand a variety of sketching and design methods explored in its accompanying textbook. It details how sketching can be practiced, but more especially why it should be done in the first place. It also gives visual examples, for example the 10 plus 10 method, which develops 10 different ideas and then refines the selected ideas. The steps in this method are:
The workbook demonstrates this method with the challenge from point 1 being "connecting two smartphones". Example 3: "Sketching User Experiences: Hands-on Course of Sketching Techniques for HCI Research" by Nicolai Marquardt Marquardt has written a paper based on some of the sketching methods explored in the Sketching User Experiences Workbook. The paper states that they intend on undertaking a number of design sessions in which they wish to teach the workshop group a variety of sketching methods for use in an Human-Computer Interaction setting. These methods include;
Example 4: The evolution of the character and visual representation of Darth Vader, from "The Secret History of Star Wars" by Michael Kaminski Kaminski wrote about the 'secret history' of the Star Wars franchise, which included some discussion on the development, both conceptually and artistically, of one of the series' most memorable and popular characters; Darth Vader. In the first draft of the script, Vader was an inconsequential character, but for the second draft his character was combined with that of a Sith Lord Prince Valorum, giving us the Vader we know today. Initial artwork for this character was by Ralph McQuarrie, who says that the addition of a mask to a human body was because "in the script there was a description of Vader crossing between two ships in space so I created this mask so he could breathe in space", which George Lucas loved, and therefore it remained. So, the initial sketches (seen below) informed the direction the character took from the second draft of the script. "It appears that McQuarrie began such sketches while Lucas was in the midst of writing the second draft, because the character is described in that script as wearing the respirator mask that McQuarrie first sketched here. Following this, McQuarrie made a number of alterations at Lucas' request. The robes became more exaggerated, and the character was requested to have a wide-brimmed samurai helmet, which McQuarrie combined with his respirator to create a fearsome face-mask which completely obscured the character's face" writes Kaminski. This is the second round of character sketches with these requested changes: Inspiration for Vader's look also came from a scene in Lawrence of Arabia, where a man dressed in black robes shoots Lawrence's guide from a distance, then approaches and dismounts his camel. His headdress covers his face. McQuarrie thought that "'Vader would look more menacing if he was robed and armored', and so his next sketches reflected this design. Lucas also provided McQuarrie with comic books and 1930s pulp fiction material to help steer the visual design." Following this new, more militarised and armoured look to vader, McQuarrie made changes to the mask to give it a more elongated face grill, and exaggerated eyes. This updated mask also shows inspiration from the comic books and artwork provided to McQuarrie by Lucas. McQuarrie then created his final artwork for Vader; a full colour painting of Darth Vader taking on Deak Starkiller in a lightsaber battle, which can be seen below. According to Kaminski "In draft two the character of Darth Vader only had two scenes--the opening described above and then the final space battle where he is killed--but since McQuarrie had designed such an impressive villain, Lucas expanded the character with much more screentime for the third draft. The mask, of course, was not a permanent fixture, since it was merely a respirator for the opening sequence--in one scene, Vader is explicitly shown to have removed it, and drinks casually from a flask. The frightening helmet would only be seen in the opening sequence, and likely at the final space-battle sequence when Vader pilots a craft; for the rest of the film, on the Death Star, the character would simply be portrayed by the face of whatever actor was cast in his role. However, in the fourth draft, Lucas decided that the character would be more effective if he wore the space suit throughout the length of the film." The one other characteristic of Vader that has not been addressed yet was the voice, or sounds that he would make. This was between Lucas and the sound designer, Ben Burtt. The mechanical breathing was dictated somewhat by what would suit the respirator mask, designed by McQuarrie. All of this is to say that the initial sketches informed the entire character of Vader, from his samurai-like mask to his mechanical voice. Going back to Buxton's (2007) analogy of sketching being the journey to the desired destination, the prototype (or in this case, the final images) are the destination, whereas the sketches leading to this point has been the journey that both McQuarrie and Lucas took to explore and create the character of Darth Vader. Comments: Sketching is an incredibly effective method for conveying ideas to others, but also as a means of having a reflexive conversation with yourself. Ideas can change with each sketch; they can become clearer, include new elements, refine the form an idea can take. A sketch does not have to be a piece of art. A quick, rough sketch can realise the concept from your mind and can convey the envisioned concept to others. Sketches of multiple iterations and fidelities can also be of great use to aid with and map the the evolution of an idea. Following the advice of Buxton (2007), you must first find the right design, and then get the design right; which implies an iterative process. If unrestrained sketching does not suit somebody, they can undertake a variety of sketching methods as outlined by Buxton (2007) and others, which should give more rigidity and structure to someone less inclined to ideate freely.
Application: Sketching can be used in a wide variety of domains, but is generally used in all design situations. Sketching can be seen as the very first example of a design. The designer may have an idea in their head, but sketching it on paper will allow the idea to take a physical form. Continued sketching, or iterative sketching, can allow for the evolution of an idea or concept, until its physical form resembles the most desirable outcome. Often a designer will set themselves a challenge using Buxton's 10 plus 10 method (2007), to create iterations of the same idea, and then refine the most promising sketches until they have achieved their goal. Learning: Sketching is a technique that everybody, of all artistic capabilities, can use. Sketching can be done using something as simple as a pencil and paper, or as complex as a drawing tablet with appropriate software. Different fidelities of sketching are possible, from low-fidelity stick figures to high fidelity digital visualisations, so sketching is not off-limits to anybody. It is, however, a worthwhile skill to invest time in for any designer. A persons sketching ability can improve over time, so practicing and challenging oneself to create more sketches and become more detail-oriented can improve this skill set. Using different media, for example markers or colouring pencils, can also help a designer to improve their sketches, as the addition of colour can change the way a sketch is viewed. Time and cost: There can be very little cost related to this activity. As I have mentioned before, it can be undertaken with something as cost effective and readily available as a pencil and scrap piece of paper. Of course, if you wanted to create digital sketches using a drawing tablet and software, the price can increase dramatically. However, this is not the only consideration. Using a pencil and paper means you are not constrained by the affordances of design software, which could negatively impact on the free flow of ideas, of ideation. The time related to this activity can also vary wildly depending on the desired outcomes. References: Buxton, B. (2007) Sketching User Experiences: getting the design right and the right design, San Francisco: Elsevier Greenberg, S., Carpendale, S., Marquardt, N. and Buxton, B. (2012) Sketching User Experiences: The Workbook, Waltham, MA: Elsevier Kaminski, M. (2007) The Visual Development of Darth Vader, The Secret History of Star Wars, available: http://fd.noneinc.com/secrethistoryofstarwarscom/secrethistoryofstarwars.com/visualdevelopmentofdarthvader.html [accessed 01 Feb 2019] Marquardt, N. (2017) 'Sketching User Experiences: Hands-on Course of Sketching Techniques for HCI Research', CHI EA '17 Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Denver, Colorado, USA, 6 - 11 May, New York: ACM, 1261-1263, available: 10.1145/3027063.3027107 [accessed 01 Feb 2019] All images in Example 4 are copyright Lucasfilm. They are used under the rights of fair use/fair dealing for educational purposes in Ireland.
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Author: Kim O'SheaThis page will be used to post my assignments from taught modules in UL over the course of my master's prgram. Head over to my portfolio page for a look at some of the work I have done in my undergraduate program of Digital Media Design! Archives
April 2019
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