11. Applying Sketching in Research and Practice

We are both researchers, who not only specialise in teaching people how to sketch across human-computer interaction (HCI), UX, and computer science contexts but also use sketching in our own research. By exploring some of the work we have done, and places we have used our skills, hopefully, you can see the breadth of application for sketching both in research and academic arenas but also in industry roles. We primarily cover individual research and practice within this chapter, as working with other people in the sketching domain is a vast topic in itself and, therefore, deserves its own chapter—but many of the sections here can also be applied to the next (e.g. networking and sketch analysis). We therefore suggest you work through these chapters together, picking sections and activities that are most relevant to your own interests. This chapter outlines some of the practical ways we have both used sketching in our work (and sometimes outside of work in networking contexts) and hopefully will inspire you to utilise the skills you have gained from the pages of this book to embark on your own professional research and practice with sketching.