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2024 | Buch

Sketching in Human Computer Interaction

A Practical Guide to Sketching Theory and Application

verfasst von: Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Über dieses Buch

Sketching is a universal activity that first appears when we play as children, but later, it is often overlooked as a useful skill in adult work – yet it can bring multiple benefits to research and practice in multiple domains.

Specifically, Human Computer Interaction embraces interdisciplinary practices, and amongst those, sketching has proven to be a valuable addition to the skill set of researchers, practitioners, and educators in both academia and industry. Many individuals lack the confidence to take up pen and paper after years of non-practice, but it is possible to re-learn these lost skills, improve on them, and apply them in practical ways to all areas of work and research.

This book takes the reader on an active journey in sketching: from scribbles and playful interpretations to hands-on practical applications in storyboarding, and further, in examining qualitative analysis using sketching practice in HCI. Readers will learn a wide range of techniques andapplied methods for utilizing sketching within the context of HCI, guided by the experienced authors, and join the larger community of those who employ (and enjoy) sketching in Human Computer Interaction.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Abstract

Sketching is a universal activity but an often overlooked skill—yet it can benefit researchers and practitioners in Human Computer Interaction (HCI)—sketching has proven to be a valuable addition to skill sets in academic and industrial contexts. Many individuals lack the confidence to take up sketching after years of non-practice, but it is possible to re-learn, improve, and apply this skill in practical ways. We introduce a sketching journey, from scribbles and playful interpretations to helpful theory, storytelling, and practical applications. Individuals will learn techniques and applied methods for utilising sketching within the context of HCI. This chapter covers the why, how, and background of sketching in computer science. We outline some of the history of sketching in human terms, from Ivan Sutherland’s sketchpad right through to current directions in AI and robotic doodles. We also cover why it is useful and how it can support multiple viewpoints—not just in human-computer interaction but also for those working in areas as diverse as distributed systems and cybersecurity. We drive home the point that anyone can learn to draw; it is a matter of starting, practicing, and developing your own personal style.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 2. The Humble Line

Abstract

In geometry, a line is defined as one dimensional with undefined thickness (weight) or length. A line can overlap, run parallel to itself, and with a dash of experimentation, it can form shapes that are sometimes abstract—although most of the time, they represent something the sketcher has experienced, felt, or wished for. For those wishing to sketch, it starts with a blank page. For those who are not regular doodlers, this can be daunting—but it doesn’t have to be. Forget still-life sessions at school or being asked to draw your own hand. Here, anything goes! This chapter presents simple exemplar galleries and warm-up activities—sketching from the very beginning. Most books that look at sketching in science subjects do not cover the very basics; this chapter gives any student a comfortable starting point to begin their sketching journey. We focus on dispelling the fear of the blank page, getting comfortable with tools, mark making, and letting go of convention. By the end of this chapter, the student should be comfortable with applying pen to paper and be ready to start experimenting with more controlled lines and imagery.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 3. Seeing the World in Icons

Abstract

Why are icons important? Part of the joy of icons is their simplicity and their ability to convey meaning with great economy of line. Not only this but well thought out, simple icons can provide a means of communication without words. This chapter will guide you through the process of developing your visual practice and creating a library of go-to icons for use in your communications materials, storyboards, and interface designs. Within this chapter, you will build their core knowledge, turn scribbles into distinct images, and grow in confidence. You will identify relevant concepts and items for visual representation based on your own studies and practices, sketch, and solidify these concepts and items into simple icons or images, identifying where and when to simplify, or use detail. Further, you will refine and develop these concepts and items with practice and build your own, personally relevant, visual library.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 4. Text, Connections, and Colour

Abstract

Although we obviously advocate communicating visually with sketches, it is rare that a complex concept or page of multiple sketches can be fully described with the drawn line alone. If you are going to use your sketches as a form of communication or use them in your writing and research or studies, then it helps to title, annotate, and direct the viewer to each relevant section in turn. To do this, we necessarily use text, connectors, and colour to curate the gaze. This chapter should enable you to use text confidently in different weights and styles, connect and separate sketches on a page in a variety of creative ways, and develop a colour palette for your sketches that works for you and your projects. This chapter includes details on textual information, shapes, connectors, and separators—how do we link concepts whilst sketching, and how can we use these to emphasise points and provide clarity in our sketches?

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 5. People, Faces, and Actions

Abstract

Sometimes when we ask others to draw, we get asked “Are stick people ok? I can’t draw…” but sketching a stick person IS perfectly acceptable and can be a great precursor to sketching other types of people. If you add legs, arms, and a head, what you have created will be seen as a person, regardless if it is a blob. Children’s sketches are wonderful measures of how shape and line can create the appearance of a person. Drawing people is often the hardest thing to convince people to sketch in a class, the fear of ‘getting it wrong’ can produce a creative block. But getting it ‘wrong’ can actually be quite fun! Sketching for human-computer interaction necessitates the inclusion of images of people, whether they are simply icons, interacting with computers, the world, or reacting to something. People express emotions, get frustrated, are happy, relieved, tired, etc. The good news is that photorealistic portraits are NOT needed for sketching people in HCI. What is needed is a simple approach to adding figures and expressions into your work, and this is what you will learn in this chapter. And hands. We will also get you to sketch hands.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 6. Exploring Visual Narratives

Abstract

Mastering visual storytelling is a valuable skill. There are many ways to tell a story with pictures—or, in this case, sketches! You’ll hear this described in many ways: storyboard, comic, vignette, illustrated scenario, sketchnote, and so forth. In this chapter, we describe the basic process of telling a story with images as a ‘visual narrative’ because it can encompass all of the above and allows us to share the process without getting too bogged down in terminology. There are some distinctions which might be helpful to share; so we will describe them in this chapter. A visual narrative is simply a way of visualising a story, a sequence of events. Comics can also be described as scenarios—what we call ‘visual narrative’ differs between practitioners and fields. Someone working in UX will likely have a storyboard or scenario, an illustrator or artist might make a comic (or a graphic novel if it is very long!). In reality though, there are no hard distinctions in terms of content, as long as the meaning and story you are trying to convey is clear, and you frame your work appropriately for the domain it will be used in.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 7. Design Fiction and Speculative Sketching

Abstract

By now you will be familiar with the ease with which we can create, ideate, iterate, and explore any number of topics and thoughts using the power of the pen and pencil. You’ve got a good grasp of lines, objects, people, and storytelling with visual narrative. So naturally now is the time to start drawing things that do not exist. When we apply sketching to human-computer interaction (HCI) in terms of prototype and application design, then this becomes part of a research process with a definite end goal or product, but if we spread our imagination beyond our immediate environment, timeline, and possibilities, then it might become something called design fiction. Here, we cover sketching for future inquiry, interaction, and ideation. We examine how future thinking and sketching coincide, focusing on the areas of design fiction and speculative design. Although these techniques evolved from arts practices, they have been adopted into HCI and computer science to make predictions, express opinions, and help drive research into helpful and positive areas. We also think about what this tells us about the design and build process for software, hardware, and within processes and teams.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 8. Accessibility of Sketches

Abstract

It is widely accepted in human-computer interaction (HCI) that usability lies in our interaction with a product, service, and environment, measured by observing performance, satisfaction, and acceptability. To this end, there is an overlap between usability and accessibility. Accessibility designates that digital products, services, and environments we create are perceivable, understandable, operable, robust, and encompass the range of human diversity, i.e. usable for all. This chapter aims to provide insight and put forward concrete techniques to improve the accessibility of your sketches. We cover the accessibility of sketches in HCI and beyond, with descriptions of best practice and examples, e.g. the use of screen readers and the need for text alternatives (alt text), and how such measures also support search engine optimisation. We also introduce novel ways of making sketching accessible, such as narrative alt text. This chapter helps you understand that accessible sketches are essential, identify different types of disabilities and the actions you can take to make your sketches accessible to people with specific disabilities, and practice making your sketches accessible using sketches you have created previously.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 9. Digital Sketching Techniques

Abstract

Digital sketching still feels relatively new to many people although the technology has come on leaps and bounds in the past 15 years. Now, you might as well see someone taking out a tablet to sketch on as a piece of paper or sketchbook. Many artists made the leap as digital sharing became commonplace, and sketching directly into digital removed the need for cumbersome image scanners. However, there is an immediacy and a tangible nature to the pen and paper sketch that has never been fully realised in digital form, despite efforts to add ‘paper-like’ screen protectors or rougher surfaces. We could debate that digital sketching devices should try instead to embrace their nature as un-paper-like, but many of us crave the dual experience. We consider the pros and cons of digital versus analogue sketching, suggest appropriate devices and approaches that work for your personal style, and recommend ways in which you can customise your virtual experience to suit a variety of situations. How might we create our visual language differently in the digital context? How can we integrate digital sketches into our work and studies and what role do they play?

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 10. Remote Sketching

Abstract

The world of meetings and lectures was turned on its head during the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns by various world governments. Rather than nipping along to your colleague’s office to ask a quick question, chat functions have become the norm, with organisations using digital suites to connect people. Online meetings spread from a rare event during the week to full days in front of the screen, which also meant online teaching. So how did this impact the delivery of creative, hands-on courses, such as sketching? And given the new ‘hybrid’ world we live in, how can we utilise these changes to maintain the impact of sketching in human-computer interaction (HCI)? We live in a world where sketching can now transcend continents, so how do we work together on sketching activities when we aren’t even in the same room? This chapter focuses on the best practice and advice for sharing and carrying out remote sketching sessions with colleagues, team members, students, and research participants. We describe useful resources and tools (e.g. online whiteboards and 3D environments) and how sketching directly in digital media combines with hand-drawn sketches and uploading.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 11. Applying Sketching in Research and Practice

Abstract

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.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 12. Sketching with Other People

Abstract

How can we ask others to sketch for us, what might we gain from this, and how can we analyse their sketched imagery? This chapter directly follows on from Chapter 11 and covers what information or resources to provide to people, best practices and ideas for gathering sketches, and other ways of working with sketching and people. We also provide advice for building confidence in your participants (or peers), as well as designing and running sketching-based user studies or workshops. Remember how you felt starting to sketch for the first time? When you ask other people to sketch for you, they will feel the same way and won’t always have the time to build the confidence that completing this course will allow. So we suggest you lead by example. Sketching together also means working with peers and colleagues and even continuing practice with friends. This chapter should enable you to engage participants and peers in sketching activities, learn about the value and use of participant sketches, utilise co-sketching to improve your skills and the skills of those around you, and understand ethics and consent for sketching collection.

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 13. The Future of Sketching

Abstract

Whereas the introduction describes our history and current stance on sketching, this chapter explores our future and what the sketch and sketching practice might become. How are computers, AI, and robotics changing the face of image creation, and what areas might come to the fore in the near or far future? We provide a position piece and speculative essay about sketching in computer science, research, and industry, and how sketching practice might evolve. We also invite students to consider their own futures, and how they will use sketching in their professional or future research and learning practice. Have we reached ‘peak’ sketch in human-computer interaction (HCI)? Or are we about to embark on a renaissance, embracing hybrid forms and interdisciplinary collaborations?

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Chapter 14. Additional Resources and Community

Abstract

Although you have now finished the book, your journey will continue. We hope that you have found your feet, sketched them, and are ready to put your skills to good use in your work and for fun. The final chapter looks at resources, personal style, continued practice via observational sketching, and inspiration. We hope you find yours! We encourage you to join digital communities, take part in sketching events, and, above all, maintain practice!

Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

Titel: Sketching in Human Computer Interaction
verfasst von: Makayla Lewis
Miriam Sturdee
Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-50136-4
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-50135-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50136-4