Buxton’s discussion of sketching as a tool for designers is essentially a recommendation that we pour ideas out of our brains so that they can be applied to an ongoing “conversation” about our work. The role of a sketch is to be a physical representation of the thought process—their designs are rough, ambiguous and flexible, making them ideal for visualizing a product that is in development. I have occasionally used sketches when I want to represent something visually for myself, but more often I use outlines for basically the same purpose—to put my thoughts “out there” where they can be spatially organized according to a logic that supports the task at hand. Buxton emphasizes that sketches can be readily edited or easily discarded; with the technology of word processing for my outlines, both are easily accomplished (with a minimum of waste!). I certainly understand what he means by sketching as a “conversation,” because in creating outlines I often feel like I am engaged in a dialogue with myself—headings are added and rearranged, useful quotes are nested under appropriate sections, and the language used is that which comes directly out of my head-- whatever it takes for me to understand and get a handle on the thing I am working on.
When he starts writing about storytelling, Buxton begins to sound much like Kolko—using language, designers can model the user experiences they are attempting to achieve. In many ways my outlines are sketches that attempt to tell a story. These methodologies are useful and should be common practices for anyone who is designing anything; while reading I felt frequently felt myself thinking, “well yeah, obviously,” but ultimately I think Buxton makes an important point about the way that humans tend to work through problems: we need that element of tangibility because such things serve as “anchors” for our thoughts, allowing our brains to make new connections that improve upon what already exists.
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