Session Title
Visual Skills for the “I Can’t Draw” Crowd
Presenter
MJ Broadbent, Liquidnet
Session Type: Activity
During Interaction’09, IxDA Board President Josh Seiden polled assembled attendees, “Who has had a design education?” Only about half the room raised their hands. In the current issue of Interactions magazine (September/October 2009), Alex Wright of the New York Times focuses on the state of formal design education within the interaction design profession. If 50% of us have entered the field through non-design backgrounds, how do we get over the “I can’t draw” hurdle? From brainstorming and whiteboard sketching to rapid prototyping and concept presentations, today’s interaction designer needs nimble visualization skills to communicate quickly and clearly — without a lot of words or verbal explanations.
In this hands-on activity session, MJ will coach participants through a series of revelatory exercises that get past self-judgment and into effective visualization techniques. Participants will come away with a transformed attitude about their ability to draw and a new access to visual storytelling.
Biography
Mary Jane (MJ) Broadbent has been designing visual solutions to complex information design problems for over 20 years. With a formal traditional graphic design background, MJ transitioned into interactive design in 1996 and is currently an interaction designer within the Experience Group at Liquidnet, the global institutional equity marketplace. MJ co-authored and taught the seminal online course “Information Design” at Sessions.edu, has guest-lectured on interaction design at Columbia University’s School of Continuing Education, NYU’s ITP, and at the School of Visual Arts. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning and is a member of AIGA, VizThink, UPA, IAI, and the IxDA (for which she volunteers on several global initiative committees and is a local leader in New York City).
6 Comments
To be clear: I’m not insinuating that people without design training CAN’T draw…just that I hear “I can’t draw” and “where/how can I learn” from many folks in this group. Everyone can develop mad viz skillz!
As one of those lifelong “I can’t draw” people, I took class in beginning drawing a few years ago at my community college and was amazed at how much I learned. If this activity is targeted to drawing specifically for interaction design, I’d love to attend it.
MJ, I’m still surprised that my very early cartooning activities (sequential art) inform my UX work, For me, more than my illustration classes. All pre-McCloud and circa 1970′s (whew!). Maybe you’ll cover some of this, too?
I struggle daily with that inner voice that tells me I can’t draw. I would be very interested in attending this sessions to not only sharpen my budding drawing skills, but get over this mental road block once and for all.
This program sounds great! This is a skill that everyone can benefit from — the ability (and the courage!) to sketch out a drawing on the fly in order to more effectively communicate ones ideas; using visuals to support, clarify and sell one’s message.
MJ, this sounds similar to Dave Gray’s visual thinking mini-workshops and the revelation that participants CAN draw is amazing to see. We’ve had several moments like that as part of the VizThink Toronto community.
I’m all for this session!