Sketching in Human Computer Interaction: A Practical Guide to Sketching Theory and Application

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.

Makayla Lewis

By Day…

Dr Makayla Miranda Lewis (aka Maccy, only my mother calls me by my full name) is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science (User Experience Design) at Kingston University London, United Kingdom. Makayla has a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction from the City University of London and was inspired by her mother’s physical disability, ‘Cerebral palsy, online social networks and change’. Over the last 12 years, since completing their PhD, Makayla has researched and taught at various universities in England; her interests include human-computer interaction, user experience design, auto-ethnography, arts and creativity emerging technologies, and of course, SKETCHING with Dr Miriam Sturdee.

By Night…

Dr Maccy is also an accomplished visual thinker, sketcher, and visual notetaker, and their works have been featured in three visual thinking books, an Adobe blog, and several Human-Computer Interaction publications (and now this book). Maccy is an active scribbler, doodler and sketchnote who enjoys sharing their creative process at academic and industry sketching events courses and organizing international meetups, e.g., Sketchnote Hangout and SketchnoteLDN. They are often found in meetings, seminars, meetups and on the sofa with Umbriel (a rather naughty but cute rabbit) and her guinea blobs (pigs) sketching her experiences, feelings, and birds (they do not know why, but their default “I don’t know what to draw” is birds). Maccy is a creative share; over 1,500 sketches can be littered across social media, websites, and publications.

For more information about Dr Maccy, please visit: www.makaylalewis.co.uk

Miriam Sturdee

Miriam is a lecturer and researcher in the School of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, UK. Following a varied career path, she initially studied psychology, worked in marketing, graphic design, publishing, illustration, and undertook a Masters in Fine Art at Edinburgh College of Art. Later, bringing together all of her interests, she pursued an MRes and PhD in digital innovation at Lancaster University in 2013. It was during her PhD that she started investigating the role of sketching in designing for complex and novel technologies, especially shape-changing interfaces and tangible interaction. More recently, the sketching approach has transitioned into incorporating how arts based approaches can inform technical fields within STEM, with a particular focus on future-focused interactions. Her other research explores everything from humanised iPhones and subconscious user-experiences to TTRPG in User Experience Design. As well as taking on regular service roles within the SIGCHI and ACM communities, Miriam also teaches the long-running sketching in HCI course with Makayla Lewis, a journey that started in 2014 and has led to the publication of this book. Outside of work, Miriam herds cats, makes delicious food, sketches non-HCI things, and loves being outdoors (in between rain showers).