Drawing for Design

We’re strong believers in getting visual at IDEO.org, and drawing is a great way to learn from the people you’re designing for. Whether it’s you with the pen or them, a quick sketch, a graph, or a timeline is a fantastic way to bridge language barriers and keep a record of your research. Drawing can also help the person you’re designing for organize her thoughts visually and generally spur ideas and conversation in a different way than talking. For example, you may ask someone to draw everything they spend money on in a week, or map out all the jobs they’ve had, or show you the route they take to their job. And remember, you don’t need to be a great artist for drawing to be a highly useful tool.

Steps

• Make sure you have pen and paper handy when talking with the people you’re designing for. Even a sheet torn out of your notebook works great.
• When you want the person you’re designing for to draw something, give them a clear idea of what you’re after. A map of their daily route? A timeline of their annual income? What percentage of their fields are dedicated to a certain crop?
• The person you’re designing for may feel intimidated or that she’s not a good artist. Help her over that fear. Or be the one to draw first so that she doesn’t feel embarrassed.
• You can use the drawings as Conversation Starters. This Method can get you to a deeper understanding of the person you’re designing for so investigate what they’ve drawn.